Thankful 2012

I'm so thankful.

Though I'm the type of person who tries very hard to always say thank you to people who have blessed me (Thank you, Momma, for teaching me to be a woman who gives thanks!), or give a "thank you" note in writing (though I find this a challenge sometimes, due to my busy schedule), I am one of those people who fully realizes the futility of my efforts when it comes to thanking Almighty God, Creator of Heaven and Earth!

Yes, I do thank Him, as often as I can, whenever I think about it. But somehow, on some level, it always feels inadequate. (Couldn't the seemingly "smallest thing" on my list be expressed in thanks for an hour or more?! And the "larger things," then, for days on end?!)

It's just that I am ultra aware of the fact that I could say my thanks to God as quickly as possible, one thing after another, for as long as I should live and never even get close to exhausting the list.

But I thank Him anyway. In hope that He hears "the heart" behind it all, knows that I long to praise Him, that I recognize Him for all of it, and I do mean ALL OF IT.

My husband and child.

My step-daughters and immediate family.

My church family and church.

My job and friends at work.

My relationship with Him, a growing knowledge of Him. His patience with me.

This beautiful earth.

His amazing Plan.

His boundless Love.

For Mercy everlasting.

For the GRACE I so desperately need.

For the Word of God.

For the Holy Spirit, alive and well, today.

For Healing, Wisdom, Peace that Passes all Understanding (and it does!).

For living in me, even me, and speaking to me, nobody me, like He does.

For music and paint and laughter and babies.

For rainbows and the vibrant colors He made for us.

For nature and all of its beauty. For waterfalls and ocean sand.

For caring about all of us, humanity. Every single one of us. And for wanting a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US--JUST AS WE ARE.

(I am humbled by His love and attention. The care and concern He has for us.)

I Voted Today

I went a day early to vote.

Technically, the day to vote is tomorrow. But I couldn't wait. I wanted to get there. I wanted to cast my vote. TODAY.

I don't take voting lightly.

In America, women have only been able to vote for fewer than 100 years. As we near the 100th Anniversary of a Woman's Constitutional Right to Vote in this country, I think about how much we take for granted.

There ARE days when I take these, and other, things for granted. I grew up with the right to vote, and many other rights awarded me as a citizen of the United States of America. Many other women around the world do not share these rights, or have access to them. I don't ever want to take these things for granted.

In addition to voting rights, I want to Thank God for the right to an education, the right to have an opinion, and the right to go to church and study the Bible for myself and discuss the Bible openly with others.

Yes, the U.S.A. has many flaws and many needs. But I am thankful for this nation. And I still believe in this nation.

That's why I bother to vote.

Sure, it would be easy to dismiss the elections with a "They're all crooks, anyway" mentality, but I believe in the process. I believe in the HEART of America and Americans themselves.

That's why I bother to pray.

I pray for this nation, and I tremble to think of this nation apart from God's favor and protection and love. I believe that we could NEVER make it, apart from Him. I pray for His people, all of them, to unite together, to stand for what is right, for WHO is right. I pray for revival to spread across this nation, for generations of Americans to rediscover what it is truly like to be a Child of God.

Yes, I vote. And, yes, I pray.

With all my might.