Sunday Saying

Be Ye Thankful
by
Jo Moulton

Keep your eyes open to your mercies.The man who forgets to be thankful has fallen asleep in life.

~Robert Louis Stevenson~

*Thankful here today for the gift of November sunshine.We so seldom see such a lovely sight here in Oregon this time of year.We have discovered there are few things lovelier than taking a nap in late Autumn with open curtains so the sun may warm our blankets as we slumber.Sheer bliss.:-)What are you thankful for today?*

Blessings~Sharon

Post Thanksgiving Ponderings

Another Thanksgiving Day has come and gone as has another Black Friday.I thoroughly enjoyed the first and managed to avoid the second altogether.Life is good,is it not?:-)Thanksgiving was spent at Steve's sister's place.She and her husband and daughter have a really cozy apartment here in town just across the walk from Steve's mom's apartment.Our time there was all too brief as Steve wanted to nap after eating and daughter April had volunteered to work the Black Friday graveyard shift at Toys R Us.That meant a nap for her too.Granddaughter and I wanted to continue to visit but as our rides wanted to nap we acquiesced and left not long after eating.It had drizzled much of the morning but by late afternoon had turned into a full on downpour of liquid sunshine.I went home in the gathering darkness with Steve.Stomach full of good food and heart full of much gratitude.I know there was a time a few years back when in the heat of the onslaught of life's battles it was hard for me to be thankful.Hard to find gratitude within.And yet somehow as the battles raged on our Heavenly Father began to pull from the muck of life a slender,golden thread called gratitude.Only He could do that in me.For left to my own whims and devices I could only see the trials,the storms and the losses.It was hard to lift my head some days,much less my heart.That place of trust and faith really took a beating.But it was needful.I needed to see what was in me.Things buried so deep I was not aware of their ugly presence.But God was and sadly perhaps,so were others in my life.I began to call upon Him to free me from the clutches of ugliness within and by His grace He has begun to do that work and I know He will complete it one day(Philippians 1:6).It's so good to have His promise of completion of works he's begun within each one of us who call Him Savior.And as we enter this time of Christmas it's for me just one more opportunity for giving thanks for the gift of His son,our Savior.Speaking of Christmas,you will see I have changed the look of my blog for the holidays.I was going to go with a more traditional color scheme but had to have this one when I saw it over here.Blue is my favorite color and I thought this was just so elegant.:-)Wishing each of you a wonderful Christmas season filled with an abundance of good things from the Father.

Blessings~Sharon

Happy Thanksgiving!

Garfield Thanksgiving

While looking for a picture to add to this post I was captured,arrested and amused by the toothy grins on these guys.They made me smile.Inside and out.So I chose them as I feel like they accurately represent what is in my heart today.Joy.Gratitude for God's many gifts in our life.Granted,there are many negative things we've faced and still face.It's not easy living on husband's disability check for instance but we have always seen God's provision in the midst of it.We have what we need to live life on this earth and that is reason for thanks.We live with chronic medical conditions at this point but we have medications and machines to keep them under control and in check until our healing comes,either here or in heaven.That is another reason for gratitude and thanksgiving.We have hope in spite of the less than perfect aspects of our lives for we know Jesus lives and we know the Father is watching over us and that His Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth.Many,many reasons for thanks there!Amen?As one of my favorite songs says"life is hard but God is good."That fact never changes even when it seems the rug has been pulled out from under us and we're left laying on the floor wondering what happened and will life ever be "normal"again.So,if you are reading this and wondering what you have to be thankful for I want to encourage you that there is much to be thankful for.It may take some looking especially if you are in the midst of really hard times right now on any level.I know for we have been there.But it's there.It may be something small but small things to be thankful for are no less important than the larger things in life.And it's a starting point that may lead to bigger things to be thankful for!We just never know the good things the Father may have waiting ahead of us in life!!:-)Happy Thanksgiving everyone.May you be filled with an overflowing heart of thanks wherever you find yourself this holiday season.

