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In Everything
Give Thanks!
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God Performed A Miracle
By Mary Alice Posey
(This true story, written by our great grandma, took place right
before our great, great, great! grandfather passed away. - Summer &
Melody)
My Grandpa was a man of strong faith. He read
God’s Word and believed it to be true. God always kept His promise. Malcome
put God FIRST in his life. This was manifested always. I believe as he
lay in bed his thoughts were upon heavenly things.
I liked to be near Grandpa, so I would go up to his bed. At that time,
bedsteads were really high. They had a big fat straw mattress and a big
fat feather mattress on top of that. When I stood by the bed, my head just
came to the top of the bed. One morning I felt his hand rest upon my head.
He said he was going to ask God’s blessing upon his little granddaughter,
Mary Alice. Now I did not understand what he said, yet I FELT the pressure
of his hand. This memory has been with me and blessed me continually. I
can say it has been a big influence on my life.
As Grandpa thought about what God told Moses to do in blessing the
children of Israel, he could use these same words and God would bless me.
This is found in Numbers 6: 22-27. So whatever Grandpa asked of God for
me, I truly believe in my heart that God granted his desires and is still
blessing me with His love and care today.
* * *
When I was three years old, we were living in Greenville, Texas. Papa
was working for Mr. Faust, a fruit and vegetable wholesaler and retailer,
as the manager of his three fruit and vegetable stores in Pilot Point,
Greenvile, and Cooper, so Papa was gone a lot of the time. He was at the
Cooper store when this incident happened.
I seemed to take everything that came along. I came down with the Measles
and Scarlet Fever, one after the other with not too much time between them.
One night I awoke with a high fever and called for a drink. Mama discovered
my throat was very red and much swollen. She did what she could until daylight
when she went next door to our Pastor’s home and got them. He was afraid
it was diphtheria and went for the doctor.
“Diphtheria”, the doctor said. They probably would call in another
doctor and put a tube in my throat so I could get air.
“Could we first have prayer and ask God to heal?” the Pastor asked.
The doctor consented, but there was no time to lose. When I was a little
girl every Christian knelt for prayer at the place they were sitting, (all
denominations). I was taught to kneel for prayer. I remember distinctly
the act of turning from my back and hunkering upon my knees and elbows
while they prayed earnestly that God would make me well again. And you
know what? He did. Within a few hours the swelling and redness was all
gone. I was healed instantly. The doctor was truly amazed though certainly
not unbelieving.
“But keep her in bed a few days anyway", the doctor instructed.
"The quarantine sign must stay on the front door for the given time."
When Papa came in that afternoon, fearfully entering the room, I greeted
him happily with a big “Papa.” He rushed to the bed, took me in his arms
and cried. Now who could say, too, that this miracle was not also an answer
to my Grandfather’s prayer when I was two? <>
A Little Note On Thankfulness
By Summer Chapin
“O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth
forever.” - Psalm 107:1
Why should we be thankful to God? Here, it says
we should be thankful because His mercy endureth forever. Sometimes when
things get tough, however, we may be tempted to think that His mercy is
not enduring. We get low and discouraged, thinking that He has left us.
But... the opposite is actually true!
Sometimes, God, in His mercy, sends us affliction to try and purify
our souls. Now, we may not realize His mercy in this, but it is true, for
if we, as sinful beings, are never tested and tried, we would be very slow
to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior. Sometimes a
trial is exactly what we need to make us stop and consider whether we’ve
really been living our lives for His Glory ALONE! <>
From Joy, To Sorrow, To Contentment
By Elanor C. Francis
When I was eight we moved into a cozy medium sized
house in Lafayette, Tennessee. It was there I turned nine and made some
memories. That spring we were looking for another house. After considering
several, we at last found a 200 year old farm house and decided it was
God’s will to rent it. Along with the house was fourteen acres of hill,
four neat old buildings to explore, and a lovely hollow to live in where
you couldn’t see your neighbor a half a mile away. Then I had my tenth
birthday and again made dozens of memories.
