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Thankful Thursday ~ Godly Women

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
(Colossians 3:17 ESV)

There are many women in my life that keep me on the narrow and straight path. One of my favorite group of ladies are the ladies of Laced with Grace. Our devotional site has been running since 2006. Although we have had some changes over the years, God always finds women that are willing to share their faith openly on the world-wide-web. The ladies write from their hearts, and share their struggles of everyday life. We are not perfect by any means, but we look to the One Who is perfect, Jesus Christ.

I am also thankful for my friend Lori in Florida, who always encourages me; no matter what is going on in my life. Oh, and my other friend Lori I have the honor to work with. Both know me on my good and not-so-good days. It is good to have women like that in my life.

I am thankful for godly authors. Especially I am thankful for Beth Moore. I think that she has had the biggest influence in my Christian walk. I pray that one day she will come back to Arizona for a conference. I remember at the first conference I went to; I wept like a baby. My favorite book by Beth Moore is “Believing God”. And I am very thankful that I was able to download the book to my Nook for free this week (cannot find the hard copy book I have somewhere around my house 🙁 )

What are you thankful for this week? Please do share with us by leaving a link to your Thankful Thursday post below. By the way, I will be your hostess for the entire year of 2014. I hope you do not mind that.

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: surround yourself with godly women that will keep you on the narrow and straight path.

Love & peace,
Iris

Thankful Thursday Participants

1. Memorizing Scripture Helps and Much More!
2. Ruth A Stiles
3. LaughingLady		 4. Daily Journey
5. Just the Invitation
6. Bp		 7. lorig: Reflecting and Dreaming
8. Mary

Learn more about Thankful Thursday here.

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Happy New Year – 2014 – Courage

Courage for 2014

Here we are again; a new year and a clean slate. But then again, do we not get a clean slate every single day? Why is it so different on January 1st? Many people make resolutions for the new year. I have stopped that several years ago. You know why? Because if I make resolutions I will brake them within a month. I know myself too well.

One thing I do though every single year: I search for a word that will guide me through the year. This year, the word is courage. Guess what, I am not the only one with that word. I was happy that my friend Joan (also a co-writer at Laced with Grace) has the same word. How awesome is that?!?

Over the last couple of days I contemplated about the word courage. What does it really mean to have courage. Wikipedia defines courage as:

“Courage is the ability and willingness to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Physical courage is courage in the face of physical pain, hardship, death, or threat of death, while moral courage is the ability to act rightly in the face of popular opposition, shame, scandal, or discouragement.”

Yes, I want to confront fear and uncertainty, and go after my dreams with full force. There are several verses in the Bible that encourage me in my journey of 2014. One of course is Joshua 1:9, my focus verse for 2014:

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
(Joshua 1:9 ESV)

The other verses that really speak to my heart this morning are from Romans 8:

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 8:37-39 ESV)

My dear friends, no matter if you make resolutions or have a plan for 2014, one thing is for sure: God will be with you wherever you go. Trust in Him and let Him guide you in 2014.

Love & peace,
Iris

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Thankful Thursday ~ Christmas with Family

I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness,
and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High.
(Psalm 7:17 ESV)

First I would like to apologize for the delay on posting Thankful Thursday with week. I had my computer shut down yesterday for Christmas with my family.

I am very thankful for the time I had with my little family. Our son was home to celebrate with us, which always make it for a great celebration.

Our son has been going through some rough times with his work right now. I can’t go into details, but one thing that made him very upset was that he was asked to work on Christmas day. And he said no, because the week before he already had worked 80 hours. He said he needed this break with his family. And I am proud of him that he stood up for himself.

It was really nice to have home! I made him his favorite food (Beef Rouladen) and that made him happy. And that is also why I was not online yesterday. I do hope you understand.

What are you thankful for this week. Please do share with us by leaving a link to your Thankful Thursday post below.

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: sometimes we just need to take a break from everything to celebrate with family.

Love & Peace,
Iris

Thankful Thursday Participants

1. Debbie @ Heart Choices
2. LaughingLady
3. FAITH
4. Made Me a Watchman		 5. Daily Journey
6. How do you “see” God?
7. Consider your way!
8. One Word To Make Your Problems Seem Smaller		 9. Natasha
10. Colors of Christmas: White, Silver, Gold & Brown

Learn more about Thankful Thursday here.

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Thankful Thursday ~ Almost Christmas

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
(Luke 2:4-7 ESV)

Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year. It always been since I was little. Although when I was a little girl, I may not have understood the entire reason of Christmas, but it has always been celebrated as Christ’s birthday. You see without Christmas, Easter is impossible. And without Easter, we have no way of reconciling with a Holy God. And that is why Christmas is my favorite of all Holidays.

I love the account of Christ’s birth in the Gospel of Luke. But I also love the account of the wise men in Matthew 2:1-12. I read the account of the visit of the wise men just today and once again I am taken by the three gifts the wise men brought to worship baby Jesus.

Have you ever noticed that the three gifts were are also part of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. This about that they brought:

And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
(Matthew 2:11 ESV – emphasis mine)

Amazing, right?!? I am not a biblical scholar, but to me this is so awesome. So, yes, I am thankful this week that Christmas is in a few days, celebrating the birth of my Lord and Savior. And I pray that my heart will be completely focused on Him.

What are you thankful for this week? Please do share with us by leaving the link to your Thankful Thursday post below.

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: without Christmas, Easter is impossible.

Love & peace,
Iris

Thankful Thursday Participants

1. Mia / Boys and Their Toys
2. Janis@Heart Filled Moments
3. One Word To Make Your Problems Seems A Gazillion Times Smaller		 4. LaughingLady
5. Daily Journey
6. When Hallmark Hijacks Joy		 7. Dawn of Redeeming Grace
8. bp

Learn more about Thankful Thursday here.

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