Thankful

"Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and perform your vows to the Most High,
and call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you,
and you shall glorify me."
Psalm 50:14-15

These were the verses that stood out to me this morning in my time with the Lord. I realize I am about to use the same word twice in this next sentence... I am so thankful that even during this difficult time that my heart has truly been overflowing with thankfulness. Thankful for His grace, thankful for His goodness, thankful for my family, thankful for 25 years with an incredible, beautiful woman of God as my mom, thankful to know she isn't suffering anymore, thankful for a church body who constantly encourages and loves on me and my family during this time, thankful for strangers who pour out love and prayers over our family.

When I read these verses, I was very encouraged. I can be confident that when I call on my God in this day of trouble, that He will deliver me.

Thank you for the countless prayers that are being offered up on our behalf. I can't put into words the gratitude in our hearts and what it's like to be on the receiving end of such love and encouragement.

Here are few specific prayer requests as we approach the week ahead:
- Continued grace and strength for our family
- Tony - I ask that you place him at the top of your list - pray for comfort, for God to be near to his heart, that He would supply his every need and that he would continue to breath in God's grace
- For myself and for Hutch (the student pastor at our church) - Hutch, my mom and I have been a team these past three years (Hutch and my mom have worked together for 11 years) working in our student ministry. It will be gut-wrenchingly different without her there with us. Please pray for grace, strength and wisdom as we move forward without her - she literally held the place together.
- Joy - that God would work joy in our hearts. There is a Matt Redman song I have been listening to a lot, and one of the lines is "breathing in your grace, breathing out your praise." I want this to be a reality for our family - to breath in His grace and breath out His praise in return.

"This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it."