That summer was a summer of mixed feelings. The house we were renting
was being bought by someone else who wished to occupy it. There were no
other houses to rent. Our father lost his job. There also was no other
jobs. God told us to go live with our grandmother in a small trailer of
hers. We called and Grandma said that it would be great if we came and
lived next to her. Pops (our Grandpa) called to tell Dad that he had a
job for him in Arizona without us even asking him for it. We had only a
short time to be ready to move. It would be good to see our grandparents,
but we would have to leave our friends, church, and big luxurious home.
We came in three days from Tennessee to Arizona. When we came here
some of our stuff went into storage. We moved in, finding out the trailer
was a lot smaller than we thought. We had no friends or church. We eventually
found a church that is pretty good on doctrine and praise.
Even though I have no close friends now, I thank God for moving us
here. I am content with my surroundings. I have to say, “God will never
leave thee nor forsake thee.” I am content! <>
Oh... To Be Content!
By a Sister in the Lord who is still learning to be content...
So often I have failed to be contented with, and
thankful for, what God has given to me, or the way He, in His absolute
sovereignty, has chosen to make me... These feelings of discontentment
that arise from time to time in my sinful heart, only serve to make me
unhappy. I know they also grieve the heart of my God! - My God, who made
me just the way He wanted to... and took delight in doing it; my God, who
made me with blue eyes, brown hair, and chose to make me shorter than my
younger sister; my God who mercifully placed me in a Christian family and
chose to save me, and who has given me many brothers and sisters to love
and to cherish; my God who has a perfect plan for my life...!
These feelings of discontentment can be some of the worst feelings
to plague a person..! (I know by experience, or else I wouldn’t have decided
to write on this subject!) Often they turn into feelings of greed, covetousness,
jealousy, or envy. A girl who is discontent, makes life miserable for herself.
She is always wondering how she can get more, how she can most effectively
change her surroundings, or how she can improve her personal appearance.
She worries and frets, often to the point of making others miserable, as
well as herself.
She may turn and toss in front of the mirror, adjusting this or that,
worrying, frowning, fretting, wishing her clothes looked different, wishing
she looked different.... all to no avail.
Or, perhaps she is discontented with her surroundings, and may even
be embarrassed about them at times. The wall paper is half-way stripped
off of the dining room wall, the bathroom shower tile is falling off the
walls, and the house trim is badly in need of paint... but there’s nothing
that can be done about it all at once... If you live in an extra small
house or an especially dilapidated one, etc... It is very easy to become
discontented!
Or maybe her parents feel she should be doing more than she
is. They want her to get out to visit the elderly folks and minister to
the widows and orphans... but, she doesn’t want to. She is not contented
with what God seems to want her to do. She hasn’t surrendered her will
to Him, and committed to follow His leading and to do His
will. Again, she is discontent with what God has for her to do at the moment...
Maybe she is disgruntled about something that has happened in her life...
The planned picnic or party has been cancelled due to the high chance of
rain, she is compelled to stay home and clean while her younger siblings
get to go with Dad to pick up something from a friend’s house, her parents
have decided it is best she didn’t read a certain book, or she has to “slave
away” while the entire family is down with the flu...
Perhaps her family is going through difficult financial struggles,
and they have to eat more simply or dress more poorly. Maybe her little
siblings curiously “go through” her things and end up losing or tearing
up something, or maybe a loved one passes away...
I think we all struggle at times with discontentment when things like
this happen. We are not content with our situation. In fact, we might be
tempted to say. “God, why? This doesn’t seem fair!”
The fact of the matter is that everything in our lives is in God’s
control. - The way we look, the decisions we face, the good things that
happen, the bad things that happen, all are in His control. His
plan for our lives includes not only the good things, but also the tests
and trials of life.
When my picnic gets canceled because of the rain, I should say.
