God is Good!

November 1st:

I am grateful for the good Lord. Why? Well, he chose to make me! How crazy is that?! If you stop and think about it, he made every single one of us. Right along with all the other spectacular things on this planet – the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat. All of the amazing animals, the beautiful birds & butterflies, the fragrant flowers, the emerald green grass, the baby blue sky, the deep blue waters, the sun, and the moon. God created the heavens and the earth. He took the time to make sure that everything came to life. I am here, he has given me my life to live!

My life and your life are a gift that should not be taken for granted.

God has a plan for all of us. God has granted me salvation and oh my, what a wonderful gift that he has given me! No matter how many times I have messed up, all I need to do is give it to God, accept Jesus as my savior and by the grace of God, I am forgiven. Hallelujah – what a wonderful gift!

Growing up I went to Sunday School every Sunday and I was confirmed in the Lutheran church. From my family farm, I heard the church bell ring. This memory makes me smile. I attended Bible School for a week every summer and I loved it. I miss it to this day.

As an adult, my attending church is irregular. There have been times when I attended a church and did not feel welcome. Sometimes the minister, staff, and attendees were too pushy. I do have other ways of going to church and I know some may disagree. However, when I am outdoors, amongst Mother Nature, going for a walk or on a lake or a river I feel like I am attending church. There are times when I have been riding down a two-lane blacktop with my husband on his Harley and I feel like I am attending church.

I sometimes wonder if I am praising God the way I should be. Am I doing enough? Am I doing it right? I can tell you that I pray a lot and I talk to God a lot. I am sure he shakes his head at times wondering if I will ever shut up.

OK, I am just going to say it, I like to be in control.

Good, now it’s out there. The funny thing is I think I am in control. Ha! This is far from the truth! With that being said, how hard do you think it is for me to surrender everything in my world to God? This is an ongoing struggle for me. Like I mentioned yesterday, I am a work-in-progress.

Even though I have many blessings, that does not mean that my life hasn’t been hard at times. God has tested my faith more than once. Trust me, there are times when I struggle with being thankful. Why did this happen to me? Here’s a doozy one for me – why are certain people taken from my life? Or, why haven’t my prayers been answered over and over again? Or, why do some people work hard and never get anywhere but things come easy for other people? God never promised us that life would be easy.

Being ungrateful to God is a sin. God commands us to be thankful. I know have been blessed at times and never gave thanks to God. Looking back at all of those times makes me feel ashamed.

I am loved, I can feel it. This song takes me back to my days in Sunday School & Bible School. It is one of my favorite songs to this day.

Jesus Loves Me

Jesus loves me! This I know,
For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to Him belong;
They are weak, but He is strong.

Refrain:
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me! This I know,
As He loved so long ago,
Taking children on His knee,
Saying, “Let them come to Me.”

Jesus loves me still today,
Walking with me on my way,
Wanting as a friend to give
Light and love to all who live.

Jesus loves me! He who died
Heaven’s gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin,
Let His little child come in.

Jesus loves me! He will stay
Close beside me all the way;
Thou hast bled and died for me,
I will henceforth live for Thee.

How many of you are singing or humming this song now? Hee, Hee!

I would love to hear from you about how you give thanks to God. Just share in the comments below.