Lord, I give thanks for Your greatness, your goodness, and your love, and I now draw near to enjoy your presence.
I know that You alone, whose name is the Lord, Are the Most High over all the earth. Psalm 83:18
Take a moment to consider God’s awesome majesty and thank Him that He loves you and wants an intimate relationship with you.
The word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Hebrews 4:12-13
O Lord, You are our Father. We are the clay; You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand. Isaiah 64:6, 8
The one who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. 1 John 2:10-11
Lord, I thank You for the living power of Your word and for the abundance of Your grace. I thank You for creating and loving me, and I ask that I would grow in love for others.
O Lord, I am deeply grateful for Your wonderful acts, for Your abundant promises, and for the gift of my relationship with You through the birth, life, death and resurrection of Christ.
We give thanks to You, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign. Revelation 11:17
Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever, For wisdom and power belong to You. You change the times and the seasons; You raise up kings and depose them. You give wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding. You reveal deep and hidden things; You know what is in the darkness, And light dwells with You. Daniel 2:20-22
Take a moment to express your gratitude for the many blessings that you have received from the Lord.
You are the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy. You live in a high and holy place but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. Isaiah 57:15
Blessed be the Lord; day by day He bears our burdens, the God of our salvation. Our God is the God of salvation, and to God the Lord belongs escape from death. Psalm 68:19-20
Lord, I thank You for reviving the spirit of the lowly and for raising Your Son from the dead. I thank You for bearing my burdens, and I ask that I would seek to serve Christ by loving others.
God, I want Your Word to be deeply implanted in me so that I not only know the truth, but also express it in the way I live.
The Lord is my portion and my inheritance. Numbers 18:20
The steps of a man are ordered by the Lord, And He will delight in his way; Though he stumbles, he will not be cast down, For the Lord upholds him with His hand. Psalm 37:23-24
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the furthest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me; Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will cover me,” even the night will be light around me. The darkness is not dark to You, and the night shines as the day; darkness and light are alike to You. Psalm 139:7-12
God lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. Psalm 40:2-3
My love must be sincere. I will hate what is evil and cling to what is good. Romans 12:9
Take a moment to affirm the truth of these words from Scripture and ask God to make them a growing reality in your life.
Lord, I thank You that You are always with me and that You sent Your Son to give me the gift of eternal life. I thank You for putting a new song in my mouth, and I ask that I would cast off the works of darkness and cling to what is good.
“May I meditate on Your precepts And consider Your ways. May I delight in Your statutes, And not forget Your word. Deal bountifully with Your servant, That I may live and keep Your word. Open my eyes that I may see Wonderful things from Your law.” Psalm 119:15-18
Prayer:
Lord, I thank You for Your power and for Your patience and compassion. I thank You that I have been loved by You, and I ask that I would walk in the way of love for You and for others.
Take a moment to offer this day to the Lord and ask Him for the grace to grow in your knowledge and love for Him.
“Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders You have done, and Your thoughts toward us no one can recount to You; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.” Psalm 40:5
“Direct my footsteps according to Your word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me.”Psalm 119:133
Lord, I thank You for Your beloved Son and for Your unfailing love. I thank You for Your wonderful thoughts, and I ask that I would follow Your word and walk in purity of heart.
Take a moment today to focus your mind and heart on Jesus. Give thanks for His selfless love today and for the days to come in 2024.
Gratitude can renew your mind (Roman’s 12:2) and transform the way you see your circumstances.
Gratitude…. Expressing it and surrounding yourself with it, is truly life changing. God’s Word and His promises are full of His many blessings, giving us countless reasons to voice our gratitude and thankfulness. But sometimes gratitude can feel tough to find in a world full of busyness, neglect, distractions and doubt.
My heart this Thanksgiving season is to encourage us all to grow a gratitude so that a heart of thankfulness will flourish in each of our lives. That the seeds of truth from God’s Word that are planted in our hearts, nurtured and cultivated will EXPAND our hearts. Deep roots will awaken anew the wonder of God’s blessings, the steadfastness of His love and the assurance of His faithfulness.
I hope you will join me in the coming days and weeks. Yes, I know, I should have gotten started a few days ago but here we are. Every day, Lord willing, I will post a challenge, thought, question, something to ponder and sprinkle a whole lot of Jesus and the Word of God here as we look toward Thanksgiving.
