Thorns

Sandra felt as low as the heels of her shoes as she pushed against a November gust and the florist shop door.

Her life had been easy, like a spring breeze. Then in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a minor automobile accident stole that from her.

During this Thanksgiving week she would have delivered a son. She grieved over her loss. As if that weren't enough, her husband's company threatened a transfer. Then her sister, whose holiday visit she coveted, called saying she could not come for the holiday.

Then Sandra's friend infuriated her by suggesting her grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer. She has no idea what I'm feeling, thought Sandra with a shudder.

Thanksgiving? Thankful for what? She wondered. For a careless driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended her? For an airbag that saved her life but took that of her child?

"Good afternoon, can I help you?" The shop clerk's approach startled her.

"I....I need an arrangement," stammered Sandra.

"For Thanksgiving? Do you want beautiful but ordinary, or would you like to challenge the day with a customer favorite I call the Thanksgiving "Special?" asked the shop clerk. "I'm convinced that flowers tell stories," she continued. "Are you looking for something that conveys 'gratitude' this thanksgiving?"

"Not exactly!" Sandra blurted out. "In the last five months, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong."

Sandra regretted her outburst, and was surprised when the shop clerk said, "I have the perfect arrangement for you."

Just then the shop door's small bell rang, and the shop clerk said, "Hi, Barbara...let me get your order." She politely excused herself and walked toward a small workroom, then quickly reappeared, carrying an arrangement of greenery, bows, and long-stemmed thorny roses. Except the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped: there were no flowers.

"Want this in a box?" asked the clerk.

Sandra watched for the customer's response. Was this a joke? Who would want rose stems with no flowers! She waited for laughter, but neither woman laughed.

"Yes, please," Barbara, replied with an appreciative smile. "You'd think after three years of getting the special, I wouldn't be so moved by its significance, but I can feel it right here, all over again," she said as she gently tapped her chest. And she left with her order.

"Uh," stammered Sandra, "that lady just left with, uh....she just left with no flowers!

"Right, said the clerk, "I cut off the flowers. That's the Special. I call it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet."

"Oh, come on, you can't tell me someone is willing to pay for that!" exclaimed Sandra.

"Barbara came into the shop three years ago feeling much like you feel today," explained the clerk. "She thought she had very little to be thankful for. She had lost her father to cancer, the family business was failing, her son was into drugs, and she was facing major surgery."

"That same year I had lost my husband," continued the clerk, "and for the first time in my life, had just spent the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband, no family nearby, and too great a debt to allow any travel."

"So what did you do?" asked Sandra.

"I learned to be thankful for thorns," answered the clerk quietly. "I've always thanked God for the good things in my life and never questioned the good things that happened to me, but when bad stuff hit, did I ever ask questions! It took time for me to learn that dark times are important. I have always enjoyed the 'flowers' of life, but it took thorns to show me the beauty of God's comfort. You know, the Bible says that God comforts us when we're afflicted, and from His consolation we learn to comfort others."

Sandra sucked in her breath as she thought about the very thing her friend had tried to tell her. "I guess the truth is I don't want comfort. I've lost a baby and I'm angry with God."

Just then someone else walked in the shop. "Hey, Phil!" shouted the clerk to the balding, rotund man.

"My wife sent me in to get our usual Thanksgiving Special....12 thorny, long-stemmed stems!" laughed Phil as the clerk handed him a tissue-wrapped arrangement from the refrigerator.

"Those are for your wife?" asked Sandra incredulously. "Do you mind me asking why she wants something that looks like that?"

"No...I'm glad you asked," Phil replied. "Four years ago my wife and I nearly divorced. After forty years, we were in a real mess, but with the Lord's grace and guidance, we slogged through problem after problem. He rescued our marriage. Jenny here (the clerk) told me she kept a vase of rose stems to remind her of what she learned from "thorny" times, and that was good enough for me. I took home some of those stems. My wife and I decided to label each one for a specific "problem" and give thanks for what that problem taught us."

As Phil paid the clerk, he said to Sandra, "I highly recommend the Special!"

"I don't know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life." Sandra said. "It's all too...fresh."

"Well," the clerk replied carefully, "my experience has shown me that thorns make roses more precious. We treasure God's providential care more during trouble than at any other time. Remember, it was a crown of thorns that Jesus wore so we might know His love. Don't resent the thorns."

Tears rolled down Sandra's cheeks. For the first time since the accident, she loosened her grip on resentment. "I'll take those twelve long-stemmed thorns, please," she managed to choke out.

"I hoped you would," said the clerk gently. "I'll have them ready in a minute."

"Thank you. What do I owe you?"

"Nothing. Nothing but a promise to allow God to heal your heart. The first year's arrangement is always on me." The clerk smiled and handed a card to Sandra. "I'll attach this card to your arrangement, but maybe you would like to read it first."

