THANKSgiving

Well, Happy Thanksgiving all you Insight readers!! I know this post is at the end of your Thanksgiving dinner, but hey! Thanksgiving is just one day of the year, but being thankful for the blessings God gives us should be a 365 day remembrance.

And for a little Thanksgiving fun, I'm doing the T.H.A.N.K.S.G.I.V.I.N.G challenge. So for each letter in the word "Thanksgiving", I'm going to tell you what I'm thankful for. Here goes!


Time. I'm finding out how precious time is and how fast it comes and goes. Time is our worst enemy, but it's what gives us the opportunity to work, spend quality time with family, and do all the fun stuff we enjoy doing in our lives.

Horses. Horses have been my therapists. They always lift my depressed spirits and they bring me joy. God knew exactly what I needed to get through this life somewhat sanely. Haha.

America. I'm grateful for this country we live in. It certainly has its problems, but I'm keeping the Old American pride.

Naps. Some days are so busy and I'm definitely tired by mid-afternoon, so it's really nice to just close my eyes and relax. With that, I hope you all take this four day weekend a little easier, too. :)

K. Yup, I'm thankful for the 11th letter in the alphabet. Haha, no. That's just to throw you off. I'm thankful for my little collie, Keara! I'm thankful for all of our animals, but you know, "K" isn't a really easy letter either. ;-)

Sweet potates. Okay, I'm crazy about sweet potatoes! That is my favorite thing on the Thanksgiving table and I'm most thankful for yams and marshmallows.

Grace. God's grace is sufficient for all and without His mercy, we would be lost forever. Thank God for His love for us!
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Interests. (aka hobbies) Those nice little activities that keep a person out of trouble. I love writing, working with horses, doing all the other stuff I like to do when I'm home. It's amazing that God gives us individual interests and passions. So basically, I'm thankful for individuality as well.

Violets. This is a hard letter! Okay, though I am not a big fan of flowers, violets are probably my favorite flowers. They bring a beautiful purple flavor to nature and I'm thankful that God creates beautiful things for us to look at.

Internet. Yeah, that's a given, right? Without it, I wouldn't have written this post and you wouldn't be reading it! It's what connects us when we're in different parts of the state, nation, and world.

Nachos. Yes, no county fair is complete without chips and cheese dips! But basically, I'm thankful that God gives us a variety of foods to enjoy. Healthy or yeah, unhealthy. :-P

God. He is the most important part of my life and I wouldn't be here without Him. He's why I exist and I'm thankful to Him for giving me life.

Mmm....sweet potatoes!

I did it! Now it's your turn. Tell your friends how God has blessed you this year and on your hardest days, write down all those blessings and I guarantee you won't think life is quite as bad as it may have felt. :-)

Yours blogever,
Julianna

My Big Little Surprise

Everyone, I'd like you to meet my new horse, Braje (Bray-ge or if that doesn't help, it has the "garage" sound at the end). She's the big surprise I mentioned on the G+ post. She is a fourteen-year-old, chestnut reining mare who hasn't been used in the last six years or so. She's got a lot of good reining blood (ancestry) in her and has the perfect temperament. She stands at 14.3 hands high, although is a little taller in front since a friend of ours put plastic shoes on her front feet. She wasn't cared for the best at her previous home and if the cracks in her front feet hadn't been taken care of in a couple more weeks, she would have probably ended up lame..for good. So, we're fixing the problem by spraying on a plastic substance on the bottom of her feet to bring the sole back together again. The cracks were so deep that you could see her foot--not her hoof--but the actually foot sticking out. Our friend had to dig all the dirt and stuff out of it--making it bleed--so that it wouldn't become infected. But she's home now and being taken care of. She's not in pain now! :) My hope is to show her in reining classes (around here and Minnesota) and give riding lessons on her. So, she kind of earns her keep. ;)  

Here she is in her "private" pasture, so she and the others can "meet" each other without hurting themselves.

Looking out at the other horses.

                                       

                                                                                                                                                                              

                           

Soft eyes, good confirmation, and smart     

                                   

 

        .

Has a low head carriage (Sky in background)

                                                                  

                                                                                

First time she ever heard cows. She's like "Wha?" :D

Praising Him Through the Storm

Do you ever run into those times in your life when everything is going downhill and it's all you can do to keep from drowning? Not to mention how difficult it is to look to God and say "Thank You"?

It's so easy to try to battle our way through our own problems when we don't seem to get an answer from God. And it's not very easy to give Him praise through the struggles. I wanted to write about this topic today, because this is something that I've been struggling in with day to day situations. Not that any of you are dealing with this problem; but in case you are, I wanted this to be of some encouragement for you.

