That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving,

and tell of all thy wondrous works.  Psalm 26:7

Whatever God has brought you through, isn’t that enough just to say, Thank you!, Lord? With each new day, we are given new chances, new opportunities and new assignments in life.  When we could have given up and thrown in the towel, something was pulling at us to keep going. That was God’s grace and His mercy!

Have you overcome addiction or depression?

Be thankful!

Have you survived an abusive relationship?

Be thankful!

Have you been able to restore a family relationship that was broken?

Be thankful!

Have you been healed from a sickness that left your doctors in awe?

Be thankful!

Does your heart still ache because of the death of  a loved one?

Be thankful for the time you had with them and the precious memories!

Have you been forgiven of your own transgressions and disobedience? 

Be thankful!

Tomorrow most of us will celebrate Thanksgiving with loving family and friends. We will give thanks for all the blessings God has bestowed upon us and the blessings bestowed upon those that are dear to our hearts!

Unfortunately, there will be some who will not have the benefit of being in the presence of family and friends and enjoying a delicious dinner. There will be some who will feel they are all alone in this world.   As we enter into this holiday season, there will be some who will entertain thoughts that are not of God.  They might even ask themselves, why should I be thankful?

My prayer is  they will find themselves in the presence of the Lord.  I pray that negative thoughts and despair will not overcome them.  I pray they will find hope in knowing tomorrow will bring them another new day. I pray they will yield unto the voice of God and be restored from their brokenness.  I pray they will fall on their knees and be thankful even in spite of how their situation might look to them! I pray God’s grace and mercy will be upon them and keep them safe.  I pray they know they are never alone!

I pray they will come to know and understand what is written in Jeremiah 29:11-13. This scripture states “For I know the thoughts I have for you”, declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call on me, and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

As you gather with your family and friends, please remember to pray for those who may not feel as blessed and thankful as you feel.  Let’s thank God for what He is about to do in someone else’s life today.  Someone’s tomorrow will give them new hope!  Someone is broken and is about to be restored! Let’s intercede on their behalf and be thankful because we  know what God can do!  In Jesus’ name, say Amen!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Find your hope in the Lord!

If you are in the midst of a struggle, please don’t speak that  your situation is hopeless.  Know that your hope is in God.  The word hope means to desire with expectation.  I encourage you to pray and have hope for an expected end that will make you stronger and draw you closer to God!

Psalm 62:5 says “Yes, my soul, find rest in God;

my hope comes from him.”

When I was in my brokenness and did not know how things were going to work out,  I still had hope in my heart.  I had hope that better days were in my future.  I refused to let go of knowing that God was working it out for me.  I was expecting  something from God and I knew my hope was in Him and Him alone.  Much like a child waiting for that special Christmas gift, there was always hope and anticipation.  Just like watching the sun go down in such beauty and splendor and hoping you will get another opportunity to see another beautiful sunset.

Part of my brokenness was in the relationship I did NOT have with my own mother.  I wanted to have a good relationship with her but for some reason I did not feel she shared the same desire.   When I became a mother myself, it was even more difficult for me to understand why my mother and I could not get along.  As I grew older and closer to Christ, I still had hope that before one of us left this earth He would make things right between us.   I began to ask God for three very specific things.

* I wanted to know that my mother loved me.

* I wanted my mother to know that I loved her.

* I wanted to know that I would one day see my mother again!

Maybe my mother was experiencing some brokenness when it came to her relationship with me.  After all, she had a child that died at the age of 6 just a few years before I was born.  Perhaps I was too soon a reminder of what she had been through after losing a child.  Shortly after I was born my earthly father ended his relationship with my mother.  Perhaps as she watched me grow older, I was a constant reminder of what could have been.  Perhaps I was a reminder of the pain she felt in her heart when he walked away and never returned.

As the years went by, I tried to act like the “brokenness” between my mother and me did not matter.  But deep down, I continued to hope that one day we would work things out.  There were many disappointments along the way.  This is when I started to pray more for me.  I asked God to heal my heart.  I knew I could not change my mother.  I could only hope  He would change me so I could be more loving towards my mother even in spite of the many disappointments.

My mother passed away earlier this year.  I  praise God for giving me the desires of my heart.  God restored our relationship.  During her illness my mother kept telling us that she loved each one of us.  She kept saying, ” I just want my children to know that I love them!”  I thank God for the times she was able look me in my eyes and tell me she loved me.  I truly thank Him that I was able to look right back into her eyes and tell her I loved her, too!   At each visit with her, before I would leave, we would join hands and pray together.  That was my assurance  we would one day see each other again! There was a shared hope between us that I can’t began to explain.

Where is your hope?

 Find it in the Lord!

I was Broken-2B-Restored

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Dear Lord, there is someone hurting and feeling their situation is hopeless.  God, we pray they will find their hope in You!  Dear Lord, we know that with hope in You comes peace, joy and restoration.  God, heal their brokenness.  Where there is a relationship that needs to be restored, we ask for forgiveness and healing.  Where there is a discouraging medical report,  we ask for healing in the mind, soul, body and spirit.  Where there is the loss of a loved one, we ask for peace and comfort with each passing day. Restore in your people a new hope for better days ahead. Give them a heart of hope that will allow them to rest in Your presence. In the name of Jesus, Amen!

IN LOVING MEMORY

Rosa Lee Meredith