It read: "My God, I have never thanked You for my thorns. I have thanked You a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns. Teach me the glory of the cross I bear; teach me the value of my thorns. Show me that I have climbed closer to You along the path of pain. Show me that, through my tears, the colors of Your rainbow look much more brilliant."
Praise Him for your roses; thank him for your thorns!

My Momma was released from the hospital this morning, she was transported to the health care facility, that she currently resides at as a non care needed resident....only this time she is in the full care end of the facility...she has edema in her legs and belly, her legs are looking much better, however she cannot use them, she cannot walk, she cannot stand, she cannot move at all without help...and even then it is hard to move her about...she promised me that she would not give up, that she would do all of the physical therapy, that she would work on getting better. I am thankful for my mom....she loves me, and appreciates me and she tells me every time i go to see her.
i know how hard it can be this time of year to be in the place where she is, i see the residents that are so happy all the time, and then there are those, who have given up hope and are waiting to die...it is very sad, very sad. I often wonder which is worse to be gone so quickly like Damon, or to live like this, no one visiting, with out hope. I also think of the care givers, how hard it must be for them to try to encourage those, w/o families, how draining and thankless their work must be....cannot we not even take a moment for our elderly, they took care of us when we were young, cannot we not take a half hour for them...the bible states what we sow, so we shall reap...what we give, we get...take the time to visit with someone today, take a half hour to stop at a hosp, or a rest home and make someones day better....you will be the one blessed for your time and they will too...i am guilty of this, seems i am always in a hurry to get home, what is the hurry, compared to eternity?
Today was the first day back to work, it is nice to know that i was missed, several people stopped by my desk, emailed me and said they had missed me and was glad i was back....what a blessing to receive encouragement.
i want to be a blessing to those around me, i want to be an encourager, i want to take the time to listen and console, just like my Jesus does for me....i want to be a living bible to all of those the Lord places in my path...I am Thankful tonite, I am thankful and appreciative of the many blessings...keep on the firling line saints, our redemption draweth nigh.

Thanks-giving

Good Morning
What are you thankful for?
I look at the word Thanks-giving, and I thank of the many things I am thankful for.
The Church
Salvation
Sanctification
Baptism of the Holy Ghost
Vision
My Husband
My Kasey and Damon
My Family
My Church Family
Friends, True Friends
My Job
My Home
all of these things and more, much more.
As i travel on this day, I think of the lost souls, what are they doing this thanksgiving, do they have families and friends who love them, who know the Lord, but have not told them of Jesus?
Then I look at the word Thanks-giving again, and I ask myself, am I giving of the Lord as the Bible tells me, to go ye forth into all lands preaching the gospel? Am I taking for granted, so great a gift of salvation? Am I doing my reasonable service/duty?
Someone did theirs for me....have I been GIVING back?
To me, that is what Thanks-giving is about, giving of the gift of Jesus. Giving of the time the Lord has allotted me to give. Time is running out. When we stand before the Lord, will we have anyones blood on our hands?
This is not meant to drag anyone down, this is meant to encourage, to remind, to exhort...on this day of Thanksgiving, ask the Lord to put someone in your path, that you can share the greatest gift ever given....going forward purpose in your heart to reach out. WE are being watched. We say we are Christians, are we just talking the talk? or are we walking it too?
Jesus is the way, He is the truth and the only way to God the Father...AMEN
Happy Thanks-Giving.

Thoughts

Good Morning,
It is 6:47 am on Sunday morning the 18th of November. I have been up since before 5...thinking about things, my life, my choices, my salvation, sanctification, MY CHURCH, The Church of God. Praying and expecting a mighty move of the Lord this morning, I love the Lord, I love HIS Church, the bible says that even the gates of hell shall not prevail against her....Praise the Lord, the bible also says, if I don't praise my Lord, then the rocks will, I do NOT want to be replaced by a rock.
My momma is not doing well. She has health problems that concern me, i love her and want to help her have a enjoyable time in her latter years, but i fail so much of the time (in my opinion) of doing that. She is going to the hosp on tues to have fluid drained from her abdomen, she has just had this done 3 or 4 weeks ago, the dr, was innept...he didn't take much fluid it off and it upset my mother, so she got in the mode of not caring...now her legs are so swolen from fluid her skin looks like it is going to rupture. I am not one for conflict, but finally I and my sister in law say something to her about not being stubborn and taking care of these things, she can't walk very well because of her legs being so swolen, she has asked for the wheel chair back. Please pray for her, I love her very much, she is my mommy.
My Mr Leonard, for those of you who know him, he is a character, if he knew how much I love him, it would all go to his head. He is very wise. He is a very good Judge of character. When we were first married, I didn't appreciate this wisdom, now I do. He and I went to visit our Friend Bill on friday nite, Bill is very sick. The Dr's have given him two months to live. I over heard Bill telling his grandaughters if he could die right now it would not be soon enough....Bill has been an upright man all of his life, but he needs the Lord, please pray that the Lord will reach him, before he goes off into eternity, please pray.
Wow so I am not much of of one to go on about stuff on line....but I just want y'all to know that I very much appreciate your love of Kasey. Aside from the Lord and His Church....she is our joy, we miss her and love her....thanking you all for taking care of her since Damon's promotion, thank you for your encouragement and prayer in this time. Word's cannot express the gratitude of this mother's heart....Thank you Lord for watching over her and thankyou for giving her friends and family that love her and pray for her.....love and prayer, sis katie.

