Thankful Day 3 - The Church

Today I am thankful for the church. Many look at buildings like the one above and say, "Hey. It's a church." No. This is just a building where people congregate...

The body of Christ. The arms and legs and mouths and ears and feet and pinky fingers and toes that make up the whole being. The church cannot survive if one part is missing. It's interconnected, living, breathing. It's full of life. It grows. It gets sick. It heals. It wishes and dreams. It mourns and mends. It loves.

The church is not the building we go to on Sunday morning. It's the elderly shut in who gets closer to meeting Jesus as each day passes. It's the newborn babe wrapped in its mother's arms in a hospital room. It's the outcast looking for acceptance. It's the lawyer who seeks justice in an unjust world. It's the teenager who challenges with questions about belief. It's the worship leader who pours their gift before the Lord each Sunday morn and behind closed doors the rest of the week. It's the Pastor who shepherds the hearts of God's people, disciplining Jesus freaks. It's the couple who's been married for twenty-five years and continues to weather the storms of life. It's people. Not a building.

I am thankful to have the privilege and honor to be a member of God's family. Adopted. Grafted in. I belong here. For that, I am truly and eternally grateful.

Thankful Day 2 - A Day at the Airport

Photo Copyright Alycia W. Morales

Today, I am thankful for the gift of flight. It's wonderful being able to travel long distances in short amounts of time.  Especially when one lives so far from family.

I love to fly. Take off and landing still make me nervous, and I always pray the plane I'm on stays in the air as it's supposed to. I also pray that the birds stay out of the path of the plane. However, I love to soar above the clouds and look down upon God's creation.

If you sit next to me on the plane, you can count on my camera coming out at least once during the flight. Wing shots tend to be my favorite, but I love cloud shots like the following, as well.

Photo Copyright Alycia W. Morales

I love layovers. It's time for me to observe people and all our idiosycracies, as well as to write. I can concentrate in airports better than I can at home, where my four children are a constant distraction and pose many interruptions.

Well, I'm off on another trip! Have a blessed day, and don't forget to share what you're thankful for today.

The Blessings of God Part Three

“Salvation belongs to the Lord.
Your blessing is upon Your people.”

- Psalm 3:8

Our current residence is on a major highway in Georgia. With factories and a nuclear facility nearby, traffic is constant. Trucks carry fresh-cut logs to the paper mill. Half the city travels to work at the plant each morning and evening. People pull in and out of local gas stations and convenient stores. At any time during the day, one may or may not safely travel this particular highway.

Recently, a local newspaper covered the accident rate on local roads. This highway ranks as the worst for deadly accidents. More than four people have died on this road within the last two years. The main cause of these deadly crashes? People who aren’t paying attention and pull out in front of another driver who is traveling sixty miles per hour or more.

Two days ago, I traveled the highway, taking my children to day camp at our church. Driving sixty miles per hour, I approached a side road. A man in a large, white car sat at the end of the road, looking as if he was paying attention. However, as I neared, I slowed just a bit, because I noticed him looking in the opposite direction and beginning to pull out. I wouldn’t have enough time to stop before broadsiding him if he did pull out. What do you know? He did it anyway. He whipped his car out in front of me, never bothering to look in my direction. I slammed on my brakes and laid my hand across my horn. Fool.

I had just finished telling my children the importance of wearing their seat belts. The night before, I’d read of a woman who started a beauty pageant in memory of her daughter, who died in a car accident because she wasn’t wearing her seat belt. Two of my own children “forget” to put on their seat belts 98% of the time. As my daughter listened to my explanation of what happens when we forget to do important things, she clicked her seat belt into its buckle and asked if I would miss her and cry if she died. Absolutely! My son also made certain his seat belt was properly buckled. Not two miles down the road, the man pulled in front of me.

God is gracious and knew I would have this experience. I managed to turn my vehicle just enough to get around the back end of the man’s boat of a car. We missed him. God saved us from a nasty accident.

I thanked God for His protection, His salvation, and His blessing that day. I held gratitude in my heart for Him as He watched over my children and me in our travels down a deadly highway.

God’s blessing is upon His people. You. Me. Our children. Salvation belongs to Him. What blessing have you received from Him lately? How has God saved you or a family member or a friend? Remember to thank Him for those things today.

I’m going to go write mine in my Thankful Journal today, so I’m not quick to forget just how blessed I am.

