A life filled with thanksgiving is a life filled with peace … that’s why we should be thankful! God’s Word commands us to devote ourselves to prayer and to be watchful and thankful.1 This means we are to be LOOKING for the blessings of God and thanking Him for them when we recognize them.
Several years ago, I started asking God to make me more aware of His presence as He worked in me and through and around me. Praying this way has had a profound result in my life. I have become increasingly more aware of God’s provisions, and because of that I have become a person who is FILLED with thanksgiving. At first I was surprised at how often I recognized God at work in my world, but now I have come to expect it! If I don’t see God’s blessings and provisions in a situation, I KNOW something is not right. And the flip side of that truth is that I know things ARE right when I do see God blessing. When He is blessing, I have peace … and I am encouraged to stay the course. I’m not inclined to go looking for something else to make me feel good, and in that regard my heart and mind are protected. Isn’t that exactly what the following passage says will happen?
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7 NIV)
I LOVE it when I recognize the truths of God’s Word at work in my life! I’m so thankful He taught me this lesson, and I’m thankful that I have the opportunity to share it with YOU!
No way can this Mississippi girl fit all the beauty we saw and the wonderful experiences we had on our recent 25th Wedding Anniversary trip to British Columbia, Canada into one post … so you’ll have to endure a series! Being flatlanders from the deep south, my family and I were in awe of the beautiful snowcapped mountains, the moss covered trails, and the clear blue waters of the Pacific Northwest, and the 700 plus photos we took are proof that we were abundantly impressed with God’s handiwork in the BC area. Don’t worry! I don’t plan to post ALL my photos, but I did get a few great shots I think you’ll enjoy.
After planning our anniversary trip to the BC area, God opened the doors for several ministry opportunities which I’ll share on the Rigney Ministries website, but I would like to mention here what a joy it was to meet and worship with our Canadian brothers and sisters in Christ while we were there.
Vic and Julie are our very dear friends and long time residents of British Columbia. They went out of their way to make our 25th anniversary something to remember, and what a great job they did! We lived together as family for 16 very busy, joy filled days laughing together, worshiping together, and enjoying the beauty of God’s marvelous creation together. Thank you again Julie and Vic for blessing us like you did. May God pour out His blessings on you in return.
If we look a little blurred and out of focus it’s because we were! What should have been a 14 hour trip was stretched into a whopping 24 hour trip due to bad weather and mechanical difficulties on the first leg of our journey. But once we were in the air, the weather was perfect, the fights were smooth, and after a LONG day of flying, we enjoyed the sunset from above the clouds. I took this shot just after the sun slipped below cloud horizon … beautiful isn’t it?
We finally reached our destination at midnight, and found our wonderful friends waiting to take us across the American/Canadian border. It was a surreal moment … after months of planning and hours and hours of traveling, we were on Canadian soil for the very first time! What did God have in store for us here … in relationships, in ministry, in His beautiful creation? I’ll share the story and the photos in the following posts (which I’ll be writing in the next few days):
Recently, I saw two videos of a man playing crystal water glasses. I was so amazed at the beautiful sounds coming from something so simple as glasses filled with water … I just have to share the videos with you.
The first one was a beautiful video, but I can’t embed it in my post, so I’ll have to give you a photo and a link:
I love water … it is my favorite drink! Well, to be honest coffee ranks pretty high too, but water is what I reach for most often during the day. I saw an interview with a sweet little one-hundred-year-old lady who said she had rarely ever been sick her whole life, and she declared that the secret to a long life filled with good health is WATER. She drinks a cup of hot water with every meal … hmmmm … I don’t care for much for drinking hot water, but I do agree that water is very healthful, and a tall glass of ice cold water on a hot day is VERY refreshing. The Scriptures say, “Like cold water to a weary soul, So is good news from a distant land,” (Proverbs 25:25 NASB). The Son of God came from a distant land with VERY good news … news that HE would provide a way for us to live in harmony with God, and in John chapter four, Jesus referred to himself as ‘Living Water.’ Ahhhhh … water never sounded so good!
I love good company, and I think of this blog as a big backyard BBQ with a bunch of my dearest friends standing around and carrying on about one thing or another. You're all invited guests, so your two cents is welcome here. Please participate in the conversation by leaving a comment on any post that interests you. There are 21 Posts and 54 Comments so far.
