Happy Thursday, friends! It's been a minute since I have done a Thankful Thursday post, so I thought I'd do that this week. I have so much to be thankful for and I never want to let that slide by without taking the time to acknowledge how the Lord has been so faithful to me. It's all Him and how He changed my life when He saved me. Do you know Him?
I am so thankful for a great sermon this week! I am blessed to be able to sit under sound teaching each and every week, and I love my church family. My pastor is my favorite pastor ever, and I rarely let an opportunity pass without saying as much to him or his sweet wife. This past Sunday my friend AJ brought an incredible message in my pastor's absence, and it was so refreshing! I needed to hear exactly what he spoke on that day, about being satisfied in Jesus. I always take notes each week, and I've referred back to the ones from Sunday a few times since then. I even added them to the margins of my Bible! I do that on occasion. AJ preached from John 4, the passage of Scripture about the Samaritan woman at the well. He reminded us that Jesus is living water, and that when we drink from Him, we will never thirst again.
I am thankful for sweet memories like this, when our family went on a mission trip together seven years ago. We went to a Navajo reservation in Arizona that was more like a third world country than I ever thought would exist here in America. We hosted a Bible club for family members from infant to 100 and we fed and ate dinner with them each night. It was amazing and life changing, like so many of those types of trips are, but I am so grateful for all the memories we made as well. Drew went back two more times after this first trip, and Graham returned once after it. Jonah and Noah were going to go back as well, but this area is now a part of the North American Mission Board and they no longer need the support of churches like ours who partnered with them. It's good for them, but that was sad for us.
The picture of me is with my dear friend Abbey. That was the summer we were together for four weeks in a row. One week at camp, ten days on the Navajo reservation, and another week doing an overnight mission project in Memphis. That was one of the best summers of my life and some of the most fun I've ever had. Also, some crazy things happened on that Navajo trip...and did I mention we spent ten nights camping? With only porta potties to use for the bathroom and showers that we had to pay for every three days? It was not for the faint of heart! And our dinners each night consisted of either hot dogs or bologna sandwiches. I'll have to share about that some more in another post.
I'm thankful to be in the home stretch of our Bible study that will come out in August! And guess what? You will be able to purchase a copy of it on Amazon this time! I'm in the editing phase of it as I write, and in two weeks it will be out of my hands and on the way via cyberspace to the publishing company. I can't wait to see it all put together! I'll share more here when it's closer to time.
What are you thankful for this week? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all!
Love seeing pics from your mission trip. I went on one to West Virginia right after I graduated high school and to this day, it is still one of the best experiences of my life. I remember coming home and getting depressed because I wanted to go back desperately and keep helping people instead of focusing on myself.
ReplyDeleteThe trips sound like life changing experiences! I would love to read more someday. That is exciting about the book!!
ReplyDeleteMy mom's quick recovery and the fact that she got to go on her little trip made her really happy. Having my kids home. No renovations this summer! Ha! 3 functional bathrooms! So much! Love this post!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Holly! I know the feeling...it was something incredible to do as a family. It was a hard trip, but it's one we will NEVER forget. We do love to serve in other areas as well, and often help through our church. Maybe you could do the same thing with your family someday! It's always needed.
ReplyDeleteMaria, I'll have to share more about it soon. Or maybe just do a repost of what I already wrote about it. It was interesting, to say the least, with a couple of scary moments thrown in for good measure.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Amy! YES! Those are all great things to be thankful for this week!
ReplyDeleteI look forward to hearing more about your mission trips. That's something I've never taken part in, but both of my girls have.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cathy! I'll share about them soon. I always need content ideas!
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