Eighty-six

2 Corinthians 12:10
“For Christ’s sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

No one in their right mind would ask for weakness.
No one likes to be insulted.
No one takes joy in hardships.
No one wants to be persecuted.
No one revels in difficulties.
But would we – “For Christ’s sake?”

We all have had these things happen to us. Some of us today are feeling the stress of the Thanksgiving Holiday – preparing for family and food.
The holidays affect each individual. Sometimes when families get together we can experience all of the things listed above, weakness, insults, hardship, and persecution. Sometimes it is the people who are supposed to love us the most, do the most damage.

Remember to pray for these people. It is a easy as taking a silent moment locked in the bathroom and say, “Jesus, please bless him or her and help me control my attitude. And thank you for putting him or her in my life.”

Whoa! A thank you???

For someone that has done nothing but criticized and made your life difficult since they walked in the door? Yes, for someone to see Christ in you, you have to bring Christ right there to them. I know, not an easy task. Not a task we welcome.

Later, when the family has retreated and the dishwasher is loaded, take another moment and say another thank-you to God, even if it is only to be thankful that you survived. If you pay attention to God at work, I’m sure you will find a lot of other things to be thankful for that happened in the day.


Some of us will spend the holiday far away from family and food. Many people this holiday season won’t prepare a turkey and dressing. They will open a can of soup, if they have it, and maybe they won’t even eat it, but give it to their children instead. Many will be spending the holiday in grief because of the passing of a loved one, or because of divorce a family has been broken apart. Many will not have a home to have Thanksgiving in because of the economic times. 2009 has been hard for many people.

Many are away from home serving in the military.  Thank God for the people who serve and sacrifice their holiday so that we can celebrate Thanksgiving. 

May your holiday include God and true thanks giving in all you do and all God has blessed you with.


Today I am thankful that God can change perspective when He is at work in our lives.

“Count your many blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings and see what God has done.”