In this blog post, I'd like to share parts of a devotion book that my Mom has been reading from. You may have remembered a post awhile back that talked about God's handiwork in making stars. For this particular devotion, Max Lucado talks about the "Grateful Heart".

"Gratitude lifts our eyes off the things we lack so we might see the blessings we possess."  

When we start to focus on things we don't have, we lose sight of the things we do have. In Philippians 4:11, a very well known passage to all of us, Paul writes "Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content". Though at this very moment, we might be walking through some valley, we need to follow Paul's example and be "content" with where God has placed us. We may not know where the road leads, but God has us where we are "stationed" for a reason. And He has equipped us with everything we need.

Lucado goes on to suggest what we can do: "Major in the grace of God. When Paul sent Timothy off to spiritual university, he told him to major in the grace of God: "You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 2:1)." A little farther down, Lucado goes on to say: "Measure the gifts of God. Collect your blessings. Catalog His kindnesses. Assemble your reasons for gratitude and recite them. 'Always be joyful. Pray continually, and give thanks whatever happens. That is what God wants for you in Christ Jesus' (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)."

When we look at this verse, we see three commands: "Be joyful", "pray continually", and "give thanks whatever happens". Can we "force" ourselves to be joyful in difficult times? Yes, probably. But being "joyful" means completely putting our heart into it. Being sincerely joyful doesn't mean half-heartedly giving it a try. It's choosing to praise God through the rain. Secondly, there's the step of praying "continually". It's keeping our eyes on Him and not taking them off of Him, that is what keeps our mind on the "things above" (Colossians 3:2). These are the "things" that really matter. But if we're like Peter who looks away from Jesus and starts to focus on the waves, then we will not be placing our attention on Christ--the One Who can see us through the difficult times. And then lastly, we must "give thanks whatever happens". Though it may not come easy for us, God tells us in Psalm 100:4 to "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name". Why we should do this, is explained in the fifth verse: "For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations".

Notice that the last verse is in present tense. He is good, His mercy is everlasting, and His goodness and mercy endures. This is for you, my friend. God's promise still holds true to this very minute. Hold on to Him and "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus". (Philippians 4:6-7)

Sister in Christ,
Julianna

"I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well." ~Psalm 139:14 

Heart of Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving in the United States being celebrated nation-wide tomorrow, we think back on all the many blessings that God has bestowed upon us.  But how can we be thankful with all the sin and havoc that is going on in the world today? How can we rejoice when wars are breaking out and our peaceful lives are being disrupted by chaos and confusion?  It's not easy.  But if we turn to our Bibles and pray daily for those who constantly live in turmoil, even if we ourselves do not, we are living out our Christian roles.  We cannot fix the problems in our world single-handedly; but we can turn to the One who can fix the problems of this world with a wave of His hand.  Powerful and almighty, God can do anything. However, we live in a wicked world and will continue to until "our number is up" or the world's "number is up".  We can pray though and give thanks to God for what He has done in the past, is doing in the present, and will do in the future.  The future is in His hands and it's not our duty to find out what He's going to do next; we just need to have faith that whatever happens, it will be for His glory and He is always in control.

In Psalm 100:4-5 it says, "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations".  From generation to generation, we've seen His mighty hand at work; through wars and famines, through good and bad, God has always been in control and we must remember that we have much to be thankful for.  In fact, I'd like to share with you something that I've been doing for the past few Thanksgivings.  I take a piece of paper and on the left hand side of it, I write "Happy Thanksgiving" in a downward motion like this:

"T
 H
 A
 N
 K...etc."

Then I write one thing-beginning with that letter-that I'm thankful for, such as this: "H"="Horses".  It might not cover everything that you're thankful for, but that's when you can get out a notebook and write down everything that you're thankful for. Probably wouldn't take more than a few minutes and it serves as a good reminder on our days when nothing is going right for us and everything is against us.  These lists will prove to you-whether you keep it on your refrigerator or memorize it-that God has been faithful.
 
I would like to share a few verses with you now on Thanksgiving.

When you're worried: (Philippians 4:6) "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything be prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;..."

God's commands on being thankful: (Psalm 50:14) "Offer to God thanksgiving, And pay your vows to the Most High." 

When in dispair: (1 Chronicles 16:34) "Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever".

We're never out of God's love. And that's something most important to be thankful for. Christ died on the cross for our sins. Important to be thankful for. Christ is preparing a heavenly home for us to live in. What a wonderful thing to be thankful for.  No more tears, no more sorrows, no more pain, no more death, no more lying or cheating, no more stealing, and no more idolatry or adultery. Heaven is something to be thankful for. Wow! So many things to be thankful for and we've only scratched the surface. ;)