Thankful Thursday #13

 
This week...
1. I am thankful that I can pray to God anytime, anywhere, and about anything.  I'm so glad that He never gets tired of listening to our prayers.  I love the fact that our line of communication with Him is always open/available...24/7!  "Pray continually." 1 Thessalonians 5:17  "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:16

2. I am thankful for rest...for sleep.  I am thankful that I hardly ever have trouble falling asleep.  I am very grateful that I can lay all my burdens at the feet of Jesus and rest in Him.  "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28  "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens." Psalm 68:19

3. I am thankful that all my children enjoy reading.  I think once children learn how to read and acquire a love of reading, they can pretty much learn about anything they are interested in. 

4. I am thankful for soldiers and police officers who work tirelessly and sacrifice courageously to protect us.  Let's remember to pray for their safety and for their families.

5. I am thankful for God's protection (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual).  Whenever I look back at my past, I am so grateful to still be alive today :).  I fell into a manhole when I was little.  I desperately begged my mom to stop choking my neck/suffocating me (she was distraught about her failed marriage and temporarily was not in her right mind).  I almost drowned once.  I was close to getting run over by a vehicle several times (if you ever try to cross the streets in Bangkok, Thailand, you will understand why).  In Thailand, I traveled to school by bus and it's always crowded on buses; therefore, I usually ended up standing on the bus' steps (sometimes with one of my feet and/or part of my body hanging out into the traffic).  I had a high fever of 107 degrees F; my husband took me to the emergency room and the doctor there misdiagnosed me...(thinking that the fever was caused by heat exhaustion but I actually had a kidney infection).  I am sure there have been many more incidents that the Lord has protected me (even without my knowledge).  Regarding spiritual warfare, I am thankful that the battle belongs to the Lord, that He is on our side, and that He has given us the full armor for our protection.

"Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Ephesians 6:11-17

P.S. I'm hosting a giveaway (4 free movie tickets) on my HSB blog. The deadline is this Saturday. Hope you will stop by and enter :)!