“God, whatever You want; whatever You think is best, is okay with me! I
know you have a plan for me right now, and for all of us who had planned
to go on the picnic. I realize that You know more about this than I could
ever possibly know. I know that You know what is good for me, even better
than I know myself!” ...And leave my heart at that - just resting in the
Lord and His wonderful sovereignty, knowing that every trial that comes
my way, is a test of obedience from Him.
When our surroundings, clothes, or looks provoke feelings of discontentment
in our hearts, it’s important for us to realize that God has made us the
way HE wants us to be, and has Given us what HE thinks we need. He has
done this for a certain purpose, and He expects for us to be content with
His plan for us. If we are not, it is to His grief and sorrow, and also
to our grief and sorrow, for what person can be truly happy that is not
content with what God has given to him? The discontented person is miserable
because he can’t have what he wants. The content person is happy because
he wants what God has given to Him, and nothing else beside. He is content
to rest in God’s will.
“Everything works together for good to them that love God.” - Romans
8:28
Sometimes when things are not going right, however, we may be tempted
to think that God has forgotten us, and that things are not going to work
together for good after all...
...But that is where we are terribly mistaken! The fact is, that whether
or not we can see the good, it is still there, because HE said it is!
In fact, on my death bed, I will most likely be able to look back over
my life, and still wonder over a few things, and how in the world any good
ever came out of them. It’s like this... Whether or not we ever see the
good, we can know that God sees it, and that it is good!
Not only that, but often it is the trials that “worketh patience within
us”. Perhaps the “good” that occurs is just that our faith is strengthened,
we are made more humble, we have taken one more step Heavenward, or that
He has revealed something more of His character (holiness, love, mercy,
judgement,etc...) to us. This indeed, is great good to our souls!!!
Let us all remember to be content, resting in His holy, sovereign will!<>
My God is so BIG!
By Melody Chapin
This morning when I went on a walk, I was musing
about God’s goodness to us! What a righteous God we have! What a holy God
we have! And what a wonderful God we have! Tears come to my eyes even as
I write this for we don’t deserve even one thing that he gives to us!....
Three years ago our family was in the “depths”... And I don’t think
that I have ever seen the Lord work more graciously or powerfully in our
lives than in these last three years! We have learned that our God is so
good that he can lift us out of any situation and place us in a “mansion”
(literally!). We have learned that our Lord can take my Dad from having
no job, to having the best job he has ever had in his life, in just 2 short
years. Our God can take any “bad” situation and turn it into something
we could never imagine!
I am slowly learning that God does have a perfect plan for my life...
When we go through trials in our lives and begin to wonder what the Lord
has in store for us, where we are going to go, what we are going to do,
and how we are going to manage, etc, we should just trust fully in our
Lord, for worrying certainly won’t change a thing! Only God can change
our situation and make something good come from it, and He will do that
for each one of us if we trust in Him! Praise His name!
When I am reminded of all of these things that have happened in the
past few years, I am filled with awe and wonder at the Lord’s goodness
to our family. I am so thankful that He is in control of our lives and
everything is in His hands. I would like to share one instance which left
us very thankful for this fact....
During the entire year that we lived in Woodbury, Tennessee, Dad didn’t
have a permanent job... He tried various home-businesses... including a
truckline business, buying produce at the farmer’s market and then re-selling
it on the side of the road, delivering produce to the stores, selling flowers
on the side of the road, and doing other various “temporary” jobs.
Summer, Tommy, and I got to go with him often, and so that year (1993)
was a great learning experience for all of us for two reasons... First,
because we got to have first-hand experience in how “business” works, and
second, because we got to see first-hand how the Lord cares for His own....
We often took turns going with Dad down to Atlanta, Georgia, to the
big farmer’s market there to buy produce that we could resell to the retail
stores. Our only means of transportation was a 1981 fifteen-passenger van
(which was perfect for hauling produce when all the seats were taken out,
although not always so “perfect” because of the constant repairs that were
needed to be made on it).
