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I Am Thankful |
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Location: Blogs Brad's Blog |
 | | Posted by: Brad Miller | 11/25/2009 12:23 PM | Greetings!
On this day before Thanksgiving, there is plenty to be thankful for. Among them:
The doctors have decided that what caused Jim Mowrey’s episode Monday evening was an inner ear viral infection. This is great news since with medication it should be cleared up very quickly. Jim and Judy thank you for the many thoughts and prayers that came their way.
Alex Smith continues to make steady progress. He is recognizing friends and family, talking, eating on his own, walking some distance with no assistance, remembering events when showed photographs and becoming more and more himself. He still has a long way to go, is still sleeping a lot (which the doctors say is completely normal) and will undergo some extensive evaluation and therapy, but the news is good!
Good lives, long lived: this past week one of my mother’s cousins, Helen Butz, died at 95 years old, having lived a life full of love and family. Yesterday, Loni Smith’s uncle, Gordon Cooper died at 92 having lived a good life devoted to God and God’s will. We give thanks for both of these faithful witnesses and give thanks that today, they are home with God.
I would also like to tell you how thankful I am to be part of this wonderful congregation. It is a blessing to me to be in ministry with you and I look forward to the future with joy and thanksgiving.
To conclude, I would like to share something that Loni Smith shared with me earlier this week and asked if I would share it with you. And I gladly do this now:
For all the years of my life, I have been alone. Some times by choice, but mostly by alienation. Alienation, because I don't see things as most people around me see them, so therefore, I am left out of all things common. As I grew older (19-27), I realized that I had many so called friends and after close examination, I discovered that I had slowly entered into the world of sin. Then the long painful journey back to God began. So now, I find myself alone again, except this time is different. I don't mind so much because I know that God is ALWAYS with me no matter where I go. I don't have to wait for an invite or a return phone call. All I have to do is sit quietly and HE shows up! I praise Him for that! Everyday!
As this Thanksgiving season rolls around yet again, most of us will sit down with family and friends and eat until we can no more. We will have leftovers for days and eat more. We will gain a little more weight and complain about it in the days to come. I use to do the same thing until this year during the months of March thru July when I ate about 3 times a week. Not because I was fasting or wanted to loose weight, but because I did not have a thing to eat. Pantry was bare and the fridge didn't even have frost!
Then I really learned the TRUE meaning of the words Thanks Giving. For the days that I got to eat, I would look at my food with tears in my eyes and truly thank God for it, as I did not know if tomorrow I would eat again. I knew that I would never starve to death, as God promised me so, but I still had no idea when and where the next meal would come.
So when you sit down on Thursday with family and friends...stop, sit and listen. Wait for God to really show up and then tell Him how grateful you are, to be where you are, to have what you have, and then Thank Him. For He knows what we have need of even before we ask...
I thanked Him for you all!
Loni Smith
Don’t forget: THE TREES ARE HERE! Go to www.brookhavenchristian.org to sign up for your shift! Together we can make this the best, most satisfying and fulfilling tree sale ever! And don’t forget that when you bring canned goods to be donated to the Oglethorpe Food Pantry, you get a discount on your tree!
I hope to see you all Sunday as we celebrate the first Sunday of Advent. The sermon is titled “In Those Days” and the scripture is Jeremiah 33:14-16. Have a great Thanksgiving
Be peaceful,
Brad
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