I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
(Psalm 9:1-2 ESV)

Honestly I could not come up with just one thing to write about this week for Thankful Thursday. There are just so many things on a daily basis I am thankful for .

In no particular order, here is my ‘random’ list from my thankful heart…

• God’s protection – not only for me, but for my family and friends. I had used the van pool for almost a year, but I had to switch back driving myself to work. I work often later than the hours of the van pool. God has been protecting me on the crazy roads of Arizona (you have no idea how wild these people drive).
• God providing our ‘daily bread’. We have a roof over our head, food to eat, money to pay the bills and help out others when needed.
• My husband’s love for me. You have to understand, I am a little ‘wild’ sometimes – I start dancing or start cracking jokes out of the blue.
• Our son’s independence. Sometimes I can’t believe that he will be 27 this June. He has done well for himself. And he is very smart with money. I just hope he changes his mind moving back to Europe this year. But then again, I just had him as a ‘loan’; God will guide his steps.
• My friends far and near, who don’t mind if I ask for prayers. I try to be a good friend as well as they are. I hope I am.

So, what are you thankful for this week? Please do share with us by leaving your link to your Thankful Thursday post below.

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: give thanks to the Lord with your whole heart.

Love & peace,
Iris

Current Mood: Thankful

“And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.””
(Luke 22:41-42 ESV ~ emphasis mine)

Many times I pray short prayers; prayers for family or friends. I pray throughout the day; I really do not have a specific time for prayer. However, if there is something really on my heart, and I need to let go of a certain situation, I pull out my little prayer book.

What I have noticed that when I write down my prayers, my focus changes. It is not so much that I want to change God’s mind over a situation, but He changes mine. Read again what Jesus said in the garden of Gethsemane…”not my will, but yours”…

Isn’t that what prayer really is? To align with God’s will? I know that I need to sometimes spell it out (thus my prayer book). I need to be reminded that He is in control. I am thankful for those times when things become a little clearer to me through prayer. So, this week I am thankful for the power of prayer.

Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
(Psalm 139:23-24 ESV)

What are your thankful for this week? Please do share with us by leaving your link to your Thankful Thursday post below.

Thank you for stopping by today; remember: through prayer your vision becomes clearer.

Love & peace,
Iris

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So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
(Isaiah 55:11 ESV)

In the month of January we meet up at my friend Laurie’s blog, “Women Taking a Stand“. Please visit her blog to link up for Thankful Thursday.

I know that I have had many Thankful Thursday posts about His Word; it is just a powerful source of comfort for me personally. When I am down or getting stressed out, I like to ‘dig’ into the Psalms. Most of them are penned by King David and he knew where to find comfort. David Psalms are just as relevant today as they were in his time.

This year I will try (once again) to read through the Bible. But this year I have accountability partners. My friend, Kathy Howard, started a FB group to read through the Bible together. It is wonderful; especially when Kathy is posting some insights on passages that are not easy to digest.

By the way, there is still time to join Kathy’s online Bible study of Ephesians. Maybe you have time to check it out this week …

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: time spent in His Word is time well spent.

Love and peace,
Iris

Current Mood: Thankful

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
(1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV)

In the month of January we meet up at my friend Laurie’s blog, “Women Taking a Stand“. Please visit her blog to link up for Thankful Thursday.

Last week, I read an interview with Lisa Shaw on my friend Debbie’s blog, “Heart Choices“. I haven’t met Lisa in person, but I know Lisa through the internet. Lisa is such an encouragement to many of us who have been around for a little while.

At any rate, I ordered Lisa’s book last week and it arrived today just in time for me to post about it for Thankful Thursday. I can’t wait to read her book “You are beautiful in God’s Eyes”.

Lisa also included a sweet personal note, that blessed my socks off …That is just so like Lisa.

If you haven’t come across Lisa via her blog or FB, I suggest you check out her ministry. I know her words will bless you.

I am thankful for women like Lisa that share the love of Christ with others; women who are beautiful inside and out.

Thank you for stopping by today.

Love and peace,
Iris

Current Mood: Blessed † & Thankful

I totally goofed up last week; I forgot to mention that Thankful Thursday in the month of January 2012 will be hosted by my friend and sister in Christ, Laurie at Women Taking A Stand. Please make sure to visit her blog on Thursdays to link up.

End of this important announcement…

Happy New Year!!!!

Current Mood: Forgiven †

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
(Lamentations 3:22-24 ESV (emphasis mine))

Goodness, where in the world did the year go. It seems to me as just a blur. You know what they say: “As you get older, the years are going faster!”; I sure can attest to that.

The past year has been full of learning for me; work-wise, blogging and also with my photography. To be honest, it has been a very humbling year for me.

Blogging: I stepped back from LWG in the last quarter as a contributor. I felt empty, not able to fill others’ cups. I also didn’t blog much here on “Grace Alone…”. Who wants to ready daily stuff of a 50-something woman?

Work-wise: At the beginning of the year, our company reduced its work-force. One of the reduction included my boss. I needed to adjust to new rules and management. Let me tell you: it took me awhile to adjust to the change. But today I live by the motto: “the only constant in the work-force is constant change”.

