The Source of Gratitude

"The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love." Psalm 145:8

The Lord extends grace, He waits for us patiently, He loves us regardless of how long it takes us to see our need for Him.  Lean on Him, He can handle our issues.  Let Him be God.

Lord, please help my son, open his eyes to Your truth and love.  Help me give him over to You each day.  Give me the right words to say to him.  I love you, Jesus.  Thank you for Your faithfulness, Your promises, and Your steadfast love.  Amen.

"Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might." Daniel 2:20

God owns wisdom, it belongs to Him.  God is strength.  Trust God, He has everything under control.  He is strong, I can rely on Him.  He can make me wise and strong when I depend on Him.

Lord, thank You for this truth today.  Christian is breaking my heart, but I know You are pursuing him and I know You are in control and maybe he needs to go through some things to see clearly the plans You have for him.  I love You, Jesus for all that You are and for loving me when I am so unlovable.  Praise Your Holy name!  Amen.

"For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God?" Psalm 18:31

God is the best of everything; He is the most powerful, omnipotent, magnificent Lord, creator, King.  God is our refuge, our strength; why worry about anything, we have the Lord on our side, He takes care of us.

Lord, help me give everything over to You always, constantly.  You are above everything else and I can draw upon Your strength and rely on Your shelter.  Thank You for Your Truth and protection.  I love You.  Amen.

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

The Lord's love is constant and strong, He continually shows us mercy.  Every day is a new day, He is always faithful.  Read the Word! It brings comfort and strength!  Thank You for the Word and Your promises, Lord!

Lord Jesus, thank You for this passage today.  I need to remember these words, Your word, and meditate on it daily.  I am so thankful and grateful for this reminder of Your continual love for me and new mercies.  I love You, Jesus.  Amen.

"But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Romans 5:8

Regardless of our sin, God loves us more than we can imagine and died for us.  Cling to the cross, remember the Gospel, live the Gospel.  God loves us so much.

Lord, thank You for all the reminders of Your great love for me.  You amaze me every day, I am so unworthy.  Thank You for Your continual love and peace.  I love You, Jesus.

I am continually in awe of my Lord.  I am a wretched, dirty sinner and yet, Jesus is constantly pouring out His love and forgiveness on me.  He has been reminding me that He is faithful, trustworthy, and oh so gracious.  I am so thankful for His presence and overwhelming peace and comfort.  I am not worthy of His love and mercy, yet He gives it to me every day.  What an amazing King we serve, my ever present help in trouble.

 

 



Family's Family

"They" always say you can choose your friends but can't choose your family.  I love my family...there are some weird ones, of course, but still, they accept me the way I am.

My Grandpa, John Hardin

My Mom, Marilee, and Sister, Candy

My niece, Quen

My Aunt Barbara

My Cousin Misty

My niece, Amber

My Cousin Charity

My Aunt Pat and Uncle Lee

My Cousin Jennifer

My Uncle Rich (Dale) and Aunt Marsha

My Awesome Family

My Aunt Barbara and Uncle Chester

My Aunt Mary and Uncle Eric

Siblings: Uncle Rich, Aunt Barbara, Mom - Marilee, and Uncle Eric

My Grandma ~ Cora "Lucille" Hardin

My Grandma went home to Jesus last week, November 5th, 2014.

My grandma went home on Wednesday morning, she was one of the most amazing women I've ever known, she was a wonderful example of a Christian wife, mother, grandmother, woman. She was always kind, never spoiled us grandkids, and always had things to teach us. Some of my fondest memories are popcorn and apples, crazy 8s, fresh baked cookies (but not right before dinner, if you were starving you got a piece of bread and butter), walks to the mailbox, holding hands dancing around a small Christmas tree on the way to pick blackberries, jello with fruit or marshmallows, fancy chiffon cakes, and records on the console record player, "You can't roller skate in a buffalo herd" is my favorite. She loved jigsaw puzzles and I loved doing them with her.  She made me eat spinach once and when I started gagging she said I never had to eat it again.  She was a faithful follower of Christ and lived it better than anyone. She taught me my very first song on the piano. I am named after her "Cora" is our first name, she didn't go by it and neither do I but I am proud to share it with her. She is with Jesus and I'm so grateful God made her my grandma.

I sang at her funeral, she had always wanted me to sing "Serenaded By Angels", a southern gospel song about angels serenading you to the throne of the King.  My cousin, Jennifer and I sang Sweet Beulah Land and Shall We Gather at the River.  Grandpa so wanted me to sing "Whispering Hope" but I couldn't get it together in time.  Whispering Hope is an old hymn and is hard to find nowadays, I always remembered it in a big cream and brown colored songbook that sat on my grandparents piano and it was the only song I could really play out of that book.

As I was sitting there listening to my grandpa's pastor give the message at grandma's service I just kept thinking...tell them about Jesus, tell this family, my family, about Jesus.  And he did, he said if we wanted to see grandma again we had to be born again, had to have a relationship with Jesus Christ.  I was thankful for him and inside I wanted to stand up and preach along with him.  I told James later that at my funeral they better preach the gospel hard and give an altar call.  It's the only thing that matters....Jesus.  I hope they got it, I hope my family, extended and all, really heard Jesus preached that day.

I loved seeing all these family members I hadn't seen in so long, it was a fantastic weekend.  My grandma...a wonderful woman, full of grace and love...a life worth celebrating.

I found this sweet picture of my grandma and Cameron.  Christmas at my Aunt Barbara's house, I believe December 2004.