Give Thanks to the Lord, for He Is Good!

Hello again!

I pray you all are having an excellent week! Mine has actually been pretty awesome and may be getting more awesome, as the week goes by!! I'll explain in a moment, but first, I just wanted to share the many things that God has blessed my heart with during my time off from blogging. As you may (or may not) known, since I began blogging in 2011, I have been taking the "Multitudes on Mondays" Dare to Share some of the gifts that God has been so gracious to put into my life. I have learned the importance of celebrating His grace and recognizing the amazing power of gratitude! Just because I stopped blogging for awhile, God's blessings haven't stopped!! In fact, His blessings were overflowing!! And I've continued to write them down on my own, without the prompting of a weekly blog post!! Can you say "Amen!"? See, already it has affected my daily observance of His grace and love in my life.

Upon checking my past posts, I believe that my latest count of "gifts" was up to 1,664, back in March. I definitely have a long list to catch you all up on. I will try to list them all here(hopefully the list doesn't overwhelm you too much), along with some of my favorite photos (yes, I'm still taking pics of some of the blessings and gifts He has shown me!) So, without further ado', here are the additions to my list...starting at

1,665 - Long conversations with my son about God...not always encouraging, but I pray God uses these times to work in his heart.

1,666 - Attending a ladies Bible study group and learning about the faith of the Israelite people in the book of Joshua. 

1,667 - Saw the movie, "Gods Not Dead" with my hubby and son. Awesome movie!!

1,668 - Had lunch with my mom. 

1,669 - Seeking God's Word more and in prayer, as I struggle with some family issues...learning to lean on His promises.

1,670 - Attending my great-niece's 1 year birthday party.

1,671 - Finally getting some beautiful weather...it definitely has been a LONG cold winter!

1,672 - Attending a live Easter Passion Play...one we've been to before and have enjoyed it every time.

1,673 - Getting to take my husband's aunt (such a lovely, Godly, woman) to have lunch and see the Passion Play with us! Such a great day out!!

1,674 - Spring rains.

1,675 - Struggling to be motivated to stay connected to God, since taking my blogging break - realizing that it's because Satan knows I've upped my prayer efforts! The battle is on!!!

1,676 - Visiting our son...Easter weekend. Not an easy visit. All I can do is put our son in His hands...

1,677 - Learning and reading how grief was expressed in the Bible...somehow, it brings me to the end of myself and I can only cry out to God to rescue me and take my hand!

1,678 - Desire to experience the verse: Psalm 30:11

"You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy..."

1,679 - Again,  finding myself in desperate prayer, on my knees constantly, feeling despair, and yet, forcing myself to trust!!(Not realizing yet that He is using this to draw me closer to Him.)

1,680- Praying and fasting over my lunch break at work!

1,681 - Fishing with my hubby

1,682 - Reading more and more Scripture on God's promises to those who follow Him...and how He blesses the future generations of those who walk in righteousness...
1,683 - Claiming many of these Scriptures and asking God to honor them in my life.

1,684 - Love this quote by Mark Batterson...

“Bold prayers honor God, and God honors bold prayers. God isn’t offended by your biggest dreams or boldest prayers. He is offended by anything less. If your prayers aren’t impossible to you, they are insulting to God."(Book: Praying Circles Around Your Children's Lives)

1,685 - Started getting some great free Christian magazines/booklets I ordered in the mail:

"In Touch"
"Acts and Facts" and "Days of Praise" from the Institute of Creation.

1,686 - Watching a sailboat glide across the water and remembering the saying: "God provides the wind, but we must raise the sails." (St. Augustine)

1,687 - Love the promises God proclaims in Isaiah 57:16-18

"16 I will not accuse them forever,
    nor will I always be angry,
for then they would faint away because of me—
    the very people I have created.
17 I was enraged by their sinful greed;
    I punished them, and hid my face in anger,
    yet they kept on in their willful ways.
18 I have seen their ways, but I will heal them;
    I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners,"

1,688 - as well as Is. 59:21

 “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord."

1,689 - Continuing to fight the spiritual battle that He calls me to...barely finding strength some days, but He supplies it, just as I'm ready to give up.

1,690 - Got my new laptop computer(my old one finally kicked the bucket). It's AMAZING!!

1,691 -Started working out 3 times a week with my hubby. (Praying it gets easier, in time.)

1,692 - Want to collect Scripture promises/prayers and put them into a binder to read daily...

1,693 - Feeling the tug to start a "Mom's in Prayer" group and looking into the possibility. (After talking to several women at my work that have struggled with parenting issues.)

1,694 - Isaiah 30:21

"Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

1,695 - A romantic evening with my hubby, by the fire.

1,696 - Lots of questions to God, but I'm finding many answers...it's like He saying, "just wait and trust Me." It's all I can do.

1,697 - Woke up early and watched the sun rise...beautiful!

1,698 - Purchased 2 new books  

• One was on my "books to read" list. (The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict)
• The other was on sale, 75% off, so I got it! (I love book sales!)(Praying the Scriptures for Your Children)

1,699 - Laughed till my face hurt, as I met with my ladies Bible study group.
1,700 - Fresh, homemade strawberry pie.

1,701 - God got me through a couple of days at work with both of my superiors gone for vacation time. No "major" issues!

1,702 - Spending time with family for Mother's Day (even though I didn't get to see my son that day)

1,703 - Seeing the beauty in nature and lake life....

1,704 - Now for awesome news #1 that made my week and I'm praying that God will work it out for us.

I may be going to the

Alive Festival in Mineral City, Ohio this next weekend

and get to see Chris Tomlin in concert!!

1,705 - Awesome information #2 - at that very same Christian festival, I may see some friends that we haven't seen in about 20 years and hear their daughter's band (Shine Bright Baby) play/sing!!

1,706 - Last, but not least, today(Father's Day) I am thankful for such a dedicated and loving husband and father...my hubby, Ken!

Thanks for letting me share all of these "gifts" that I am grateful to the Lord for! God is good. Let's never forget to give thanks to the Lord!! What are you grateful for today?

Linking over to these blog hops:

Unforced Rhythms (Chronicles of Grace)
Sunday Stillness (He Cares For You)  
Weekend Brew (My Freshly Brewed Life) 
 SDG Gathering (Soli Deo Gloria Sisterhood)
 Sharing His Beauty (Beauty In His Grip)
Titus2sdays (Time-Warp Wife)
UNITE (Rich Faith Rising)
 Winsome Wednesday(My Daily Walk in His Grace) 
 Word-Filled Wednesday (Woman to Woman)
  Tell Me a True Story Blog Hop
 Faith Filled Friday (Missional Women)