Photography: In May of this year I upgraded my camera to the semi-professional model. I really enjoy photographing with it. I have learned so much over the past 7 months. I feel very comfortable with photographing in manual mode. It is challenging, but oh-so-much-fun …

Although I do not write out New Years resolutions (I broke all of them in the past), I do always have plans for the New Year. Here are a couple of points for 2012:

• Grow closer to the Lord. Not so much head-knowledge, but more heart-knowledge (I think you know what I mean).
• I love to cook (really). At the end of this year I have found a new passion for cooking. I will try more new recipes in 2012; I will combine that with my passion of photography (who knows where that leads).
• I want to blog more (again)…especially on my personal blog. I already have some ideas that you might enjoy as well.
• I plan on carving out some time to read more and maybe review some of the books I have read.
• Support more the small business world, locally and across the country
• …and maybe I finally can get my house totally organized; especially my two spare rooms are full of ‘junk’!!!

So this week, I am thankful for new beginnings. Even though our God grants us new beginnings every day, we like to start fresh with a new calendar year (not sure why that is)…

What are you thankful for this week? Please do share with us by leaving a link to your Thankful Thursday post below.

Thank you for stopping by today (and reading through the little longer post). Remember: God gives us a fresh start every day; make the most of each day.

Love, peace and Happy 2012,
Iris

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Current Mood: Forgiven † & Thankful

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
(Luke 2:11-14 ESV)

The last couple of years have been really low key at our home around the Christmas time. I haven’t had a Christmas tree up for years; actually since our son moved out in 2007. I am not sure why, but it seems like we don’t have a need for it anymore.

Every year though I pick a Christmas devotion that I like to follow for the season. No different this year; I subscribed to Sarah Young’s ‘Jesus Calling – Christmas’ offered by Thomas Nelson Bibles. The devotional has really helped me to keep the focus on the Reason for the season.

Every year it amazes me anew that Jesus left heaven to be born in a lowly manger so that we can spend eternity in heaven with Him. Why would He go through all the trouble? Because of God’s great love for all humankind! Amazing, isn’t it…

I have enjoyed the peace and quiet around our home; no hassle and bustle. Even my shopping is all finished (except for groceries); I love shopping online for Christmas ?…

What are you thankful for this week? Please do share with us by leaving a link to your Thankful Thursday post below.

Thank you for stopping by this week; remember: keep your focus on the Reason for the season.

Merry Christmas my sweet friends…

Iris

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Current Mood: Blessed † & Thankful

“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” ~ Colossians 3:12 (ESV)

I am not thankful for Starbucks for the ‘usual’ reason (although I do enjoy my morning treats of coffee). I wanted to share with you a program Starbucks is running right now. I think we can all be thankful for it; at least us who live in the United States.

If you frequent Starbucks, you may have seen their program “Create Jobs for USA“. I have done a little research to see what truly is behind the program. Starbucks started a fund that will support small businesses in the US to expend and create jobs.

I personally think this is so cool and I have purchased a little wrist-band this morning while getting my morning coffee. Will my donation make a difference? Sure it will. So, if you have someone on your Christmas list you have no idea what to get for them, why not make a donation in their name?

So, this week I am thankful that a big company is trying to make a difference in this country.

What are you thankful for this week? Please do share with us by leaving a link to your Thankful Thursday post below.

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: we all can make a difference in someone’s life; let us be His hands and feet in this world.

Love and peace,
Iris

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Current Mood: Thankful

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
(Luke 2:14 ESV)

In 1965 CBS contracted Charles M. Schulz to create a Christmas special. The executives of the peacock station were horrified when Mr. Schulz presented the Christmas special. They thought that the animation film would be a flop. They even wanted Linus’ monolog ‘chopped’ from the film.

Thankfully for us, Mr. Schulz stood firm, not taking out Linus’ monolog about the true meaning of Christmas!

What are you thankful for this week? Please share with us by leaving a link to your Thankful Thursday post below.

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: sometimes we need to take a stand to share the truth.

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Current Mood: Blessed † & Thankful

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
(Isaiah 55:10-11 ESV – emphasis mine)

I truly am thankful for His Word; it gives me the strength that I need to get through the rough days. Sometimes we find ourselves challenged by what life throws at us. Last night I was a little unsettled about some things. You see, I like to please everyone, the people I work with especially.

But honestly, not everyone will like you, no matter how hard your try. As I was reading through a devotion, Luke 6:27-29 ‘jumped’ right at me.

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either.
(Luke 6:27-29 ESV)

This has always been a very tough passage for me to follow. So, this morning I prayed for a particular person I have some ‘bumping-head’ issues with. To tell you the truth, this was the best thing I could have done. I was at ease with things at work and the day went better than expected.

You see, God knows what we need and He will guide us by His Word to take the right actions. So, I am more than thankful that we have instructions that will defuse hot topics!

What are you thankful for this week? Please share with us by leaving a link to your Thankful Thursday post below.

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: if a situation needs defused, grab your Bible and He will guide you to take the right action.

Love and peace,
Iris

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