Happy Thanksgiving!

Shout with joy to the Lord, O earth! Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.Psalm 100: 1-5

Life has been busy here in my mountain nest in recent months. I thought I would have more free time since I became an empty nester this past summer, but the spaces previously filled with motherhood quickly became filled with new adventures that God has placed in my path. God never allows us to sit around twiddling our thumbs wondering what to do, and for that I am so very thankful. Please accept my apology for not spending as much time writing for this blog recently, and I want to thank those of you who sent e-mails. I'm seriously going to try to write for the blog on a regular basis again. I've been co-authoring a book with Nancy, who is a very dear friend of mine, and whom God has brought into my life as an answer to prayer.  God has placed a book and women's ministry on our hearts, and it has become quite time consuming. Prayers would be appreciated as we continue to follow God's leading for our book and ministry:"A New Song in my Heart." We are excited about the things God is revealing to us as we write and where he is leading us with our ministry to women. It truly is God's project, as he has directed it every step of the way and things have fallen into place in His perfect timing.

Today, as we celebrate Thanksgiving, I pray we will all take time to stop amidst the busyness and reflect on our blessings. We have so much to be grateful for. God's free gift of salvation is what I am most thankful for. To know that I belong to Him just thrills my heart! And to think that he saved a wretch like me is overwhelming. He is so merciful, and His wonderful gift of salvation is available to all who accept it.  All we need to do is admit we are sinners, believe that He died for our sins, and ask him to come into our hearts. It really is that simple! 

Though we celebrate Thanksgiving only once a year, we should live each day giving thanks for the blessings in our life. Regardless of our circumstances, if we belong to God, we have much to celebrate daily. He is enough. If we have nothing else but Him, we are indeed very blessed. I've seen some miraculous answers to prayer in my own family in recent months, and I'm so thankful that God takes that which seems impossible to us and turns it into a miracle. I've found that when God answers prayers, he never just gives us what we prayed for. He goes all out! He gives us above and beyond what we desired.  Nothing is impossible for God. I pray we will all remember that He is the God who still performs miracles, and that we will ponder his greatness as we celebrate Thanksgiving today with family and friends.


Another one of the blessings I'm thankful for is the wildlife I see on a daily basis here in the mountains.  The two little deer in the photo above were drinking water in the creek by our house. I ran to get my camera. When I came back, they had made their way to the road in front of the house with their backs to me. I figured I had missed out on getting a picture of them, because they scare so easily. I opened the front door and said, "Hello, little deer." I was pleasantly surprised when, instead of running, they stopped and looked straight at me! Isn't God's creation beautiful? 

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving day!