Day 365 of Giving Thanks

I am richly blessed.

I am thankful for the whole of God’s Word, and for the love He has for extended this ordinary woman, on an extraordinary journey. Three hundred, sixty-five days of writing what God gives me each day to be thankful for has been the most precious gift I have ever received, second, of course, to the gift of eternity.

On this day, which marks a pretty amazing milestone, I want to share some tid-bits of my life’s lessons. I pray that the Lord works in your life – that whatever gift God has for you will be revealed, and you too can realize how much hope and joy is in store for you, no matter the circumstance.

And, I can truly say the theme of my life can be summarized with one prayer that I have repeated over and over – “Lord, I am ready for my dream, if I am not ready, please continue to prepare me.”

Day 211 – “With a heart filled with hope, I came before the throne of the Lord and asked for forgiveness, acknowledged that sin is a part of me and I am unworthy in my current state to be in His presence. I accepted Christ’s gift of blood, which would cover me completely so I could bow before the thrown, pure and clean. Today, I am grateful that this journey of really getting to know who I bowed to on that day is. Knowing, today, that without His allowing storms in my life, disappointment and hardship, He would not be who He is to me today without all that.”

Day 59 – “I am thankful today for other people who can pick up the ball and run when I cannot.”

Day 230 - “I am here to tell you, that it is not what God had in mind for me; it is when I started listening to Him, and not others that the truth set me free. It is when the opinions, thoughts and instructions of others are none of my business.”

Day 127 - Someone asked me once, “Do you believe in miracles? You know, like the ones in the bible?” And, my answer at the time was, “not sure”. What is a miracle? Is it walking on water? Is it, finally understanding something that for years escaped you? Can it be finding yourself at peace and forgiving, when those were the furthest from your heart?”

Day 213 – “My life’s verse is Psalm 139:14 – as doubts throughout my life about who I was were hindering who I could be. And, when you know all these things about the creator; that every detail of everything works perfectly, why, then would I be created any differently.”

Day 210 – ““Just because something seems impossible doesn’t mean it is” appeared the screen before the service began and the pastor said, “fresh vision”. These are things that enter my thoughts often.”

Day 61 – “Lord if I get stuck... do whatever you need to do to keep me moving, even if that means another challenge.”

Day 94 – “We live in the best country ever, with so many opportunities. Gratitude is a gift, I believe, that we give to others. When we are thankful in our lives, it rubs off on others; truly being thankful is contagious.”

Day 218 – “Lord, I am so arrogant to believe that I can be better with my own works, I pray that You will intensely highlight where pride keeps me from Your presence and from Your blessings. I pray for wisdom and humility as You identify me and as I seek You to work in me.”

Day 220 – “To my amazement (not God’s), the resources I have found or those who found me, have been completely used by God. I have said this before that I am grateful that God finds me where I am; in the times when I am seeking His voice, His comfort, His confirmation, His validation or His word for me – that I see them in the pages of in front of me.”

Day 113 – “On the road to recovery is a constant state. As I recover from a cold or whatever it is I have, I think about the word "recovery", and I know that we are all in recovery of some kind. We are all broken vessels, waiting for the hand to be placed and healing to occur.”

Day 229 – “Before God, there was me looking at life as an observer and NOW I am participant. Lord, thank you for Your awesome gift of eternity with you, hope daily, knowing the greatest love ever, laughter and joy.”

Day 53 – “A new year, a new day. What a great time of the year. I love renewal and recommitting. And, there are so many things to renew and recommit to. Priorities, so what are yours?”

Day 227 – “So today, I am grateful that I have learned to laugh at myself. And, as I make the mistakes remember that everyone makes them, and that forgiveness from me is the one I need to get first. I am grateful Lord that you have changed me and CONTINUE to change me into your likeness.”

Day 261 – “Because I was not anchored to the word, anchored to God’s promises, I was an easy catch. I was “saved” but I was drowning and being pulled under by my unbelief.”