Well, on this particular day, I went with Dad to Georgia... The van
had been having some problems with the steering, but it didn’t seem to
be serious, and he intended to try to get it fixed very soon. We got to
the farmer’s market and bought the needed vegetables and fruit. Our last
stop was at a large warehouse in the market, so we backed the van up to
the dock, and our things were loaded. Normally, Dad paid before everything
was loaded, but somehow this time he had forgotten to pay first. There
were others waiting for the dock, so Dad drove the van into the parking
lot to make room for the others who were waiting to load up. After coming
back from paying for the purchases, he started up the van, and we were
finally on our way back to Tennessee! (Or so we thought!) He drove only
for a few seconds through the parking lot, and suddenly there was a loud
“POP”. He was no longer in control! The steering had gone out! =| He quickly
put on the brake and stopped the van.
Oh! Now when I think about it, I am so thankful that our Lord is in
control of all things! If Dad had paid for his purchases before leaving
the dock (like he normally did), then as soon as the purchases were loaded,
he probably would have just driven the short way to the main highway, and
the steering might not have gone out until then! By then we could have
reached 65 M.P.H., and a serious accident might have occurred! Praise the
Lord that didn’t happen!
Well, anyway, here we were, with hundreds of dollars of produce to
deliver that day before it spoiled (We had no air conditioning in our van,
and it was in the middle of the summer.), and we didn’t have a way to get
back to Tennessee to make our deliveries. Dad went back into the warehouse
to ask where the closest mechanic was... and praise the Lord again! They
had quite a few mechanics on the premises which worked on the big semi-trucks
that showed up every day. So, a mechanic or two came out to look at the
van...
I definitely don’t know much about van motors (or cars for that matter
=) ), so I can’t really tell you what the whole problem was, but it had
to do with some broken bolts that were supposed to hold the steering gearbox
together (whatever that is =) ). Finally, though, they got it fixed and
didn’t charge us a cent! - Praise the Lord! - for we were nearly broke
at the time!. We left rejoicing because of the Lord’s goodness to us once
again!
After driving a little ways, Dad noticed that the van was “overheating”,
and so he stopped to put some water in the water pump.... He must have
stopped 3 or 4 more times to get water before we got to Chattanooga (about
an hour’s drive). By then, he had decided that we better get to another
mechanic... So, we found one, but the mechanic said that there was NO way
that he could get it fixed that day, but that we should try another mechanic
that was down the road. We went there, too, but they gave us the same story.
By then we were getting desperate again, thinking of all the produce in
the back! Our “last” hope was the Ford company down the road. Our van was
a Ford, and so we drove the short distance there. After a small wait, a
mechanic quickly looked at it and saw that the water pump wasn’t hooked
up!
Obviously, in the process of fixing the steering, the mechanics at
the Farmer’s Market had to unhook the water pump and forgot to hook it
up again... which means that we had driven for about an hour without any
water reaching the van’s motor! - another “mini” miracle!!! (Vehicles just
DON’T run without water!) The “Ford Mechanic” fixed the problem in a matter
of minutes and didn’t charge us anything - (PTL - again!). We were able
to make all of our deliveries that day!
When we got home, Mom told us that she had prayed that morning that
the angels would circle the van, not once - but three times! (In other
words, she was praying for added protection!) Praise the Lord that He does
answer prayer!
This instance is only one of the many, many times that the Lord, who
is in control of all things, has taken care of me and my family! I am so
thankful that our God cares! <>
I Am Blessed!
Katrina Wade
Where does one start on a subject like this? It
is coming up on the time of year that everyone starts thinking about Thanksgiving.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could give thanks always instead of just at Thanksgiving?
I guess that I personally have a lot to be thankful for!... I am thankful
for my life, my family, and my salvation. (Isn’t it wonderful that God
loves us so much that we can be saved?!)
