Wonderful Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful time at our Thanksgiving gathering! It was such a joy to see our family again! The Lord has truly blessed us. Thanksgiving for me was exciting and very enjoyable. I hope it was for you too as well. I also hope that you realized how blessed we really are. What a great God we serve! He's given us so much to be thankful for. And I hope that you will never forget how important Thanksgiving really is. God Bless! :) :)...

Here's a  couple pictures of one of the cotton fields near where we were staying. :)

~In Everything Give Thanks~

On Sunday our pastor talked about the passage from Luke 17 where Jesus healed 10 lepers from their disease. When they realized that they were healed, only one of them came back to Jesus and thanked him for what he had done. Sadly, it seems that's the way people are here in America. We are forgetting God and lusting after worldly things. So many of us take things for granted and don't even think about thanking God for what he's done for us and given us that we DON'T even deserve. Wouldn't you rather be the one cleansed leper who came back and remembered to thank the Lord? I know I would. The other lepers didn't care, they obviously only thought about themselves. But it was a miracle the Lord did! And it's amazing that not even one thought came to their mind to thank Him - except that one. As my pastor said, God will not give you more until you are thankful and appreciative with what He has already given you. I hope you realize how blessed America truly is this Thanksgiving. Don't celebrate it just because of the food and the family you get to be with. Celebrate it because you are thankful for what the Lord has done for you. That's the true meaning of Thanksgiving that so little people recognize today. I hope you won't be one of them. The Lord deserves our praise and thanksgiving. He's given us so much that we don't even deserve. We deserve to be in the pits of hell right now. But through God's grace, he died on the cross for our sins and made a road for us that didn't lead to hell. He loved us then, and He loves us now. Thank you Lord for what you have done for me, you truly are the most high God!!
1 Thessalonians 5:18
"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

"Will Ye Leave Me Also?" - Jesus

Turning from Jesus is something I will never do as I have made that promise to Him. My devotion I did today was basically talking about that subject and how in the book of John, Christ asked his 12 desciples after many of his others turned away..."Will ye leave me also?". I believe that this is a question that every person needs to be asked. I answered NO! Because I love the Lord and how miserable I would be if I didn't have the blessings of God in my life! What a wasted life that would be. I hope you answered NO as well. If you answered YES, than you have a sad and miserable life awaiting you. You will be deep in sin and WILL NOT be pleasing the Lord. You may think that God doesn't care or that he doesn't see what you're doing, but  BOY! Are you in for a surprise. GOD SEES EVERYTHING YOU AND I DO...GOOD OR BAD. So those times you tried to "hide" your sin from God, it wasn't really hidden, because he saw it all. And He DOES care about what you do. He has a purpose for your life. He has a reason why he put you here on this earth. TO LIVE FOR HIM! TO BRING OTHERS TO HIM. AND TO KNOW GOD MORE. Life is NOT about us. It's all about God! He so wants to use you for his glory if you'd just let him. I'm praying right now, that you will choose the right way and answer NO to turning away from Jesus. "Will Ye Leave Me Also?" - Jesus.

~Thanksgiving~

As Thanksgiving is nearing...thankfulness comes to mind. There is so much for us to be thankful for. We have warm clothes, food, water, a warm home, heat, beds to sleep in, blankets and pillows for extra comfort, shoes, things for our own enjoyment, a loving family, friends, a God who loves us more than anyone knows...and the list goes on! What blessings we have that some people don't! I hope as Thanksgiving nears, you will remember how much the Lord has given you and be thankful and content as God would have us to be.