WE NEED TO STAY SENSITIVE TO GOD

She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the LORD; she drew not near to her God.
ZEPHANIAH 3:2

The kingdom of self is a dangerous place to live, for we exclude the God who made us. In that self-centered condition, we don't trust God and don't seek him or his wisdom. That's what happened to the people of Jerusalem. Since they relied on themselves, so much, God could not reach them with normal discipline. Discipline would have to be harsh in order to get their attention and turn them around. When we rely too much on ourselves, we begin to believe that we don't need God. A healthy sense of self-worth and self-sufficiency does not deny our need for God's strength and guidance, but don't become so self-sufficient that you no longer recognize God's discipline when it comes. When we stay sensitive to God, he won't have to take drastic measures to help us.

God only gives the best to those who leave the choice to HIM

Once there was a man who asked God
for a flower ………And a butterfly.

But instead God gave him a cactus
And a caterpillar.

The man was sad, he didn’t understand
Why his request was mistaken.

Then he thought:
Oh Well, God has too many people
To care for.
And decided not to question.

After some time the man went to check up
On his request that he had left forgotten.

To his surprise from the thorny and ugly
Cactus a beautiful flower had grown.
And the unsightly caterpillar had been
Transformed into a most beautiful butterfly.

God always does things right,

His way is always the best way, even
If it seems all wrong.

If you asked God for one thing and received
Another…….TRUST.

You can be sure that he will always give
You what you need at the appropriate time.

What you want…..is not always what you need!

God never fails to grant our petitions, so keep
On going to Him, without doubting or
Murmuring.

Today’s Thorn…is tomorrow’s flower.

God gives the very best to those who leave
The choices up to Him!

"JESUS NEVER FAILS"

Jesus Never Fails

A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell.
He painted a sign advertising the 4 pups. And set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard.
As he was driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down into the eyes of little boy. 'Mister,' he said, 'I want to buy one of your puppies.'
'Well,' said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck, 'These puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money.'
The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer. 'I've got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?'
'Sure,' said the farmer. And with that he let out a whistle. 'Here, Dolly!' he called.
Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly followed by four little balls of fur. The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes danced with delight. As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse. Slowly another little ball appeared, this one noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat awkward manner, the little pup began hobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up...
'I want that one,' the little boy said, pointing to the runt. The farmer knelt down at the boy's side and said, 'Son, you don't want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would.'
With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his trousers. In doing so he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe. Looking back up at the farmer, he said, 'You see sir, I don't run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands.'
With tears in his eyes, the farmer reached down and picked up the little pup. Holding it carefully handed it to the little boy.
'How much?' asked the little boy.
'No charge,' answered the farmer, 'There's no charge for love.'
The world is full of people who need someone who understands.

Turn your eyes to Jesus, HE sees, HE understands and HE is waiting with out stretched hands.
No matter what is going on in your life, HE is the answer..... and HE is the solution....and always remember....JESUS NEVER FAILS.

The 7 UPS!

1. Wake Up!
Decide to have a good day."This is the day the Lord hath made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalms 118:24

2. Dress Up!
The best way to dress up is to put on a smile. A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks. "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at outward appearance,But the Lord looks at the heart."I Samuel 16:7

3. Shut Up!
Say nice things and learn to listen.God gave us two ears and one mouth, So He must have meant for us to do twice as much listening as talking."He who guards his lips guards his soul." Proverbs 13:3

4. Stand Up!
For what you believe in.Stand for something or you will fall for anything. "Let us not be weary in doing good; for at the proper time,We will reap a harvest if we do not give up.Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good..." Galatians 6:9-10

5. Look Up!
To the Lord. "I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

6. Reach Up!
For something higher. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path." Proverbs 3:5-6

7. Lift Up!
Your Prayers. "Do not worry about anything; instead PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING." Philippians 4:6

A POSITIVE THOUGHT

If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring, and a sunrise every morning.

Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen.He could live anywhere in the universe, and He
chose your heart.What about the Christmas gift He sent you in Bethlehem; Not to mention that Friday at Calvary . Face it, He's crazy about you.


God answers
Knee-Mail!


"The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace." Numbers 6:24-26

To all of you in blog land, place your cares, your concerns, your worries at the foot of the cross, then leave them there. God is on the scene, HE sees your trials and your struggles. He knows what is best for each of us. Lean on Him and let HIM take care of you and all the cares you have....HE IS ABLE.....Always remember....."JESUS NEVER FAILS"!