“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.” ~ Philippians 1:27-30 (ESV – emphasis mine)
Paul’s letter to the Philippians has always been my favorite book of the Bible. First of all, it is a short letter to the believers so it is easy to remember passages from it. My favorite part? It is full of encouragement, not only for the Philippians back in Paul’s time, but also for us – the ‘contemporary’ Christian. When you have some time, I encourage you to memorize some Scripture passages from Philippians. Believe me; it can come in handy 😉 …
Today I am thankful for God’s life-giving words penned by Paul …
- Thank You Lord that although I might ‘suffer’ some set-backs in life, I am comforted that I am not the only one who might be attack by the enemy…
- Thank You Lord for my beloved husband. It is so wonderful that my beloved shares his passion of photography with me; showing me a new side of life. It helps me to see Your marvelous creation in a new light…
- Thank You Lord for the friends You have placed in my life. I want to especially thank You for my blogging sisters Laurel, Lynn, and Angie. Although all three of them have been struggling with their own bumps in the road of life; they never thought twice to encourage me, lift me up to Your throne of grace. Lord, continue to guide us, encourage each other, and keep our friendship strong. And Lord, if You see it fit, could you maybe arrange that we meet each other before we get to heaven?…
- Thank You Lord for giving me the courage to share on the WWW about Your gift of eternal life. I pray that You will help me to share more about you, not only on my blog, but in places that Your life-giving Word is needed. Help me to be bold in the name of Jesus…
- Thank You Lord for sending me little love notes when life gets me off track; when I get discouraged…
- And thank You Lord for giving my beloved and me the opportunity to leave the day-to-day life behind last weekend. Even though we only escaped the Valley for 10 hours, it was refreshing…
What are you thankful for today? Please do share with us – leave your link to your Thankful Thursday post below.
Thank you for stopping by today…Remember, when life gives your lemons, make an appointment with God to get encouraged (and your thought I would tell you to make lemonade 😀 )…
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I have to smile when I read God’s lovenotes for us. It is so true. And you had a getaway with you hub? That is awesome -and sweet. Thanks always for inspiring me.
Oh BTW, I have something for you @ Makimeji.
Oh Iris….
This is my prayer also..And Lord, if You see it fit, could you maybe arrange that we meet each other before we get to heaven?…
Oh, that the Lord would work this out…
Iris, your list today touched my heart again. Just as it always does.
Sending you a ton of love and thank you for hostessing this vital ministry of praise.
Thank you Jesus for my friend Iris. Love on her especially for me this Thursday. Amen
Oh, yes, I’m so thankful for those love notes, too. What a gift!
I love the book of Philippians too. I think I’ll read through the whole thing. God bless you!
OH Iris! I would LOVE for Him to work that out!!!! Don’t be surprised when He does…I love you sweet sister!
Iris,
I just sat down before I packed up my laptop. Car is loaded, I am worn out from the day of packing and then I read your sweet post. Girl you are the encourager! Thank you so much for your kind words. Also, I think you witness more than you know, or even realize.
Have a wonderful rest of the week.
Hugs.
Great post Iris! I got a message myself this week! I just love it. What a feeling!! You are such an inspiration! Thanks for all of your encouraging words! Happy Thankful Thursday!
Thanks for being such an encourager sweetie.
Iris,
I’m thankful for you. Thanks for hosting TT. Even through difficult times, you provide this meme for so many.
Blessings!
Cheryl
I thought you were going to say the usual “make lemonade”. 😉
I like your saying better! Thank you for hosting Thankful Thursday week after week!
It’s my first time participating in a meme! It was a rough day yesterday, so this was a good opportunity for me to change my attitude. 🙂 Thanks!
Oh yes, I’m thankful for all the love notes too! Aahh…lemonade can be so refreshing hehe…Have a blessed day!
I LOVE to get love notes from God! Thanks for the reminder that they come around more than I remember each and every day!
Iris, I am studing Philippians right now! It is such a wonderful book! So encouraging and filled with Joy!
Hi Iris, sorry I forgot to comment. Thanks for the theme today, I love it!
God’s word is Life! What a blessing!
I love the book of Philippians also! It is so rich & a wonderful encourager.
Blessings,
Tammy
Hey Iris, Thanks again for hosting TT. It’s a precious thing to me. Glad you had a time of getaway with your hubby. We so need those times together to keep the relationship fresh…whether it’s just sitting in the back yard, or driving down the road together. I jump in the car when my hubby goes to fill it up with gas. I just want to be with him. 🙂 I love Philippians too. It’s so practical for our daily lives. Blessings to you dear girl.
What a lovely and heartfelt list.
Irene, thank you so very much for hosting Thankful Thursday each week. I love the Scripture you chose and the things you were thankful for blessed my heart. God bless your thankful spirit.
Great post Iris! Have a great weekend. 🙂
Your thankful list always pleases my heart, I like it very much.
Also I like the scripture you quoted! Have a wonderful&blessed Thursday!
