A Thanksgiving Devotional

Thanksgiving. A wonderful day spent with family, friends, and food. Did I mention the food??? Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. With it brings memories of going to Grandma's house, cozying up on the couch with my family to watch football, and being so stuffed you could barely walk out to your car to leave. As I child, I never really understood and appreciated the point of Thanksgiving--to give thanks. As an young adult I never really understood what to be truly thankful for. Yes, there is the obvious stuff: family, good health, a roof over our heads, working vehicles (sort of ;), etc. Those are great things to be thankful for! Thanksgiving is a great time to stop, reflect, and appreciate all of life's blessings. But if we stop there, we are missing something. Not just something...EVERYTHING that counts!

This is the perfect day, the perfect time, the perfect opportunity to thank the One who has given us everything listed above and so much more. As a not-so-young adult who has put her faith in Christ, Thanksgiving has such a deeper meaning. I am thankful that He pursued me with such a Holy zeal, I couldn't turn to the left or the right without bumping into Him. I am thankful that, at the bottom of the pit, He reached His mighty yet gentle hand and took mine as He lifted me out. I am thankful that He showed me what life everlasting looked like and gave me the opportunity to choose it. I am thankful for His faithfulness and that His grace doesn't end at Salvation. He pours it out into every aspect of my life; as a mother, a wife, a friend, a daughter, a sister and most importantly as His child. There is so much more to be thankful for. The list could go on and on but instead of filling this blog post with my stuff, I'll ask you what you are thankful for. What has He done for you? Who is He to you?

I'm sure there are many people out there who are struggling with those questions. Those who really aren't feeling that "thankful" today. Life can get treacherous. Those who are facing failing relationships, financial devastation, fading health, deepening depression, or fill you in the blank. I don't want to discount any of those things but I can tell you that you can still be thankful this Thanksgiving. It's about choices. Thankfulness isn't really a feeling but rather a choice; a decision you make not based on circumstance but hope, a resolution to find joy even through the sorrow. After all, that's what it is all about isn't it? Blog peeps, find that spark of light in the depth of darkness and hold on to it until it becomes a full out sunrise!

If you haven't experienced God's grace yet, there is no time like the present. What an awesome Thanksgiving memory to make. You will never be the same and you will never regret it. So, what are you waiting for???

Here are some verses that talk about being thankful:

1 Chronicles 16:8-12~ Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make know among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and his strength; seek His face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgements he pronounced.

Psalm 100:4~ Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

1 Corinthians 15: 57~ But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 2:14~ But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ...

1 Thessalonians 5: 16~ Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will  for you in Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 12: 28 & 29~ Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire."

The Blessing of Discipline

This week's reoccurring theme is discipline. When I say reoccurring theme I mean the repetitive message God keeps bringing to my eyes, my ears, and my heart. It comes from all directions: sermons, radio talk shows, Bible Study, conversations with friends and family, etc. Sometimes I get it, other times I chalk it up to coincidence (aka, denial).

This week God revealed something to me that is probably pretty simple, something that most of you have already grasped and understand completely. Discipline is for my own good.

How many of us have looked our kids in the eyes and have said "I love you too much to let you continue________________" or "I am disciplining you so that you will learn ______________". I know I have. And with 4 kids it happens several times a day. This Sunday, our pastor talked about teaching our children to obey us. He explained that when our children don't know how to obey and honor authority, they grow up not knowing how to honor and obey authority including the Lord God himself. I don't know about you but I want to raise respectful, other's-minded, humble kids who love the Lord with all their heart. In essence I love them, so I discipline them.

When my youngest daughter was about four or five, she had done something that required discipline (I can't remember what), so I sent her to her room and called her down a few minutes later to give her a spanking. As I turned her around I noticed her back side was lumpy and very well-padded. While she was upstairs, (knowing she was about to receive a spanking) she had stuffed her pants full of socks. 

Isn't that what we do when we try to avoid the discipline of our Father? We know we did wrong, we know the consequences, but instead of thinking "this is for our own good", we decide to pad our backside. Or, like so many children, we cry out "God, this isn't fair, you're mean!" But oh how we get it all wrong.

I admit, sometimes I will discipline in anger. I will raise my voice, threaten empty threats, and give the evil mom eye (you know the one...the one that says "you better knock it off now" without ever saying a word). God, on the other-hand, NEVER rebukes in anger but always in love. He never impulsively sends us to the corner or smacks our hands. He never raises His voice or spurts out threats that never come to fruition. Our Daddy is firm, yet gentle; unyielding, yet trustworthy. The Bible says, that we should count it a blessing when we face the Lord's discipline "because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son" ~Hebrews 12:6. The Lord's discipline is evidence that we are His children. And just as I say to my children, "I love you too much to let you do that or act that way", God lovingly looks at us and with a soft whispers says, "I love you so much that I am going to show you a different way."

