Special Time for Giving Thanks

I am thankful to have a family to love!
I hope that my family loves me, but I am more content knowing I have family to love.  The same is true of friends - I do not know if they love me, but I am blessed to have people in my life to love.       Can you imagine living in a world where you didn't haven't any family or friends to love?

I am thankful that I don't experience the stress of basic survival!
My stress if my worry for my families safety and health. I am blessed with food to eat, clothes to wear, shoes for my feet, safe home and a warm bed. If I go to bed hungry - I can get up and eat, if my feet get cold in the night - a pair of socks are a few steps away, if I am thirsty - water is just a turn of the faucet, if it rains or snows - I have a roof over my head. I am blessed!  Could you survive without a home to live in, food as easily as going to the grocery or to a restaurant, searching for water?

I am thankful for my senses!
I can hear the sounds of nature and the music of my grandchildren's voices. I can see the sunshine and the wind rearranging the limbs of the trees.  I can feel the heat of the sun, the wet of the rain, the cold of the wind in fall and winter. I can talk with my friends and family. I can feel the roughness of sandpaper and the softness of a babies hair. I can smell the earth, the stringency of rosemary, the calming smell of peppermint and clary sage, and freshly washed sheets and towels. What would you do if you couldn't see, hear, talk, smell, or feel?

I am thankful that I have choices!
I can smell the aromatic and walk away from the odorous. I can get out of the rain or soak up the sun. I can talk or sit silently. I have a choice. I can make the decision of what I listen to, look at, taste, smell, or feel. 

I am thankful that I am still in good health, mobile, and independent.
I can't do everything as I once did, but I can still do. Good health - I am not in a health institute nor do I have to see a doctor on a regular basis. I still move as needed - not as fast or as long as I once did, but I do move. I am not dependent on anyone for my basic needs. 

I am thankful for the saving Grace of my Lord Jesus Christ and the mercy afforded me by his Crucifixion and Resurrection! 

Be Kind

" Love is patient, love is kind." 1Corinthians 13:4 NIV

"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Ephesians 4:32 NIV

"Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else." 1Thessalonians 5:15 NIV

I have just finished reading several blogs on the news web - Michael Jackson's death, Steve McNair's death, Senator Ensign's affair, Sarah Palin's resignation and several others. People are mean; their observations, opinions, and comments are mean Whether this is brought on by jealousy, envy, hate, fear. discontent or whatever, there are people out there that are just plain mean.

I am not a minister nor a teacher but I was taught that "if you can't say something good about somebody, don't say anything at all." (Thanks Dad) It is astounding to me that people can write comments about people they don't know, about situations without knowing the facts. A Sunday School teacher once told me that females will repeat a rumor without finding out the truth, but a male would not. She may have been correct back then, but she sure is off target now. It doesn't matter the gender, race, educational status or social status - everyone has a nasty comment about everything.

And where did these people come up with this stuff. The accusations, the hate spewing forth, just the plain old meanness reflected in these comments and opinions. No wonder this country is hurting; it is so full of hate it cannot move forward.
Where is our mercy? Who are we to judge?

"Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful, Mercy triumphs over judgment." James 2:12-13 NIV