Blessings and Love~Sharon

Sunday Saying

Cornucopia
by
Ron Jenkins

Let us come before Him with thanksgiving...Psalm 95:2 NIV

**Giving thanks to Him for so much today...Health in our bodies once again,sunshine after church today,being well enough to go to church today,a warm van to drive,food to eat,so much that so many do not have.Lord,make us mindful of the many simple things that we could so easily take for granted for they are priceless and non-existent for some.May we never take any of Your gifts lightly.And may we all give thanks for them daily.**

Thankfully~Sharon

Happy 17th Anniversary Sweetheart!:-)

My wonderful husband Steven!:-)
(taken outside of Sublimity,Oregon)
Happy Anniversary to the love of my life and the man of my dreams.You loved me when others said I was not worthy of being loved.You make me laugh constantly.You bless me in so many ways.We've been through so much together as a couple but I would not trade any of it if it meant not having you by my side every morning when I awake,throughout the day,and every night when I lay down to sleep.You are one in a million.It took God moving some mountains for us to even meet!But meet we did and I pray that God grants us many,many more years together to love and to laugh.I love you.:-)

Blessings~Sharon

Book Review:Called To Worship

When I first chose to read and review Vernon M. Whaley's book"Called To Worship:The Biblical Foundation of Our Response to God's Call"I had a brief moment of panic.Would this book be too deep,too over my head,or worse yet,too dry?I am so thankful that my moment of panic was unfounded.From the first page I found this book to be enjoyable.Vernon writes in a very down-to-earth style while treating the the subject of worship with all the respect and reverence it deserves.This book blessed and challenged me as it relates to my own Christian walk and how I perceive and"do"worship.I found myself looking deeply at my own past experiences both as a former worship leader of a small womens Bible study and as a worshiper myself.Vernon states that true worship begins with obedience.Obedience to God,His will and His ways.He reminds us that God takes worship seriously and that we are to have no other gods before Him.This book takes us on a wonderful and challenging worship journey through the pages of Scripture;from Genesis to Revelation and beyond.I highly recommend this book to anyone;from the average Christian in the pew who wants to learn about worship to the serious Bible student or worship leader.
~Available at Amazon.com~

Blessings all~Sharon

Sunday Saying

Songs of Autumn
by
Diane Romanello

Oh,Lord,who lends me life,lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.
~William Shakespeare~

**Better here.No more bronchitis.Hope to have a book review for you soon.Was going to publish it today but we had to babysit this afternoon unexpectedly.Sigh...Please pray that our daughter gets a different job or at the very least a back-up babysitter.This retail job of hers gives her different days and hours every week.And this weekend they told her the wrong hours which is why we are babysitting this afternoon.Thanks for your prayers.**

Blessings~Sharon

Sunday Saying

Autumn Scenery I
by
Patricia Ivanov

God has two dwellings;one in heaven and the other in a meek and thankful heart.
~Izaak Walton~

**Still recovering over here.Husband now has what I had and what I had has turned into bronchitis.Sigh...We are now both on antibiotics and cough syrups to help us sleep.Looking forward to being well again and able to go to the complex fitness center once again.In the midst of all this"suffering"we have also seen His hand of provision and goodness to us(when our heater core on our van went out last week, God spoke to someone at church to pay for it for us as we had no funds to do it ourselves;we serve such a faithful God!) and we are thankful.I am hoping to get some book reviews on here shortly as well as pictures of my sister's recent visit here.Just been waylaid by illness and auto repairs and unexpected doctor visits and such.**

Blessings to all~Sharon

Sunday Saying

An Autumn Afternoon
by
Robert Herdman

A state of mind that sees God in everything is eveidence of growth in grace and a thankful heart.
~Charles Finney~

*Still recovering from this"bug"here.Down to just a couple of symptoms and laughing again so I know I am on the mend!:-)It's a gorgeous afternoon here in Oregon.Sunny,cool and windy.And I am thankful for it.Hope the sun is shining where you are as well.But remember,if it is not,it will shine again.*

Blessings~Sharon