So next time you face a trial or difficulty or maybe even a consequence of a bad choice, you should thank the One who loves you and desires to show you just how much. I know I will.

Here are some corresponding verses:

Deuterotomy 8:5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.

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Psalm 94:12 Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD, the man you teach from your law;

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Psalm 119:75 I know, O LORD, that your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness you have afflicted me.

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Proverbs 3:11 My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline and do not resent his rebuke,

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Proverbs 3:12 because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.

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Lamentations 3:39 Why should any living man complain when punished for his sins?

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Revelation 3:19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.

The Horrifying Case of Chippy the Chipmunk

For about 3 months now, we have entertained a chipmunk who thought our home was his. We have encountered a handful of sightings. At first the only person who saw it was my 4 year old son. He’s not prone to lie but when you hear your child say there is a chipmunk in your house, you don’t tend to believe him. I quickly realized the truth when I saw the cute little disgusting rodent scurry from the bathroom to the kitchen.

I would say that I am a pretty brave person. Doing a one and a half off of a spring board…no sweat, getting bucked off horses…a breeze, giving birth 4 times…been there, done that. But when I see that furry little creature in my house, you better believe I was on top of the closest chair in 3 seconds flat!

I feel ashamed to say that I had my husband put out Decon. I am the first one to teach my kids about taking care of God’s creatures, I promise. But the thing was in my house, scurrying about while we weren’t home or asleep. Say it with me “eeeewwww!” For all you PETA people, don’t fret. Evidently chipmunks are smarter than mice because it didn’t touch the Decon. And I thought it got the hint too because we didn’t see it for a long time….until this last weekend that is.

It all started while we were lounging around on Sunday afternoon minding our own business. We were watching football when my son (same four year old) screams, “Chipmunk! I saw it again!” It ran from the computer room to the t.v. room.  By that time, I had become accustom to random Chippy sightings so I didn’t freak out too bad. Standing up on our recliner isn’t freaking out…it is, um, just being cautious. Anyway, it ran back into the computer room. We were safe. Or so we thought.

About an hour later. Brad screams "Ok, everyone in here! We need to catch this chipmunk! It just ran to the middle of the t.v. room while I was sitting on the couch!" I've never been on a battlefield before, but I have a feeling it was a lot like our living room that night. The couch was upturned and a barrier was formed in between the computer room and the t.v. room by using anything we could find. Kasey stood behind the barrier to make sure it stood strong. MyKaila sat on top of the piano (I don't know what her job was), Keagen and MyKenzie were in the computer room ready to capture the thing when Brad scared it out of the corner. I courageously stationed myself on top of the sidetable in the t.v. room holding the lid to a trinket box. I'm sure we were a sight to see; all of us in our jammies and in our shoes (mine were lovely dress shoes) because we didn't want the chipmunk to run across our bare feet.

Brad shooed the horrific creature out of the corner and thus began the battle. He ran to the barrier, we screamed. He ran toward the piano, Kaila screamed, he ran towards Brad and the kids, they screamed (don't let him tell you any different either!). Around and around he went until he ran back into the corner. About that time my brother-in-law, Jeff, walked into our dining room....and I screamed! Apparently we didn't hear him knocking because we were screaming so loud. Jeff thought someone was being murdered so he walked into the house to investigate. Little did he know, he was walking into the crusade of the century! He probably thought I was crazy because all I could do was look at him and half laugh, half cry, "I can't do this, I can't do this!" General Brad boldly told me to pull myself together and man my station.

About that time the terrifying monster decided to come out of hiding again. The screaming resumed. Finally, our dog decided to join up and do her part. She jumped in the middle of our barricade and grabbed the beast and stunned it! Meanwhile, MyKenzie let her cat in and she immediately grabbed it and took off with it. MORE SCREAMING! Although, I had thought about killing the thing in the past, I really didn't want it to die, especially a cruel death of consumption...I promise!  The cat was not going to give up her dinner and the only thing I could do at that point was to shoo her outside. Sadly, the poor chipmunk didn't make it. And even more sadly, we didn't capture the whole ordeal on video...we would have taken the cake on AFV for sure.

Usually my blog contains a provoking thought or a lesson learned, so here it goes... beware all you chipmunks. You don't wanna mess with this family! And if you find yourself scurrying about in my house....be afraid, be VERY afraid!