Give Thanks

In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 

In everything. Wow.  So I should always be giving thanks?  Kinda sounds like, doesn't it?

Thank goodness he didn't say for everything. I'd most certainly fail every. single. day.  As it is, I have quite a ways to go in giving thanks.

What I realized in Sunday school this week, was that even when life is throwing me curveballs, I have plenty to be thankful for. 

When the kids are whining "Mommy, mommy, mommy," over and over and over again. I take a deep breath and remember. These are my little blessings from the Lord and they are healthy and precious. And I'm so very thankful for them.

When I have had it "up to here" with ignorant people at work, I take a deep breath and remember. I have a job. It pays the bills. And I'm so very thankful for it.

When I walk into my bedroom and see baskets full of laundry that needs to be folded and put away and it's 9:00 at night and all I want to do is crawl into bed and blog, I take a deep breath and remember. I am clothed and most certainly not lacking in that department. So are the kidlets. And I'm so very thankful for it. 

So, as you live from day to day, just remember how much you have to be thankful for.  The holidays have come and gone, but our thankful spirit shouldn't go, too.

Sweet Peace

It's no secret that I'm a Christian. In my other blog, I talk about God and Jesus and faith on a pretty regular basis.  I was raised in a Christian home and made a "profession of faith" as we call it when I was younger.  All of my life, I've lived a bit of a wishy washy Christian life. There were times I strayed from the Lord and lived like anything but a Christian.  Here's the thing. I've always held onto a piece of myself and never fully put my trust in Christ, that He and He alone could save me.  I know about his love. I know about his forgiveness.  But I couldn't get past me.  Despite knowing that He's the only one who could save me, I kept going back to what I did. Did I pray the "right prayer?" Did I make a change in my life? I certainly don't feel saved. So, I'd try harder. I'd pray more. I'd clean up my life a bit and hope that I'd find that peace. I even put on a good face and faked it. I could talk the talk and walk the walk and no one (but me and the Lord) would ever know the difference. 

Well, He's been working on me for the past few months and I kept putting Him off. Trying to convince myself that I was safe.  But yesterday in Sunday School, our teacher asked if anyone wanted to give their testimonies. I thought about what I would say if I volunteered and I came up empty.  I was going round and round in circles in my head, trying to think of what I could say that would convince the class that I was positive I was going to spend eternity in Heaven. Can you believe that??  I shouldn't have to convince them (much less, myself!) that I was confident in my salvation.  In that moment, I realized that I had never truly placed all my trust in Jesus. I know the facts, I know the Bible, but I'd never truly believed and trusted Him to save me.  I determined that I was settling it before I left church.

And then. . . Wow, the message that was preached in church was about salvation and it felt like it was tailored just for me. It was exactly what I needed to hear. Everything I know about Jesus and salvation that I've learned all of my life was in that message and it felt like the Lord was speaking directly to me. So, I settled it.  Yesterday morning, when the preacher invited people to go to the altar. I did. I finally placed all my trust in Him, the One who shed His blood for my sins. I realize it has absolutely nothing to do with me. It's all about Him. For the first time in my life, I have the peace I've been searching for. I've been trying so hard to live the life of a good Christian, so that I could feel that peace. And then, just like that, He gave it to me.

If you have any questions or you want to talk about it, feel free to shoot me an email at havebreakfastwithtiffany@yahoo.com!