So Much to be Thankful For!

Psalms 107:1 "O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endured forever."
Psalms 142:1-2 "I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication.     I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.

Oh give thanks. We all have so much to give thanks for, From waking up each morning, having food, clothes, a place to live, our health. So why complain?

If your going to complain, take it to the Lord in prayer. Over the last several months people have said to me, "I never hear you complain about your situation." There's a reason for that. Ps 142 I complain to him sometimes to my husband but who does it help, no one.
Therefore, though people know I'm having a bad day, or sick, or struggling rather than telling them all my woes, I try to be positive giving thanks. Giving God the Glory for all that's happened in my life.

Now, I'm human as we all are and I do sometimes complain to another. Usually when that happens I've not read my Bible or prayed about that day. So, I do my best to read my Bible an pray daily so I can grow closer to Him rather than maybe pull another down because of my negativity.

The title to this blog post is"So Much to be Thankful For." I want to share some of those things.
1. I only need two more chemo treatments rather than six!
2. I learned today I only have five weeks of radiation rather than six.
3. One of my son's recently had a battery of test, praise the Lord one of the things they tested for was cancer and they found NONE!
4. Although I have 10 months still to go of treatments, appointments, and such God has been Good to our family every step of the way.
5. My church family, several have gone above an beyond the call of duty in many areas. Providing food, visiting, texting, calling, so on an so forth. This also applies for friends who aren't in our church.

I could go on an on with what God has done through my family, friends, doctors etc. My point though is You have so much to be Thankful for that really WE/YOU have no room to complain. If you must complain do as Ps 142:1-2 says and you'll be better for it.

So as I like to say and believe more than ever
I'm Blessed Beyond Measure
and  Make Today Amazing!

Control.... Who's in control for your life?

Control - verb, to exercise restraining or directing influence over;

to have power over; to reduce the incidence or severity of..... 

Love - noun, an intense feeling of deep affection; 

a person or thing that one loves. 

I realize we know the meanings of these two words, control and love. In my topic I asked the question, "How much do you have?" How much control? See in life general we have control of our life. We control a lot of things. What happens though when things spiral out of your control? 

I'm at a point in my chemo that I have no control over a few things and it's hard! I'm use to having some or all control. I help control our finances. I help control our children. I control my kitchen LOL. I control my prayer life and Bible reading. Now there are things I don't control, such as my husband he's the head of our home and God is in control of him. I don't know when or where the mail runs, I can't control delivery time. These are things that we all know. The picture I started this post with is one I'm really having to cling to right now!!! 

Right now I'm not able to control, right now and I'm having to let the one, Jesus, be in control even though I don't won't what's happening to happen. The Bible states in, I Corinthians 11:15, "But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given her for a covering."

God gave our hair to us for a covering and so it's not in vain that I don't want to loose my hair but because God gave it to me for a purpose. 

As I mentioned in my last post I'm having Abraxane Chemo and I was told I would loss my hair possibly. Friday, 2/2/18, I started losing more than usual. I broke down in tears at the thought of this happening. Now I've not lost enough for it to be noticed but I have lost enough I notice the difference in the thickness of my hair. 

My nurse Brynn, today, told me she understood that our hair is our covering. She as well as my Pastors wife made a few suggestions for me. I will and have started working towards a few goals. Even have an appointment already with my hair dresser. Which may I say, she's an amazing lady, her care, passion, and concern for people is AMAZING!!! 

I don't have control over this situation but I can control other areas of my life just as you can. You may seem your spiraling out of control and that you have no control. Don't worry as Christians our Lord has full control. Yes, I have had to remind myself by the minute, the hour, the day, every time I look in a mirror, or run my fingers through my hair. God is in control!!! He knows that even though I can't control this time of my life, I'm not being rebellious, I'm not being some crazy person (well ha ha ha ha) just chopping my hair off. I'm thinking through things and praying about it. 

See Joshua 1:9, "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." 

My courage, strength, control isn't very strong at the moment but as long as I lean and depend on the Lord to have control of my life, let him give courage to go through this and the strength that is needed to get through I can survive no matter what. I mean after all, with the Lord I got through all the clinical trials in Boston. With Christ I got through my surgery. I got through the devastating day, January 8th, and though I was the closest to dying I've ever been, God was in control and he carried me through. I had no control but God did! 

So friend I'm working on this and doing my best not to worry about what I can't control but focusing on what I can. At the same time I'm human and worry about that which I can't control but I have and I am taking steps towards that which I can help in this next phase of my life. 

Friend another thing that you can control is your decision to trust Christ. See, we all have a choice to chose Heaven or Hell. When we chose Heaven we are then turning the control of our life over to the Lord. If we deny him we are saying I can control my own life and I don't need you Lord. Which choice are you going to make?

In May of 1988 I got full assurance of my salvation and gave the Lord full control of my life. Letting the Lord control my life is much better than me controlling it. He knows what is best for me life way better than I do. I do control things but they are things we each should control, our attitude, our mouths not speaking foul language, our eyes, not looking at that which isn't appropriate. Our feet, not going where we shouldn't go. John 3:16-17, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." 

See you are loved so much by our Lord that he gave his ONLY son!! He wasn't looking to condemn us but to save us! What an amazing thought. The Lord of the Heavens and earth loved me, YOU, so much that he Gave, not loaned, but GAVE his ONLY son so we could have eternal life. 

Friend are you going to control your life? Or are you going to give your life to God for him to control? It breaks my heart when one says No to Christ. I'm not the greatest or the best Christian, I just do what I can through Christ to serve him and be his servant doing what he would have me to do. Since that was giving my life to him to control, that is what I did, in May of 1988 I gave the Lord my heart, my soul, my life. Why don't you today, give the Lord control of your life by accepting him as your personal saviour. 

Do you have something in your life that you can't control? Give it to the Lord! Easy? no It seems for me every time I look in the mirror, brush my hair, run my fingers through my hair I'm loosing more and more control of this Journey known as cancer. BUT, at the end of my day, I can through tears know God has control. 

So, friend Make Today Amazing by giving the Lord Control!