I am going to start back in the spring of 93: We were living in the
town of Mancos, Colorado, and were the managers of a Good Samaritan thrift
store that was known by everyone in town. My parents did some accessibility
jobs for the forest service and such, and the Lord provided a BIG job for
them that summer.
Now we were all thankful for that, but also for what it meant. We made
enough money to buy an old, 19 ft. motor home so that we could come out
to Eastern Ky.
We wanted to visit my aunt who we had found out had a very serious
case of ovarian cancer. I had seen her several times but didn’t really
get to know her till we visited. We stayed with her from Oct 29, 1993 to
the middle of April 94. It was a very special time for us all. I am very
thankful that I was able to get to know her better before she passed on!
When we went back to Mancos to sell our place, we were able to sell
it four days after we advertised. We came back out, and two weeks after
we pulled into KY, we were in our new home. We were able to get a 20 acre
farm, with several buildings, including a new garage and a mobile home.
That mobile home was home to us for 1 and 1/2 years after we moved here.
We were all so thankful for the farm because we had wanted one for soo
long!
Since we have been here there have been a lot of changes in our lives.
We have started wearing headcoverings, observing Saturday Sabbath (we aren’t
Seventh Day Adventists), wearing modest clothing, working horses, etc.
That is a very drastic change from what we used to be! I am thankful to
God for being patient with us in these areas when we didn’t usually want
to do them! Thankful that He showed us what He wanted us to do with our
lives! We were given a sewing business which has been a true blessing.
We are thankful for that, too!
I am also thankful for the new home that God has given us! One of our
friends loaned us the money to build a 24’x36' home, gave us the friends
to help build it, etc. Thankful does not seem adequate to express my feelings,
but right now I can’t think of another way to put it. I am THANKFUL!!
Remember sisters, “Enter into his gates with Thanksgiving, and into
his courts with praise; be thankful unto Him and bless His name.” - Psalms
106:1
The Lord has always been good to us, He has blessed us so abundantly.
I am indeed, greatly thankful for my life, where I am now and all the friends
He has given us.
I wish we could always be thankful, even in the hard times! I am not
saying I am, I just wish that is something we could all do!
I guess the last thing I can possibly say is, “I am a very blessed
person and very thankful in that fact!” <>
Help Thou Mine Unbelief
By Charles Spurgeon (Written in the 1800s)
Do you doubt, O Christian, do you doubt as to
whether God will fulfil his promise? Shall the munitions of rock be carried
by storm? Shall the storehouses of heaven fail? Do you think that your
heavenly Father, though he knoweth that you have need of food and raiment,
will yet forget you? When not a sparrow falls to the ground without your
Father, and the very hairs of your head are all numbered, will you mistrust
and doubt him? Perhaps your affliction will continue upon you till you
dare to trust your God, and then it shall end. Full many there be who have
been tried and sore vexed till at last they have been driven in sheer desperation
to exercise faith in God, and the moment of their faith has been the instant
of their deliverance; they have seen whether God would keep his promise
or not.
Oh, I pray you, doubt him no longer! Please not Satan, and vex not
yourself by indulging any more those hard thoughts of God. Think it not
a light matter to doubt Jehovah. Remember, it is a "sin"; and
not a little sin either, but in the highest degree criminal. The angels
never doubted him, nor the devils either: we alone, out of all the beings
that God has fashioned, dishonour him by unbelief, and tarnish his honour
by mistrust. Shame upon us for this!
Our God does not deserve to be so basely suspected; in our past life
we have proved him to be true and faithful to his word, and with so many
instances of his love and of his kindness as we have received, and are
daily receiving, at his hands, it is base and inexcusable that we suffer
a doubt to sojourn within our heart.
May we henceforth wage constant war against doubts of our God--enemies
to our peace and to his honour; and with an unstaggering faith believe
that what he has promised he will also perform. "Lord, I believe,
help thou mine unbelief." <>