Thankful Thursday # 19

Over at Grace Alone ..., Iris is thankful for joy. That brings to mind this verse:

" ... the joy of the Lord is your strength." ~ Neh. 8:10c

Here's what Charles Spurgeon, a preacher in the late 1800s, had to say about the joy of the Lord:

(The joy of the Lord) springs from God, and has God for its object. The believer who is in a spiritually healthy state rejoices mainly in God himself; he is happy because there is a God, and because God is in his person and character what he is. All the attributes of God become well-springs of joy to the thoughtful, contemplative believer; for such a man says within his soul, "All these attributes of my God are mine: his power, my protection; his wisdom, my guidance; his faithfulness, my foundation; his grace, my salvation."

I missed Thankful Thursday last week because I was getting my life back on an even keel after speaking at the Hearts at Home conference. I am thankful for:

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  all my TT friends who left such encouraging messages for me and who promised to pray for me as I spoke about how moms can help their sons choose purity versus pornography & about how motherhood is not about being perfect. The workshops went well and I received positive feedback from moms who were encouraged.

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  that I made it home even if it was 7 hours later than planned and via Milwaukee and Dallas. After my flight was canceled, some passengers weren't getting flights out until the next day!

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  my friend, Wendy--that's her in the photo--who traveled with me and surprised me with chocolates and a lovely scented candle for our room and helped at my book table and who kept me sane while we stood in line for more than 2 1/2 hours trying to get a flight home!

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  for an understanding husband who let me take a few days off while I caught up on lost sleep and recovered from a migraine.

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  life getting back to normal. I've got one more conference to speak at in November, but until then, I'm just being a mom and a wife and, oh,yea, an editor ... the magazine's on deadline again. But, that's normal for me.

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  I am thankful for God's attributes. He is Eternal (Ps. 90:2), Unchanging (Mal. 3:6), Holy (Rev. 15:4), All-Powerful (Joshua 4:24), All-Wise (1 Cor. 1:25), All-Knowing (1 John 3:20), Good (ps. 25:8), Loving (1 Jn. 4:8), Gracious (Jn. 1:14), Merciful (Neh. 9:31), Just (Deut. 32:4), and Sovereign (2 Sam. 7:22).