A Thankful Heart

One thing that really gets me frustrated is when someone who is obviously blessed does nothing but complain about what they don't have or don't like about what they do have.

I may not be "rich" with wealth. I have a college loan, a truck payment, and the same bills most others have. I don't have much in the way of savings. And I can't buy every latest gadget the minute it comes out. (Do I really need to?)

But what I do have is a wealth that money can't buy. I have a wealth of joy, love, health, and riches that only God can give a person.

Today I'd like to thank Him for some of those blessings:

1. My relationship with Him. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and I am His daughter. What more could a girl need than to be a Princess in the house of God?

2. My husband, Victor. He is my true love. He is my knight in shining armor. He is the man of my dreams. He's a man of integrity and a strong man of God. He works very hard to provide for his family. In a time when things are tough, he is out there making a living so we can have a roof over our heads and food on our table. He is diligent, hard-working, and excellent at what he does.  And best of all, he loves me!

3. My husband's job. I easily recognized when the economy began to tank. As a union carpenter, my husband was laid off more than he was working. But, true to his nature, he went looking for the jobs rather than waiting for them to come to him. And he landed them. And then he found a salaried position with a solid company. So we are very thankful for that job, despite how tough it can be sometimes.

4. My four, healthy children. I am blessed to have four kids who are in great health. They are active, creative, intuitive, and fun to be around (most of the time). I'm thankful that despite how difficult it can be traveling from place-to-place for Dad's job, they look forward to seeing new places and meeting new friends.  Life can be tough at times, but they are going to be so much richer as they become adults.

5. My step-son. Life wouldn't be the same if he weren't part of it. I'm so thankful to God that He gave me the opportunity to share in his life. He's all grown up now and working his own job. And I'm so very proud of him.

6. My family. Mom. Dad. Frieda. Lief (pronounced life). My in-laws. My nieces and nephews. Grandma. They're what adds the flavor to my world. There are a lot of different spices in this mix. Life will never be boring.

7. My church family - countrywide. When you move once every two years or so, you start to find yourself praying God will provide a new church home with each move. We have truly been blessed and are able to say we have family all over the east coast. Because when you leave behind mother, brother, and other kin to do what God has called you to do, He multiplies your family. We love knowing that we have family and friends we can trust in various parts of the country. It makes moving that much easier.

8. I'm also thankful for the simple things in life. Being able to worship God without fearing death. Being able to brush my teeth in the morning or take a hot shower or use a toilet. Having a car to get me from place-to-place. The pleasure of a cup of coffee with Pumpkin Spice creamer in the morning. The quietness of a book store and hours of browsing and dreaming of seeing my name on that shelf one day. Being able to curl up next to my husband at night and having his arms wrapped around me; it's one of the safest places in this world and one of my favorites. Hearing my children laugh. Listening to my son or daughter tell or read me a story they dreamed up.

9. And, I'm thankful that I have been blessed with people who are willing to read my blog posts week in and week out. I love sharing with you!

So, what are you thankful for this week? Are your riches here on earth, or are they heavenly things that can never be stolen from your heart? I'd love to hear what you are thankful for this year!

November is Upon Us

November is upon us! What are you thinking about as we head into the holiday season?

I'm already thinking about the holidays, wishing I could be home for Thanksgiving or Christmas. I told my kids to start writing down their wishes for Christmas over the weekend. (At least it might put an end to their endless "I want..." stories.) I just added a "Joy to the World" station to my Pandora radio account. I've considered my wish list. Four things are on it. A Nook and a mother's ring. (From my hubby.) For my hubby to be home with his family. (From God.) For a gift card to Barnes and Noble. (From my parents.)

I'm already thinking, "Wow! It's November! I guess I'd better write a synopsis of the story I hope to pound out before November 30th..." It's NaNoWriMo time! I hope I can squeeze out the 50K word count while substitute teaching, raising four kids while Daddy works away from home, getting ready for Thanksgiving, baking, and Christmas shopping.

And most importantly, I'm considering what I am most thankful to God for in my life. My relationship with Him. My husband and our 13 years of marriage. My children and all of the joy they bring into my life. My family, who has stood with me through trials, tribulations, changes, and awesome times. My friends. Our church families. Our health. My husband's job. My job. My writing gift. God's grace and mercy. Forgiveness. Healing. The freedom to worship the Lord. And you, my readers, who encourage me to keep writing.


What are you thankful for this November? I'd love to hear! Let's make a list in the comments below!