Thankfulness

The magic of a thankful spirit is that it has the power to replace....

anger with love,
resentment with happiness,
fear with faith,
worry with peace,
the desire to dominate with the wish to play on a team,
self-preoccupation with concern for the needs of others,
guilt with an open door to forgiveness,
sexual impurity with honor and respect,
jealousy with joy at another's success,
lack of creativity with inspired productivity,
inferiorities with dignity,
a lack of love with an abundance of self-sharing.
Donald E. Demaray

Colossians 3:15-17 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

As I sit here in my office pondering this past year, I have been reminded with many emails, letters, phone calls, personal visits and even text messages of the roads travelled by the people of Quarry Rock this past year. I have compiled a list of many of the highlights. Some of them were joy unspeakable. Some were sadness unspeakable. And many in between. God is good....all the time. And all the time, God is good!! Here it is:

This year I.....

got involved in the prison ministry,
changed jobs,
took children horseback riding and fishing,
had children move away,
had children move back home, ( smile....)
had my marriage restored by the "Fireproof" movie,
traveled overseas,
retired,
had a baby,
lost a baby,
became a parent,
lost a parent,
got married,
lost a grandparent,
became a grandparent, (ha ha)
got promoted,
got engaged,
completed my master's degree,
got new foster kids,
was healed of cancer,
acquired a deeper love for God and the scriptures,
found family, love and acceptance at Quarry Rock!

In all of this, we will raise our hands and praise our God who gives and takes away. He is more than sufficient. Join me today in praising our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!