"H" In The Story Of Christmas

So, I don't know about you but as hard as I work to make the Christmas season less hectic and more peaceful, it seems like I just can't get in control of the chaos.  Since I didn't want to stress about what I would do this week for  Blogging Through The Alphabet letter "H".  I decided to just copy the Christmas story from Luke 2 and highlight all the "H" words :-)

"In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told."

May each of you have a wonderful Christmas celebration and may we all take time to ponder in our hearts the miracle gift that was given to all of us.  I saw a great quote this week "many babies grew up to be a king, but only one King became a baby."

Blogging Through The Alphabet: G is for Gifts

For Blogging Through The Alphabet today the letter is "G" and I chose the word Gifts.
I was told that yesterday is the busiest day for the U.S. Post Office.  I didn't know that as I sat and wrapped gifts readying them to mail myself.  As I sat and wrapped presents for family that are out of state, I started thinking about gifts.  What was the most special gift I ever received?  I remembered when I was around 5 years old and I couldn't decide between and Bride doll and a Betsy Wetsy doll, so I told Santa to choose and he brought me both :-).  I remembered getting the hot rollers to curl my hair as a teenager.  It was always fun to get new clothes.  But if I am being honest, I was hard pressed to actually remember over 60 years of Christmases and presents.  

We spend so much time, money and effort trying to buy the perfect gift for all of those on our Christmas list and yet if we asked them what we gave them last year would they actually remember?  It's not that we aren't grateful, it's just that as Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 1:2 "Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.“Utterly meaningless!  Everything is meaningless.”  Happiness will never be found in things. Things wear out and don't last.

But there are several gifts that will last a lifetime, that I remember well.

• My mother's love:  My mother has always loved me unconditionally.  No matter how many times I have disappointed her, she forgives me and continues to love me.
• My father's love:  I have blogged about this before, but my "father of heart" came into my life when I was 15 and I never felt like a "stepchild".  He never gave me that name, and always loved me as if I was born of his flesh.  He will always be my example of how God loves.
• My husband's love:  Steve accepted me and loved me from the get go, knowing that I was less than perfect.  I was afraid when I confessed my sins of the past to him, he would decide not to marry me.  But I will never forget the gift of his words "there but by the grace of God go I".
• Friends:  I have been blessed with many sweet friends over the years.  Their friendship has left deep footsteps in my heart.  I can't name them all here, but  I appreciate the gift of friendship because it means someone loved me enough to invest in my life and allow me to invest in theirs.
• Prayer:  What a wonderful gift prayer is!  I have no way to know the countless people and countless prayers that have been said over me, but when I was in the hospital for six months, every Tuesday afternoon Bob Legan would call my room and pray with me over the phone.  Bill Thoma fasted and prayed for me every Saturday for those months.  What a wonderful gift of faithfulness in prayer that was to me.  From that experience I learned the comfort of prayer and vowed I would never again tell someone "I will pray for you" and then not follow through. And even now, Lowell and Donna Anderson and Bob and Mary Ann Stephenson faithfully tell me every week they are praying for me.
• I am sure I could think of many more, but for the length of this post, I will stop here.

Of course I couldn't leave this post without my greatest gift--my Jesus!!  Thank you God for knowing that I would be a sinner unable to stand before a Holy God.  I wish I could have lived a perfect life in obedience to you as he did, but I am very aware that I have not, nor will I in the future.  I thank you Jesus for leaving the glories of Heaven and coming to this fallen earth and sacrificing your all so that I can be guaranteed salvation.  While I enjoy this time of year where the focus is on you as a baby, I truly love knowing that the baby in the manger leads me to my Jesus who will come back again one day and take us home with you where we will have the most wonderful Christmas celebration of all!!

I do have to share my favorite song about gifts :-)

Blogging Through the Alphabet: F is for Fear

For Blogging Through The Alphabet today the letter is "F" and I chose the word Fear.  My husband and I do a devotional each day at lunch and today the reading was from Joshua 14:

Now the people of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, 8 but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly. 9 So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed theLord my God wholeheartedly.’[a]

10 “Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! 11 I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. 12 Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.”

So many things happening in our world today that if we just look at them it would be easy to live fear filled lives.  You don't think the "bad" will be in your backyard, but twice in two months there have been random shootings in Colorado Springs that if I had just been in the wrong place at the right time, I could be one of those who are dead.  There is so much talk in the media about racial tensions and terrorists among us.  But I want to suggest we take note of a lesson from this short passage in Joshua.

