I'm thankful.....

*most of all for the precious blood of Jesus that was shed for the remission of sins. How marvelous is His great salvation that was bestowed to us.

*for chocolate and fruit ..... as served at our friend's 40th birthday party. It was wonderful to see friends we hadn't seen in awhile. I like chocolate but I try to eat it in moderation. If I eat too much, it zaps the strength or iron out of me so I try to stay away from it. I'm not like my DJ friend who eats it every day.

*for our daughters and the friends they have chosen. Some of their best friends are cousins. I am thankful for our Godly heritage and will never forget to be thankful for it.  How is it that I have been blessed like this while others have gone through hell on earth?

*for my dear great aunt who is in her 90's. She is quite the lady. Her grandson celebrated the big 40.

*for my uncle who is in his 80's and for my dad. I found it amusing that they were both conversing like this in the same position. Grant it, this was no pose.

*for my mom and my aunt. They are two very sweet ladies.

*for another uncle and aunt. I wish they could each write a book. They've been around, let me tell you. They have lots of stories to tell.

*for family time on the porch...

...while the boys tried to get away with being on the roof...

...and the girls came back from a walk.

*for sisters, nieces, and nephews.

*for soft pretzels and the joy of helping each other.

*for the gift of marriage. We have an awesome relationship. That indeed is something to be very grateful for.
Faithfulness and one man, one woman for life is God's plan and it's awesome!

*for a table full of little ones. One day they will all grow up so we're enjoying them while they're young.

*for my outgoing niece who adds spice to life.

*I'm thankful that my aunt, Mom, and children who were with me when our vehicle gave me trouble. We had brunch at my sister's house and were planning to shop Ollie's.

First thing my truck wouldn't start. We got the jumping cables and put it on the one battery. Nothing happened. Then we saw the other battery, hooked the cables to it, and we got it started.

Second, we went in the opposite direction for fuel because I don't care for that one truck stop. I kept it running while I fueled up so we wouldn't have to jump it again.

We left the parking lot and I heard this click, click, click. And the lights went blink, blink, blink. So I pulled off at a trucking place. Right next door was a garage. I thanked the Lord for His mercies.

My sister picked us up. The truck was done by the next moring. It was the alternator. If the vehicle was going to break down like it did, then it was at the perfect place.

So I again thank the Lord for being so good to us. It was better than have a break down in the city. God is good!

These were ways to pass the 30 minutes of waiting time.........

*for the privilege of holding a precious healthy nephew.

*for corn and plenty of food to eat. I'm also thankful for farmers.

*Though I'm thankful for farmers, we didn't care for the 'fresh country air' our last 3 days in PA. We spent the second week of November there. Every farmer and their brother were cleaning out their manure pits. It was rank. It had been awhile that we smelled that stuff. But it is wonderful fertilizer for the ground in prep of next year's planting, so why complain?

*for the sight of sea gulls.

*that we have modern conveniences to get around.

*for the color red!

*for lovely valleys and mountains.

*for fresh country mountain air.

*The thankful list is inexhaustible.

How to know you're blessed:

1. If you own just one Bible, you are blessed, as one-third of the world does not have access to one.

2. If you've never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture or the pangs of starvation, you are blessed ... 500 million people around the world do.

3. If you attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death, you are more blessed than 3 billion people of the world.

4. If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are blessed. You are richer than 75 percent of this world.

5. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet and spare change in a dish somewhere, you are among the 8 percent of the world's wealthiest.

6. If you can read this message, you're more blessed than more than 2 billion people in the world who cannot read anything at all.

I don't know why God allowed me to be reared in the Christian home I was. I could have been born to alcoholics, used in the sex trade, abused, been born in a third world country, or been driven to evil and landed in jail, but God sent me here.

What am I doing with my life? Will I be available to those hurting and in need of the Gospel? My first priority is to shine the Light for my family so that they will have a desire to live for Christ instead of throwing it all away.

I once asked a Christian friend who had been brought up in a worldly home how I should view my heritage. He said, "BE THANKFUL." I won't forget those words.

I feel so unworthy, but none of us can help what home we were brought up in. We need to be used of God exactly where He has placed us, in whatever circumstance we're in. We are no accident! God has put each of us exactly where He planned.