Day 100 – “Giving Thanks Daily has made it to triple digits and counting, and this is exciting for me. This is just one area of my life that routine is pushing me to excellence. I have set daily goals in several areas of my life; spending time with God, reading for self improvement, working on my trade, doing what I say I will do (to myself), and pushing myself just a little more than I did the day before, to name a few.”

Day 55 – “I am thankful that I am continually being molded and postured for greatness. And, now we can start looking for others desiring the same.”

Day 137 – “Everything I need has nothing to do with me. I am grateful that this realization arrived about eight years ago. This realization came through a question – “do you believe in heaven?”

Day 221 – “I pictured my body, and all the stuff that has gone in, comes in and will come in. And atop this balloon is my little head. Horrifying, isn’t it?”

Day 248 – “Forgive me for not trusting when You called, and not abiding when You pleaded. I understand so much more now, but understand so little. Lord “clothe me with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.””

Day 103 – “I am thankful that my mom skills have been pretty good all along, and that I do learn from my mistakes. I am looking forward to watching from a close distance as she, someday (a long time from now, someday) does the same.”

Day 246 – “The best change is the one that happens between my ears and in my heart. How I think and what drives me, is a desire to go from good to great. And some say (I use to say), “I am OK” or “I am good”, shame on me for ever believing that. I heard today, “the enemy of great is good”.”

Day 184 – “God who is 100% trustworthy and truthful. I am grateful for His covering; and am praying that I can be grateful no matter the outcome.”

Day 232 –

“Today, put my past, my bucket of ashes into the compost.

Today, the good you have learned will germinate; think of all the pain as fertilizer.

Today, the process that began the day you were born continues.

YOU are blooming into the most amazing creation of God.”

Day 204 – “. I am grateful for all the physical and emotional pain the Lord has brought me through, because without it, I would not know Him like I do today. And, having the opportunity to be part of the most amazing team of people for the work I love, I am grateful – God, thank you for finding me here.”

Day 231 – “This morning, Hector LaMarque said “Some people believe in God, but very few know Him” – and this area I feel strongly has been my most growth recently – KNOWING God; knowing how to relate “Shawn” to God has been such a hurdle.”

Day 239 – “Lord, as I become “seaworthy”, I am grateful for Your strengthening of this vessel.”

Day 242 – “My coping mechanism was dysfunctional, and at times completely non-functional.Today, I seek God first and always – no matter where in the cycle I am; I am not afraid to ask God for help or others as I believe He directs.”

Day 262 – “Father, we are in a time of great deception in the world today, so many have been lulled to sleep by the enemy and have fight in them that is actually fighting against themselves, their eternity."

Day 229 – “Father, as I grow – I pray that I can emulate You – that my life is transformed to show how awesome You are. Today, I rest by knowing Your presence.”

Day 260 – “You see, when I was younger, I had the “tiger by the tail”, and the older I got, the more “life happened” I started to ride the tiger, than barely hang on.”

Verses that I have held onto this year:

Psalm 139:14, Psalm 100, Psalm 18:1-2, Hebrews 11:11, Jeremiah 33:3, Matthew 6:34, John 1:13, Hebrews 11:3, Galatians 5:1, Matthew 5:44-48, Numbers 6:22-27, Joshua 1:9, 2 Timothy 1:7, John 4:18 , Matthew 19:26, Psalm 91:11, 2 Chronicles 20, John 1, Ephesians 4:29, Colossians 3:3, Colossians 3:15, Genesis 1:3, Proverbs 24:3, Colossians 3:22-25, Hosea 2:14, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Matthew 6:34, Psalm 13:5-6, Psalm 13:5-6, Isaiah 50:7, Isaiah 61:10, Isaiah 61:4, Isaiah 61 (in whole), Philemon 1:22 , Isaiah 61:3, Proverbs 18:10, Isaiah 40 – oh, and so many more.