When Joshua and Caleb and the other spies went to scope out enemy territory, they all saw the same view.  And when they came back they reported to Moses and said that the thought the enemy was too big and too strong, in fact they said they seemed like grasshoppers in comparison.  But Caleb said "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”

The key to overcoming fear is being confident in God's provision.  Not letting fear be our deciding factor, but wholeheartedly following the Lord knowing if He brought us to it, He will bring us through it!  We can saw with Joshua "with the Lord helping me, I will....."

We can also hold onto other Truths of His Word:

• Psalm 34:4-I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.
• Proverbs 3:24-26-When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.  Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be at your side.
• Proverbs 29:25-Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.
• Isaiah 41:10-So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Blogging Through the Alphabet: "E" is for El Roi

So at the beginning of the Blogging Through The Alphabet journey I blogged Adonai for the letter "A" and mentioned that my favorite name for God begins with the letter "E".  El Roi would be my favorite name for God, it means "the God who sees".  It first appears in Genesis 16:13.  Sarah was not able to conceive a child with Abraham so she gives him her servant Hagar who does get pregnant. For some reason after Hagar conceived she began to despise her mistress. Sarah complains to Abraham and he tells her to do with Hagar whatever she wants, so she mistreats her.  Must have been pretty bad, because Hagar runs away.  While she is in the desert an angel appears to her and asks what she is doing to which she replies "I am running away from my mistress, Sarai." The angel tells her that God is aware of her misery but she needs to return to her mistress.  He then gives her a promise that she will bear a son named Ishmael and her descendants will be too many to count.

Hagar then gave a name to the Lord who spoke to her "You are the God who sees me" for she said "I have now seen the One who sees me". (Genesis 16:13)  In Hebrew that would be El Roi (the God who sees me).  I really love knowing that God is a God who knows my misery and He sees me. Nothing escapes his attention, and while I may not understand the reasons that I am going through something, it is comforting to know that whatever it is has already passed through God's hands and he is aware.  Sometimes I question Him with my "why's", but I try to quiet the "why's" and just trust in His promises.  Especially Romans 8:28 "God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him."  I have to remind myself that He did not spare His own Son, and what He went through is much more than anything that I have encountered.

I also remind myself that God did not leave me here alone.  He sent his Son, Immanuel (God with us) which if you Romanize the spelling could be another "E" word Emmanuel :-).  God is not a distant God, one who is hands off and doesn't care.  He is with us, right beside us.  If He allows us to go through a trial, that trial has a purpose.  It may not be for me but could even be for someone else's benefit.  But I can have confidence that whatever it is God will give me the strength I need to see it through until His purposes are accomplished.

Isaiah 40:29-"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak."

Psalm 28:7-"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me."

Psalm 105:4-"Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always."

Isaiah 40:29-"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak."

Isaiah 40:3-"but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

Philippians 4:13-"I can do all this through him who gives me strength."

Ephesians 1:18-19 "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead."

Thank God I have an El Roi (a God who sees)!!

Blogging Through The Alphabet:  D is for Death and Delight

Seems like I am not on the same page as those Blogging Through The Alphabet at http://throughthecalmandthroughthestorm.blogspot.com/2015/10/blogging-through-alphabet.html, but I will just keep doing what comes to my mind.  I know seeing the word DEATH as my "D" word might seem rather surprising.  Yesterday I  spent some time with a sweet lady by the name of Mina who has been in hospice for awhile.  They have notified her daughter that she could pass on to the next life at any time.  Mina is a sweet woman who has lived a full life and dearly loves her Lord, Jesus Christ.  But she is concerned because as she said in her own words "I don't know how to die."

I have been thinking about those words since I heard them and I had to ask myself "do any of us know how to die?"  It isn't something we have mastered or have experience with.  But I do think we can take some time to think about it ahead of time.  I do think that those of us who believe that there is something after this life have more to contemplate than those that think you just die and that's it, there is nothing else.  How would you face death then?  But for me, I think those of us that believe there is a better life awaiting us, one in which we get to walk and talk with God for eternity have a lot to contemplate.  We live our lives understanding that this world is not our home.  I do think sometimes we are too attached to this world and we don't set our hearts on things above, as we are told to do in Colossians 3:1-2, "...set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."  We should all be looking forward to our death and the time where we will be with Jesus.  Death is just the door we have to go through to move into our new life, where all will be complete and perfect.

Unfortunately because we live in a world in which sin has caused things to be less than perfect, too many people have to go through some terrible suffering before their reward.  Mina has been in some terrible pain for a few months.  They have tried to give her medications to help, but they couldn't ever come up with anything that would totally take it away.  If you know anyone who has had to journey the cancer battle, it can also be very painful as it progresses.  I remember being by my father in the last days of his life and not understanding why he was having to suffer so much when God could just take him home?  I have still do not have answers to that question, but it made me all the more glad when his time did come to know that he was no longer in pain.  Perhaps that is the reason, to make us be glad our loved ones have been set free.  Otherwise, we would want them to stay with us forever.

