Start a Thanksgiving Tradition

On my drive to work each morning, I turn down the radio and say, "Good Morning Father". I love this time each morning where I can pour out my heart and pray. This morning was no different and I couldn't help but pray for our country and our world. As our world is in such a financial turmoil, the upcoming holidays crossed my mind. As our funds aren't as abundant as we would like, there is so much to be thankful for that makes this time of year something to be excited about. My children and grandchildren are healthy and happy, we are all very close and we can depend on each other for support. Our family has had it's share of trials, but we face each one as a family. I am thankful each day for each family member and I'm also thankful for the parents and grandparents that I was blessed with. My grandmother was such a influence in my life by the way she lived. Always a loving and caring person who loved me even when I failed and supported me no matter what. My mother has that same disposition towards me and all of my children. In her life and the way that she continues to fight health issues, her only concern is me and my children and grandchildren. Among many illnesses she has had, my mother is a four year colon cancer survivor, or should I say 4 years this coming Thanksgiving. Her surgery was the week of Thanksgiving in 2004. Each Thanksgiving I have each of my children and family share things they are thankful for before we eat our meal. Each year for the past three years, my mother has been able to bless our Thanksgiving dinner after we each tell what we are Thankful for. I hope that this is a tradition that my children will always carry on after I am gone. Traditions are gifts handed down through generations, so give your family the gift of a tradition.

God's Melting Pot

There's a saying that I keep on my desk at work that I've shared with others and I believe it to be true. "Be careful how you live, you may be the only Bible some person ever reads". I ask myself sometimes, can people tell that I am a Christian by the way I act or what I say. No, not always but it's something I work on constantly. Now more than ever, it's so important to let others see that we are believers.
A piece of jewerly that I like to wear is a cross, because without saying a word - someone sees that you believe in God. Strangers that I pass by in a store know that I believe, just by seeing my cross. I have been giving cross necklaces as gifts to the girls I work with and I gave one to Bridget recently for her birthday. Bridget is a co-worker of mine who recently found out that she had colon cancer, ovarian cancer and liver cancer. She has had surgery to remove the cancer and is going through chemo now. Bridget is strong and she is a believer and I was so touched when I gave her a sterling silver cross. Her eyes filled with tears and she said that she was hoping someone would give her a cross for her birthday.
I am so grateful to work with the people that I do, because so many of them are believers and many times over I had seen how God uses each of us for support and encouragement through very difficult times in our lives. I'm glad to know that this group of people put prayers up for me like I do for them.
There's an illustration that I love and I have shared it with others. A gold smith works with gold, melting it down, stirring and mixing until the right moment where he can bend and mold it into whatever he choses. Then he polishes the shaped gold until he can see his reflection in the finished product. I think that's how God works with us. He stirs us and mixes us with other believers, bends and molds us into who we become. I think that God is pleased when He can look at us and see His reflection.
Do people see God's reflection in You?