~Being A Part Of Ministries~

Tonight I did the offertory at my church...it went really well and I believe that the Lord used me.  I played "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" on the baby grand piano. I was so nervous beforehand (I had only arranged the piece on Wednesday), but AS ALWAYS the Lord made it sound beautiful and touch my heart and hopefully others. We had a missionary there tonight as well who spoke about serving God and using your talents for the edifying of the church and the Great Commission...God spoke to me. For a while now, I guess I've felt like I need to be a part of another ministry. One that would allow me to reach out to others with the gospel and help edify them in Christ instead of me being edified (although I'm sure the Lord would edify me in the process). I'm a part of a bible study as you know. It's great...but I feel like I need to be a part of even more. Not that I would stop bible study. Quite the contrary. I would continue bible study and join - or maybe even start another ministry. Me and my sister are both feeling that the Lord is calling us to be in a new ministry along with the others we already have the privilege to be a part of. For now, we will be praying about it and see what the Lord does. :)

Failures

Yesterday I took a big test...didn't do so well. I still passed - but I could've done better. Oh well. It obviously was not the Lord's will for me to get a good grade...and I accept it - as hard as it is. It's hard as believers to accept our failures. We want to please the Lord so bad - and then we fail, and our heart is broken because we know we let the Lord down. I took this test, I didn't necessarily FAIL Him, but I could have done better. I don't think I did my best, and I feel bad. But the Lord forgives my sin and failures and I find that very assuring. That doesn't give us an excuse however to keep sinning and insincerely ask God's forgiveness each time. We still need to do our best in pleasing the Lord and having victory over sin as much as we can. That's what the Lord desires us to do.

Piano Playing

Last night my church had a concert pianist come and play for us with his wife who plays the clarinet...they were really good! We also had the privilige of hearing another really good piano player who my parents happened to know from many years ago. We didn't know he was going to be there, so it was a big surprise when we saw him! But what a blessing all of them were! They're certainly being used by God and giving Him all the glory for it. :)
Next Sunday, I'm probably going to be playing for the offertory....I still don't know what I'm doing yet, but the Lord will bring it to me in His time. :)

Accepting Changes In Life

Recently, my sister became a Senior in high school...graduation is next May! She also just today received her license...a big step in life! I have to admit that I've kind of felt a little sad about the changes that are happening now and that will be happening next year for her. Me and my sister have been like glue ever since I was born! So, in other words we're really close. Her going to college pretty soon means that she won't be around as much and I'm going to feel a little lonely. Don't get me wrong...I am so proud and happy for her! We've been waiting for this year for a long time! It's exciting to see the changes that are now happening in our lives. A lot of changes are coming for me next year as well. I won't go into any details, but I'll be taking some big steps in life that I've never taken before...I'm excited though!
In order to reach your full potential in life, you have to learn to accept the changes that God has allowed. Sometimes it's hard for me...and yet there's a joy about it all. We are both getting older, and decisions are starting to be made. Accept the changes that come in your life...you'll never regret it. The changes may be really new to you...but God has a reason why he's allowed them to come in your life. I'm talking to myself too by the way.:)Just accept them and trust in the Lord...he sees the whole picture...we don't.

Attending A Bible Study

Today we went to bible study...it's a group for girls of almost all ages to attend where we study the bible and different character qualities. We also sing songs and do really cool skits...it's definitely worth my time. I feel like it's a really big ministry that I'm a part of. I'm a leader of a small group, so I especially feel like it's my little ministry. I've been a part of this group since I was 5 and I haven't missed a year since...and I don't regret it. Our teacher has taught me things that I will always use and hold dear through out my whole life as an individual. I'll probably be attending for another 3 years...then I might decide to step out and focus on other things in my life. But for now, I'm staying and am really excited about what the Lord is going to do next!
This bible study has been so beneficial in my life and I encourage you to attend a good solid christian bible study if there is one you know of and can get to. Maybe your church has one or you know of a friend who attends one....who knows - there are so many possibilities! I'm sure you'll learn so much; it's always very uplifting and enlightening!

Autumn Leaves and Thanksgiving

This is a picture I just took today of a few of our trees in our backyard. The leaves are just gorgeous! What a beautiful world the Lord has made!
Thank you Lord for creating autumn! :)
It's November 1st, which means it's almost Thanksgiving!! You know, it's too bad that so many places seem to skip this wonderful holiday and go right to Christmas (which is normally more than a month away!). It seems that America forgets one of the most important holidays of the year. Thanksgiving is about being thankful for what God has given us and done for us. My family celebrates this holiday as I'm sure many others do as well...but there are so many that do not remember what a special event this really is. I hope that you will remember it and will celebrate as we all thank the Lord for His goodness towards us!