Thanksgiving

This was passed on to me via e-mail and while I usually do not pass such things on this one helped me through the day. It is attributed to Rex Barker and I think is is fitting for the season we are in.
Dear God,
I want to thank You for what you have already done.
I am not going to wait until I see results or receive rewards.
I am not going to wait until I feel better or things look better.
I am not going to wait until people say they are sorry or until they stop talking about me.
I am not going to wait until the pain in my body disappears.
I am not going to wait until my financial situation improves.
I am not going to wait until the children are asleep and the house is quiet.
I am not going to wait until I get promoted at work or until I get the job.
I am not doing to wait until I understand every experience in my life that has caused me pain or grief.
I am not going to wait until the journey gets easier or the challenges are removed..

I am thanking you because I am alive.
I am thanking your because I made it through the day’s difficulties.
I am thanking you because I have walked around the obstacles.
I am thanking you because I have the ability and the opportunity to do more and do better.
I am thanking you because you haven’t given up on me.

Thank You.

I hope you take time to thank someone.

It's official, it was announced yesterday that the stock market has officially lost half its value from its all time high a year ago. And with the questions concerning bailouts and bankruptcies on the horizon we may not have reached the bottom for this market. As people of faith how then do we face the future?
First we need to be realistic. These are difficult times for a lot of people. We will be seeing some people lose their jobs, lose their homes and struggle to put food on their tables just to feed their families. There will be some that will lose a big chunk of their life's savings and be forced to put off retirement or change their retirement plans completely. We face some very difficult times indeed.
Second, some changes may need to be made. In the midst of all the economic changes happening I have been taking a hard look at the way I live. I am looking at two areas of my life. What areas in my life can I cut back on and seek to live a simpler life. As I look at my checkbook I see a lot of areas where I can cut back because of my tendency to waste money on things I may not need for the sake of my own comfort. The question I ask myself is how can I live a simpler life? Also, I am trying to look at ways in which I can give more. How can I increase my giving to help people in need. I realize I would be unable to ease the suffering of all people but what I can do is help some people through this crisis.
Third, we need to see this crisis as an opportunity. I have a friend who repeatedly says, "don't waste a good crisis." This is an opportunity for the people of God and people of faith to step up and do what we can with what we have to help those in need. How can we step up? That is the big question. We need to listen to those who are hurting and not judge them but be a place where we can help with the resources God has given us. Praying for the guidance of God is a good place to begin. As we pray I believe God will direct us to action if we are willing.

I love mission trips. I believe it is the best way for me to connect with people in need and see of the results of putting faith into action. I just got home from a one week trip with three others from my church. We were working with about 40 others building two houses for Habitat for Humanity in Port Arthur, TX.

I learn a great deal of things about myself and others as I work on mission trips. On this particular trip I learned the need for patience when working with groups. While I have a tendency to organize events that I am in charge of it become very easy for me to become inpatient when others are not as organized as I am. When we arrived at the church which was to be our home for the week we discovered the slab for both of the homes we were to be working on were yet to be poured. They were originally to be poured on Friday before we arrived on Sunday but because of some bureaucratic hold up they could not be poured until the following Monday. That meant the crew would have to be split up to a couple of different sites for Monday work. So the team I was on went to work on some other habitat homes in Beaumont while the other crew went to the site to do some work building some prefab items that could be done while the slab was being poured.

It wasn't until Tuesday after lunch that my crew made it to the site and actually began working on the houses. That was all right because I had the opportunity to work Tuesday morning in Sabine Pass a community that was literally wiped out by the hurricane and from what I saw very little work had been done because there was still a lot of major clean-up to do from three years ago.

But in spite of the late start we were able to do a little catch up over the rest of the week and even though were were not as far along as they wanted to be. I felt we accomplished a lot of work in a short period of time. We had come a long way from no slab on Monday to where we wrapped up on Friday.

Some in our group were planning to work both weeks but others like me only gave one week to the project. But I can't wait to see the progress they are making this week.

I am posting a video of pictures that were taken on the trip I was on and the song is by Casting Crowns, "Who Am I" from the CD: "Casting Crowns". I plan on showing the video in worship Nov. 16th.