The day after Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the years. It is the day where the Christmas decorations get put out in my house. Woo hoo! Christmas music has been playing for the last month and now today the season will officially begin. I remember years gone by where I would get up in the middle of the night to go shopping for those 'special' presents for the kids. Praise God those years are over! Now the shopping is done before Thanksgiving even happens. Another part of the day after Thanksgiving I love is having leftovers. I loved hearing my 'church Annabelle' say yesterday how she was so full but 'there's always room for dessert!' We tease that she is like me in so many ways and eating is definitely one of them. LOL. She also blessed me with telling me I was the best pastor/grandma ever! She melts my heart! I love the memories made yesterday with those who gathered around my table. I loved hearing the laughter and chatter that happened. I was so sad Rickey was unable to be with us. He would have loved being here. Holidays can be so hard when you are alone, have turmoil in your family, are missing family members due to death, etc. This year there were many unable to be together with family and friends due to COVID. My heart breaks for them. During the night I was awake many times praising and praying. I praised God for all the blessings of yesterday and prayed for many going through 'tough' days. I praised God for the way He listens when we pray and answers our prayers in the best way possible for us. I praised Him for the aches of my body because they are with me because of doing what I love to do and that is love on people. I praised Him for the yummy food He provided and prayed for those who are doing without. I praised Him for the hostess gift Alex sent me by Cait. He knows me well. The message he sent was that he couldn't see putting money into flowers so he bought me my Vitamin water. Smart man! I would much rather have something usable than something that is going to die. I remember having a delivery from a florist on my thirteenth birthday. Bob and Merrill sent me flowers for becoming a teenager. They knew life had been 'tough' and wanted me to feel loved. I was so excited to receive flowers and the daisies lasted a long time but I was sad when they died. There are always disappointments in life but we do not have to live there. When we allow God to guide us, He will take those disappointments and bless us through them. Psalm 37:4 came to my mind this morning. In the NIV it reads, Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. In the MSG the last part of this verse reads, Keep company with God, get in on the best. Woo hoo! Praise God! Verse three tells us to trust Him. That is critical if we want to live in His will. The more we trust, the more our faith will grow. Praise His Holy Name! Forty-one years ago on the day after Thanksgiving my first born came into this world. Due to the circumstances of his birth we both came close to dying. God had other plans for both of us and continues to work in both of our lives. God was adamant Paul was to move to Texas. God was adamant we were to move to South Carolina. The walk of obedience does not always make sense in our humanness but it always makes sense in a God way. Woo hoo! I love the words to "Day By Day" that Point of Grace sings...
Give me a mission if I've still got the time
'Cause I'm open, yeah I'm open
Be my vision and I'll be your delight
'Cause I'm goin' wherever you're goin'
Turning faces into the light
And I can't wait to fall at your glory
On my face, god of the morning
You're coming closer day by day
Dear Jesus, Thank You for blessing me in abundance yesterday with part of my tribe gathering in my home! Thank You for Clay, Jo Ann, Jack, Paula, Cait, and the kids celebrating Thanksgiving with me! As Paula said, 'We are family!' Thank You for Ofie and Lisa who spent the day with my Momma! I sure didn't want her to be alone. Lord, cleanse me so You can fill me to overflowing with more of You. I pray people will see/hear You instead of me today. I'm excited to get out the Christmas decorations. Thank You for Elizabeth and Rebecca who put them up last year for me when I was unable! Thank You for all of the times during the night You woke me to praise and pray! There are so many hurting people and I pray they will seek Your peace and Your strength. My Momma; my sisters Linda, Sally, and Mary; Ben and Colleen; Tony and Madeline; Pete and Delores; Cait; Norma Hall; Carrie; Little Jensen who needs a heart; many with COVID; Tisha's Daddy; Owen; Sharon Sebolt; Pottenger Famly; Serena's husband; Tim and Kathy Kilgore; some young ladies with anxiety; a man in rehab for anger issues; a young man out of rehab who needs strength in his daily walk; a teen in a volatile home situation; a husband/father separated from his wife; and many others. I pray today will be the day Rickey begins to feel better. Lord, be so near to him. I also pray healing prayers over many who are recuperating from surgery and/or having treatments for 'c' and those dealing with diseases. JoAnn; Donald; Kate; Mike; Little Ivy; my pastor friend who finished radiation this week; Doug and Gay; Sharon's daughter Ashley and niece Amy; Chrissy's cousin; George and Sharon; a breast cancer survivor that had something show on CT scan; and two friends waiting on test results for their husbands. I pray for Your loving arms to wrap around Pastor Brenda and her family with the loss of their nephew. Lord, be so close to all. May we all remember to be thankful every day not just on Thanksgiving Day. May we all remember Your love is showering down upon us just as the rain is coming down now. Thank You Jesus for being My Company! Amen.
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