Grab a notebook, journal or a stack of paper from your printer, dry erase board, make a note in your phone💡 😂 Simply put find somewhere to write things down. Write out a prayer. Document moments of gratitude. Take note of ALL things you have to be grateful for and all the ways you see God blessing your life. Every moment. Every truth. All of this will be seeds planted that will steadily grow a more grateful heart, a faith that strengthens AND deepens AND inspires.
Ready for a new view through the window we all call real life? Not to worry, just a short share daily on my end. Want to know the truth….. If am being honest, my soul is in desperate need of refreshing and I’d love to have you alongside of me for this journey!
Finally- that beautiful view of your world through the window…. Go ahead and look. It is the same old circumstances and the same old struggles. But even in the middle of life real and hard, it is beautiful. It is YOUR story. A story of redeeming love and goodness. Something hopeful. Something praiseworthy. Something to be thankful for.
In the Bible, Paul understood suffering, hardship and difficulty. There were many times he was grasping for gratitude.
“Always give thanks in EVERYTHING.” Ephesians 5:20
Romans 12:2 speaks to the renewing of our mind can transform the way we see our circumstances. No matter the view.
Hope and a heart of gratitude….. in spite of our circumstances.
Pause this moment- Take a deep breath and refocus your attention on God. Tell Him who He is in your life, what He has done for you, what you love about Him and why you are grateful.
Gratitude transforms us. Hope you’ll join me!!
“Fix your eyes on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out.” Romans 12:2
Have been worshipping LOUD over here on Hardin Rd today. Check out this amazing song called Gratitude!! 👇
This room holds so many sweet memories. We purchased our little plot of land in the mid 90’s, built our home in 1998 and it would become our forever home after Monty’s retirement from the US Air Force in 1999.
This was our Ashley’s room and a little differently decorated for our busy high schooler. Truth is, it changed very little through the years. High school. College. Purchasing her first home. Securing a career that she was made for. Finding the love of her life. Marriage. The same….. that is until we welcomed our first grandchild Mason Blake into our tribe.
New paint. The daybed with trundle replaced by a crib for our grandson. Every new grand-baby to come Emma Mae, Abbey Glenn, Nolan Edison and William Tyler have slept peacefully beneath our beloved family tree. The room has held such fullness of love for our #tribeoffive Surely, this room filled with toys and a toddler bed became a mainstay of our every day.
To everything there is a season. Monty’s 90 year old mom’s health had been failing over the last couple months. She was in a place where we felt it was time to bring her to our home. She agreed it was time and for the best. So, we needed our 4th bedroom to be with us upstairs, which meant moving the playroom downstairs.
So after the flip-flop of rooms was complete, we moved Bobbie in. She now enjoys a beautiful bedroom fitted with her childhood bedroom set and lovingly says it feels like home. A special thank you to my sister-in-law Dianne for helping me sort through clothing and putting things away.
We have spent many hours making her room feel special. Today, we were finally able to get the curtains up, adjusted her heated throw, managed all of her special things and put the family pictures in the places she wanted them. We would not have it any other way. We will forever cherish the memory of this new and beautiful journey!
Early spring of this year Bobbie battled breast cancer. She has been doing well but we have sadly learned that her cancer has spread. Not the news we wanted to hear but she is so happy, at peace, comfortable, safe, enjoys the porches on warmer days, loves it when friends stop by, family are in and out and we have found a beautiful rhythm for her (our) days over here on Hardin Rd. We will forever be chasing sunsets and tonight the beginnings of this day’s end did not disappoint.
Today, we met with workers who will help us navigate her life and health in the weeks and months to come for as long as the Lord wills. We find rest in knowing that God has ordered the number of her days. And so we are settling in, believing God for peace, His perfect will and comfort over the days that she have been given.
We know that God is with us all in every season of our lives. When we face the unknown, we can trust that He is in control and working out every situation for our good. She has led us well, is at peace with God and it is our joy to walk alongside of God’s beloved. He has been so good to her and she gives thanks daily for His faithfulness.
In Isaiah 46:4, God speaks over His beloved Israel- We know He is the same God. The same yesterday, today and forever. His love and compassions never ceases. What an incredible truth to know as we face the end of our days.
To these words we cling.
“I’ve been carrying you on my back from the day you were born. And I’ll keep on carrying you when you’re old. I’ll be there, bearing you when you’re old and gray. I’ve done it and will keep on doing it, carrying you on my back.” Isaiah 46:4
Simple Life Heartenings 
You must be logged in to post a comment.