Some Blessings

If you're a Christian you are blessed!

I am blessed!!!

Blessings are all around us, and so many times we miss them.  We get all "thankful" around Thanksgiving, but what happens the rest of the year?  Today I was thinking about some of my blessings.  We often have a time of sharing praises and blessings at church, and I always find this encouraging.  It's a blessing hearing about other people's blessings :).  We rejoice with others who are rejoicing!  I know everyone has their trials too, and I'm not trying to minimize difficulties.  But, let's be truly filled with the joy of the Lord, like we're supposed to be, and look for the good that God promises will come out of all things (Rom. 8:28).  

So, here's a few of my blessings.  Why not leave a comment with some of your blessings, and we can all rejoice in God's goodness together :).  

1.  The warm weather!   The past few days here in northern Ontario, we've been having unseasonably warm weather.  Up to 20 degrees Celsius, and maybe even warmer!  That just DOES NOT happen here in March... EVER!!!!  I am certainly rejoicing in the beautiful warmth and sunshine.  Although, I'm wondering if we're going to pay for it with a snowstorm in April or May or even June.  It's happened before :P.

2.  My car.  I really like my car, and I am thankful for it.  I love driving, and I love it even more in my new (to me) Mazda 3 sport.  I've had it for 10 months now, and it just makes driving so much more fun!      

3.  That no one has hit my new car yet (and I haven't hit anything with it).  There have been times when I thought I was going to get hit.  Like last Tuesday driving to my sister's when we got stuck on the highway.  They were doing construction farther up the road, and an excavator had clipped a hydro pole  so the lines were down on the road.  All the traffic was stopped, and we sat there for about 30 minutes in a huge line of stopped cars.  I was behind a transport truck, when all of a sudden he just started rolling backwards towards me.  I was thinking, what on earth is this guy doing, cause we're all stuck in traffic and there's no where to go... back or forwards???   He kept coming towards me, and I literally had no where to go.  I was starting to panic a bit, and I laid on the horn.  He still didn't stop.  Finally, my Mom jumped out of the passenger side, and he stopped literally 1 inch away from my bumper.  I was SO scared.  All I could think of was, I'm going die because some stupid truck driver is BACKING UP in stopped traffic, and he's going to crush me!!!!!!!  My Mom and I were both so scared and shocked, that when he finally did stop (literally 1 inch from my bumper), she just got back in the car and we sat there in disbelief.  Shortly after that the traffic started moving, but I kept a LONG distance back from that truck!! Freakiest thing that's ever happened to me!

4.  My job.  Sometimes work can get overwhelming.  Owning a business is not a walk in the park, but I am so thankful for how God has allowed me to have my own business.  God's blessing is definitely evident in my business, and it's because of Him that I have it.  

5.  My church.  My church has been through a lot of ups and downs in the past six years that I've been here.  I am beyond thankful that it's still here!  I'm thankful that my Pastor still preaches every Sunday.  That my Sunday School class listens to my lessons.  That the standards haven't changed.  That the doctrine hasn't changed.  That we sing hymns!  Just this past Sunday we met a lady at our nursing home service who expressed appreciation for hearing the hymns played on the piano.  She was such a nice lady, and we talked to her for quite a while.  A lot of people would have given that nursing home ministry up.  We've only ever had two or three people attend the service.  I think once, there might have been five.  Not many pastors would continue to go to a nursing home to preach to two ladies once a month.  But, if we had given up, we wouldn't have met that lady last week.  She was so friendly, and she was telling us how sad it is that all the churches have given up on the old hymns. I told her we still sing them! Every Sunday!  And we LOVE singing hymns!  (OK, I know I look pretty serious when I'm singing, but I'm playing piano too.  I try to smile, but it breaks my concentration.  I really do enjoy singing hymns, even though I might not look like it :P).

6.  The little (BIG) things.  Sometimes the little things are really the big things.  They are the things we take for granted, but in reality they are the things we should be the most thankful for.  Health, air to breathe, food to eat, homes, family, holidays, glasses (and contact lenses and sunglasses), clothes, music, the Bible, shoes, seasons, animals, tea, clean water, showers, electricity, hospitals, friends, computers, freedom, education, opportunity, and the list could go on.  We have so much!  We are blessed :).