Thank You God For Everything!
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Thank You God for the world so sweet,
Thank You God for the food we eat,
Thank You God for the birds that sing,
Thank You God for everything!
Amen
Author Unknown
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The prayer above might just be one of the very first prayers we introduce to the children in our lives as we seek to share the wonders of faith with them. It is clean and pure and good, just as the lives of children are clean and pure and good. They have not yet become tarnished by life’s harsh realities which seems to somehow muddy all things wondrous once we pass the threshold into adulthood. But then some of us are given a miracle. We bear children and suddenly, we are witnessing life’s untarnished freshness through the eyes of those children (and grandchildren).
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I was thusly blessed some 28 months ago when a little red-headed ball of fire entered my life! God has blessed me with the opportunity of seeing life through Landon’s innocent eyes. However, I have come to realize something quite wonderful! Because I am transported back to a time of innocent wonder as I help Landon to live his life, it seems as if EVERYTHING that colors my world these days is vibrant and fresh. Yes, like the rest of the adults in my world, I am saddled with the grown up responsibilities we all share. I too must run my household. I too must pay my bills, sometimes without enough money to comfortably manage it. I too must deal with others around me who see things in shades of grey because they don’t have their own 28 month old wonder to paint life with bright, primary hues of color, like I do! But it is because I do that I don’t sweat the small stuff anymore. I am thankful to God for EVERYTHING that I have been given, both the wonderful things and those not so wonderful things.
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Do you honestly think that God allows us trials and tribulations without their being a divine purpose for them? After all, it is the trials that teach us to work hard and persevere to reach our goals. And it is the ability to successfully accomplish this that builds our character as not just people but people of faith. Did Jesus not reassure his Disciples that although they would be scattered and separated, He would never be alone, for God would always be with Him? And God will be there just as absolutely for us when we need Him to be! Trials and tribulations come with both a purpose and a reward.
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Now that we have secured this promise from him, why not walk your path through life with a quicker step and a keener eye! Don’t just live your life. LIVE YOUR LIFE! Live life as a child lives life. Look at the miracle that is all of His creation. Let your senses revel in the beauty of everything that surrounds you. Today look for a rose-bush in bloom and inhale the delicate fragrance. Walk by the neighborhood pond and try skipping a stone. Wash your car and then make funny faces in the shiny glass of sparkling windows. Or don’t wash your car and draw a smiley face in the dusty surface of the trunk! Tonight take a walk at dusk and make a wish upon the first star (or planet) you spy! Yes, come down to earth at some point and pay the electric bill, but don’t stay grounded and sensible for too long. Life is too short and the time to live it is now!
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2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
James 1: 2-4 NIV
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24 There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God.
Ecclesiastes 2:24 ESV
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