Its really and i feel good when i join here in Thankful Thursday…Mine is up…
Hi Iris!
I love what you wrote about God sending you “lil love notes.” LOVE NOTES from God!
I’ve been getting those alot too, and what a wonderful way to think of them…
When we can actually see the hand of God in things, it is an amazing, uplifting and exciting thing isn’t it? People are really missing out when they don’t “see” them.
Have a blessed day today!
I’m thankful for YOU!
Lea
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Iris like Paul…the sweet encouragement of Christ…life-giving from Paul to Philipi and Iris’Sting My Heart to me and all the richly blessed bloggers that come her way!
Each Thursday, (actually Wednesday night), you bring to us a grateful Thankful Thursday of great example…with or without a theme…you give thanks thru this meme…first to Our Lord…and usually have such precious words about time with your hubby…which exalts all the married to do the same & be grateful…for time spent with them…like your “get-away”!
You are an example to us also, in that you thank Our Lord even for the difficult times (because they show us where we need to grow or change) like the first thank you for setbacks…you worded so delicately, but believe me, when I am attacked by the enemy of my soul…I can hardly say I find any comfort…no matter how many others have gone through “sufferings” and perhaps some much worse than what I am experiencing or have experienced…and I guess as you concluded:
“it’s time for me to make…an appointment with God…”(lol) I love lemonade and now I know WHY! It is at times like these, I need all the strength and fight of all
the prayer warriors I can find!!! As you also, took the time to bless with your THANKS…your prayer trio…Lynn, Laurel and Angie! I don’t believe I know the last two, but I say a BIG AMEN to them and any others, but Lynn, from Spiritually Unequal Marriage ministers with love, encouragement and prayers before the throne…of that I can Thank the Lord, also for Lynn & her ministry & her sweet spirit. I’m glad that she is your friend! I love your “little love notes” and never thought about that God sends those when we’re ‘off-track’ but they always seem to well up with encouragement right when you need ’em. Your thankful list is always very personal and special! I pray that indeed the life-giving word you shared and will share in boldness brings LIFE in places it is needed. Be blessed as you bless!
Thanks for teaching us to make lemonade every Thursday, Iris. It is an important lesson.
Thanks for sharing this with us. It is such a blessing each week to read your post.
God Bless
I, too, completely enjoy the book of Philippians. So many treasures are in that short book by Paul!
Happy Thankful Thursday!
I think Thankful Thursday is a GREAT idea and I’m happy to be apart of the fun! I apologize, I didn’t type the name of my blog to my first link(#58), so I entered it on #59. You an delete the first.
I am thankful that God placed gentle, loving, wise Christian souls in my path. Thank you, Iris.
Thank you, Iris, for another lovely post. I love the book of Philippians also – it is so uplifting and encouraging, as you said.
I am so glad that you were able to get away for a bit last weekend. It is so refreshing to stop everything, even for a short while. It always helps me regain my perspective.
Blessings,
Nancy
What a great list of things to be thankful for! I also am thankful for Philippians, that book is dear to me. The Lord led me to memorize the whole book last year and I did it!! I am so proud of myself for that accomplishment. The wonderful thing is how those scriptures just pop into my mind when I need them most because I have hidden them in my heart, God’s Word is truly a treasure!
Have a glorious day!
Thank you for your TT post and I thank Him for His Word. Earlier this week I blogged about SURPRISE VISITS and isn’t it just like God to show up when we aren’t expecting it! Praise God he does…why we don’t look for Him in our difficult situations I don’t know. We pray. We beleive. BUT then we are surprised! What is up with that?
I want to also thank you for hosting this great meme every week. This week I am on a RETREAT with my hubby at the beach, but I brought my laptop so I could make sure to NOT miss TT this week. Thats how much I love sharing and reading all of the grateful hearts. We have so much to be thankful for! – God bless, Laurie
Loved this post!
I need your prayers please wherry
Thank you –
I found this today, and it was something I truly needed.
Thank you, Iris, for another inspiring Thursday. Glad to know that you’ve jumped over the bump.
Thumbs up to you and hubby!
It’s so nice to have friends who can encourage even when life is throwing them some curve balls.
Hi Iris,
Sharing the love of Jesus anywhere takes a lot of courage. You are doing a terrific job. God bless you!
Sharon
I couldn’t agree more with you, Iris. Especially this week! 🙂 Thank you for the reminder that the suffering we go through here on Earth is all for HIS glory.
Abby
Hi Iris, as always I love your list and I’m inspired by your thankful heart. Philippians is one of my favorite books also. There was a period in my life when I read it every day. It really is full of encouragement.
Hi there! I just wanted to let you know how pleased I am to have found this Meme! I have added the link to my blog and really look forward to participating. Have a blessed day! ~ Tracy
By the way….your new picture on your “comments”….is sooooo pretty! Very beautiful smile! I WISH I could see it in person! Maybe one day! You look sweet in pink! (I bet purple too!)