Dear Brian, Jill, all the Daily Audio Bible staff and DAB-bers,
First, and foremost, I want to thank God for being God! Thank Him for His sovereignty. Thank Him for being all knowing and all seeing. Thank you Jesus for loving us soooooooooooooo much that you died us and now….Thank you Jesus for sitting on the right hand of the Father interceding for us.
Hello Daily Audio Bible old and new followers. I can not praise God enough! God is good! Praise God!
There are those who see the glass half full and those who see it half empty. DAB-bers, the glass is ALWAYS full. Sometimes, in our “humanness”, we don’ see it that way, until we step back, be still and take an “eagle-eye” look at the situation. In other words “reframe”. Then we realize, we have everything we need, The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit, other Christ followers and angels on assignment(s).
Recently, when I have gone out shopping, I have heard several cashiers exclaiming, while bagging my purchase, that they can’t wait for 2016 to be over. I am cut off guard and quite surprised at the “Doom and Gloom” comment. Are they really stating that the entire year , that’s not already finished, has be a total disaster? The statement surprises me because I anticipate cashiers being more positive, when I go shopping. I don’t ask them to elaborate too much, being respectful of people behind me wanting to check out in a timely fashion, I simply say, ” I am sorry that 2016 has not been a good year for you but it’s really a matter of perspective. It has been a great year for me and my family. I pray that next year will be better, even tomorrow…it is not here yet, why wait for next year?”
On that note, I would like to share, a little, how 2016 has been a wonderful year of blessings on top of blessings for me and my family. It has been a year of love, growth and hope.
Starting in January 2016, John, my husband, and I found ourselves continually adjusting to being exceedingly and abundantly blessed and favored by God to wake up every morning to a 180 degree panoramic view of the Cascade Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. We have only lived on Camano Island a year. We truly thank God for delivering us from the long cold winters, wet springs, hot humid summers and the economically depressed Midwest. It is exciting to see the colors of the sky and ocean here on the island; they are forever changing giving us a non-stop cinematic picture of beauty and wonder. I thank God that I am a housewife. Consequently, I am able to stay at home and enjoy God’s beautiful creations…from the hummingbirds to the eagles. Ha ha ha! :-))
(While eating breakfast before church, three Sundays ago, God blessed us to see two Gray whales swimming back and forth in the ocean. Ha ha :-)). That was an exhilarating sight! Gee are they BIG and swim so FAST! Ha ha ha!)
I praise God and thank Him for my two new straight knees. For the first time in my adult life, I have straight legs and both feet completely touch the floor. PRAISE GOD!
I praise Him that my body is getting adjusted to me being an inch taller because of my new knees. After the last knee was replaced on December 3rd, 2015, I experienced vertigo and began having difficulty ambulating. At the initial appointment, he neurologist explained that he was specifically looking for signs of Multiple Sclerosis based upon my symptoms. He also stated that as the body ages, it is normal to have dark matter (dead areas) in the central part of your brain. The test results showed that my brain was “like a new born baby” clear as a whistle! Praise God! God is GOOD! The neurologist wrote, on my follow up office visit, that my brain is in “PRISTINE CONDITION.” He gave me the F/U papers and I have them on my “Answered Prayer Wall.” Hallelujah! The neurologist said that my brain and my body just needs time to adjust to one another. The Devil is a liar! No Alzheimer, senile dementia or Multiple Sclerosis here. Ha ha ha. Take THAT one-two-punch Devil! Ha ha! I praise God, in advance and right now, that my brain is understanding that everything is OK and that I am/will walk without difficulty.
I thank and praise the Lord for our garden. Earlier this year, I shared with you guys that we had received lots of flowers for our yard. This blessing continued well past that posting. This year, John and I received well over $3000 retail worth of flowers, trees and plants for our home for FREE! God IS truly amazing!
I thank God that we have been able to garden every month of this year which is a new experience for us Midwesterner and Vermonter. Thank God for the joy He has given us in this. Ha ha! We praised God that we were able to mow our lawn in February. Ha ha ha ha!
I thank God for all the kinds of plants that we have been able to grow here, plants that I only dreamed about one day owning. Flashback: When I was a little girl, I remembered being fascinated about the formation of citrus pulp and why it was it was so sweet and delicious. I was curious how oranges, lemons and grapefruit grew. Now, the Lord has blessed me (us) with two (2) Ruby Red Grapefruit trees, two (2) Meyer Lemon trees, one(1) Clementine tree, two (2) Washington Navel Orange tree and one (1) Behr Lime Tree. Currently, all but one Meyer Lemon tree and one Washington Navel Orange tree are in the house. We are looking forward to eating our very own lemons right off the tree from inside our dining area. Ha ha!
Although I have heard lots of prayers for troubled marriages, I praise God for the Holy Spirit assisting my husband and in exercising the Fruit of The Holy Spirit and to utilize our communication skills to break through and learn to respect and love one another in a manner that worships and honors God. Thank God for this blessing filled with hope, growth and love. As a testimony to this, on December 26th, my husband, surprised me. He said he believed I needed a vacation and that he was looking at a Mexican Riviera cruise. He asked me if I would like to go to the Mexican Riviera? I told him,”YES!” Now we are booked for a seven day seven night cruise to the Mexican Riviera. I’ve been playing Smokey Robinson’s “Cruisin'” ever since. Praise God for the Holy Spirit leading him to the truth that I needed a break. Praise God that my husband is getting to know me better day by day. AMEN!!! Thank you Jesus. Ha ha ha!
I thank God for answered prayer concerning better communication from our youngest daughter and son. Praise God! God IS a God of reconciliation. Amen! Praise God! We thank Him that His Word does not return to Him void but accomplishes what it is set out to do. We thank God for honoring His Word, for His faithfulness and for His mercy and grace. Thank you Jesus. We are looking forward to a mature and closer relationship with our three children in 2017.
For our oldest daughter, Katy, we thank God for her completing her doctorate dissertation and moving forward with interviews for next year. However, we never want her to forget “who” it is that has brought her to this level thus far. ONLY THE LORD!!! We thank God that He has shown her favor with man. We praise God for the purpose that God has for her life and the life of all our children.
I thank God for our wonderful faithful church family and lovely neighbors.
We DAB-bers , trust me I could go on and on and on and on…… 🙂 Ha ha ha! These were just a few of the many blessings that God has graced us with this year. There are soooooooooooooooooo many more. And I just can’t praise Him enough.
God bless you DAB-bers, may you reflect and thank God for His presence in every area of your life this year. Pray for a closer and more intimate relationship with God. Study His Word. Pray His Word. Turn you life in every area over to the Lord. Prayer for your lost loved one(s) that they submit, repent and turn ALL areas of their lives over to Almighty God forever more. If you need this prayer for yourself, go right ahead and talk to God and pray about it. Remember …keep in mind that some things only change/come about by prayer and fasting. And remember some of these things are only “tests.” They show you where you are at in your walk with God and they help you to grow! Praise God. And aid you to have a testimony to help others to grow and make disciples of men. Ha ha! Thank God for the tests.
One of my “big” prayers is that there be more “Titus 2” women. DAB-ber women we must show that we are not conformed to this world nor will we compromise to a Hollywood/tabloid/social media version of what we “should” be or how we should be living. AMEN!
By all means DO NOT FORGET to PRAISE GOD and THANK HIM for EVERY THING.
Love you and have a blessed rest of your year, today and everyday of the following every year.
Love you,
Kathy