Happy Thanksgiving!...Kingdom Living!

You guys have got me to thinkin'...and alot! Kat got me processing the concept and feeling of loneliness and feeling the absense of God in our hearts, Gayla got me thinking about the Kingdom of God and how to get there...something I've actually reflected on quite a bit, and Well Woman got me thinking on the favor and blessings of God in real life today miracles with a wonderful story she wrote about a real life experience that I encourage all of you to go read!

So, first off...I haven't been in much of a Thankful mood...I've been dreading what I have to do before driving for 6 hours after I get off work on Wednesday to go home for Thanksgiving...I don't want to go home! I love my family and there is family that isn't in the best of health and I need to see them, but I just want to stay home. I have been in hibernation mode BIG TIME! From everything...I don't know...I feel like I've lost a great big perspective on my life, gained weight and just feel yucky...so I would like to take just a few moments to give thanks...

1. I'm thankful for my life, what I've been through, where I'm at, and where I am going!
2. I'm thankful that there is a loving and Soveriegn God and He chose to make Himself known to me.
3. I'm thankful for friends and family and there imprint on my life.
4. I'm thankful for my health (including the health problems!)
5. I'm thankful for my weight...no matter how hard that is to say.
6. I'm thankful for where I work...no matter how hard that is to say.
7. I'm thankful for those who try and test me.
8. I'm thankful when I fail.
9. I'm thankful for laughter and tears.
10. I'm thankful for Little House on the Prairie and what it means to me.
11. I'm thankful for prayer...and those that pray for me.
12. I'm thankful that I can walk and talk and live in freedom.
13. I'm thankful for beauty.
14. I'm thankful for my church.
15. I'm thankful for my curly hair.
16. I'm just thankful...thankful to be here...

Now what I'm thankful for in each of you...

I'm thankful for Mary K being my Darlin Precious!
I'm thankful for Cassandra being the childhood friend I am most like in music and in thought.
I'm thankful for the Sistership and Accountability that has forged with Kat and I.
I'm thankful for Mustang Girl's care for my heart.
I'm thankful for Becca's funky joyful nature that always rubs off on me.
I'm thankful for Gayla and the deep and amazing wisdom she imparts in my life and the way she also cares for my heart.
I'm thankful for being on this journey with a woman like Becky...who lights a fire within my soul and fans the embers into flames...I am blessed.
I'm thankful for Dara and the way she lives with abandon...fighting for her dreams...something I wish I was more capable of.
I'm thankful for Layla and simply the amazing soul she is...I just feel like I've took a trip to her home and known her for years and all I've done is visit her blog.
I'm thankful for Marcia and the way she can say one thing on her blog and simply blow me away and the way she loves nature like myself...(we need to get ranches next to one another.)
I'm thankful for Carol and the way SHE LIVES it...takes my breath away.
I'm thankful for Pilot Mom...when I read her blog...I want to visit and rest in the care of her hospitality...what warmth.
I'm thankful for how JettyBetty cuts to the heart of life.
I'm thankful for Tom and just his passion and honesty.
I'm thankful for Tina and her love for her family and determination of living a life before the Lord.
I'm thankful for Deacon Sal and the way he ministers to my soul.

In closing I would like to share with you a little story....Layla made me think of an episode of Little House on the Prairie...it is about Mr. Edwards...he get trapped under a tree while trying to save his young daughter Alisha as it crashes to the ground...the tree crushes his legs. Pa and Laura come to visit and to make a long story short Mr. Edwards, Charles (Pa), and Laura decide to go hunting...Mr. Edwards intends to end his life and when Charles finds out about this he goes to the rivers edge to pray...he basically prays..."Help me Lord! Help me to reach him! He is so full of concern and pity for himself that he can't see past anything!" Just at that moment he sees a young deer nibbling on a tree branch in a rock...Charles intends to let the deer go, so he throws a rock and yells for the deer to go on, but the deer doesn't move...he fires a round off with his gun and the deer doesn't move...he realizes that this is the sacrifice...the answer to save Isaiah (Edwards)...he kills the deer and smears the blood on his shirt and makes Isaiah think he accidently shot himself and has to go for help...Isaiah begins to think of something other than himself and ends up barely running on the bummed legs to get the help his freind needs...the moral of the story...I think it speaks for itself...why I told you this story...I don't know it came to my mind and I wanted to share it with you...it is one of the great scenes in the Little House series and why I LOVE it so much!

Well, I'll be going to GA soon so this is probably the last time I'll be on here. I wish you all the happiest and loveliest Thanksgivings in the world. I'll revisit sometime next week. Keep the home fires burning while I'm gone.

Finally, I'm thankful for spell check on my computer and the lovely choice of not using it!

Kisses and Hugs!