So what does it mean to die well?  Mina, my dad and many others have showed me how to do that.  All they can do is talk about wanting to see Jesus.  While they are in terrible pain, that is not their focus.  They want scriptures read to them, they want music sung to them, they want to talk about their Jesus.    Which brings me to my other "D" word DELIGHT.  When Jesus is the Lord of your life you can delight in Him and delight in death.

Today in Bible Study Fellowship we looked at Revelation, Chapter 5.  It is centered around the throne of God.

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,

    to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength

    and honor and glory and praise!”

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb

    be praise and honor and glory and power,

                                        for ever and ever!”

Last week in Chapter 4 we read:

Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:

“‘Holy, holy, holy

is the Lord God Almighty,’[b]

who was, and is, and is to come.”

  Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:

  

“You are worthy, our Lord and God,

    to receive glory and honor and power,

for you created all things,

    and by your will they were created

    and have their being.”

Who wouldn't want to be a part of that scene?  So keep your eyes on the prize, and remember this world is not our home.  Remember you have a Savior that went to the cross and conquered Death, so that you wouldn't have to and you can actually Delight in the the knowledge that you will be in His presence one day and will worship Him for eternity!!

 P.S.  Would you please say a prayer for sweet Mina, that she will just close her eyes and wake up in Jesus' arms and that will happen soon!!!

Blogging Through The Alphabet: "C" is for CLARITY

So for the letter "C" for today's Blogging Through the Alphabet, what came to my mind was Clarity.
My Facebook page has been flooded today with people posting concerns and negative remarks about Obama's plan to bring Syrian refugees into the United States.  Some have said 10,000 and others have said 100,000 and I didn't go out to research the actual amount.  The numbers don't matter that much to me.  What matters to me is the fear that is hindering people from seeing the need. 

 I understand the fear in light of the terrorist attacks that we have seen in recent days/weeks/months.  But I am wrestling with what would God want us to do with the families that have had to leave their homes to escape the terror on their own lives and their efforts to protect their own families? I have seen a lot of comments that it is mostly men, but not in the pictures I have been seeing.

  
So all I know to do is pray for clarity.  I am asking God to give our leaders wisdom.  I am asking Him to give us leaders who believe in prayer and seek His direction before making decisions.  Then I am asking Him if we are to take the refugees into our country, states, cities and homes that He make that abundantly clear to all of us.

There are several verses that speak to God's heart for refugees, here are just a few:

• Jeremiah 7:4-12 (NRSV)  Do not trust in these deceptive words: “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.” For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your ancestors forever and ever.
• Zechariah 7:10 (NRSV) do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.
• Malachi 3:5 (NRSV) Then I will draw near to you for judgment; I will be swift to bear witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages, the widow and the orphan, against those who thrust aside the alien, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

I also pray that people can have discussions without condemning each other for opposing views.  Guess that would be another "c" word :-)  May God keep His promise to us all "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

I also have faith in God's ability to provide Clarity by keeping another promise " If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." James 1:5 (for me wisdom is another word for clarity)

Father God, give us Your eyes and Your heart.  May we not dismiss those who are in need, but please show us the way to help them and not be filled with fear of the evil that might come along with that.  Our sincerest prayer is that Satan and his evils works will be defeated in the name of our Lord and Savior who has already conquered him.  Thank you, Father! Amen.

Blogging Through the Alphabet: B is for ?

So you will have to read pretty far into my post to see what my letter "B" is for this week of  Blogging Through The Alphabet.  Sticking with my first week theme of a name.  I thought I would just mention some Bible names (oops guess that is also a "B", but not the one I am using for this post :-) )

I think it was Shakespeare who asked "What's In A Name"?  Parents spend a lot of time thinking of a name for their child.  Some kids just get a name that is being passed on and they end up being a Junior.  Always wondered why girls couldn't be a Junior?  I digress.  Anyway in the Bible names actually had meanings attached to them.  Here are some examples:

Some names that were true to their characters:

• Abraham-father of many nations (Ge 17:5)
• Adam-man; human being; red (color of earth) (Ge. 2:19)
• Eve-life;living (Ge. 3:20)
• Ezekiel-God will strengthen (Ez. 1:3)
• Daniel-God is my judge (1 Chr. 3:1)
• David-Believed (Ru. 4:17)
• Gabriel-man of God (Da. 8:16)
• Jacob-supplantar; deceiver, trickster (Ge. 25:26)
• Hannah-grace (1 Sa. 1:2)
• Israel — he will reign with God; he that fights with God; God fights; soldier of God (Ge 32:28)
• Lazarus-God has helped (Luke 16:20)
• Moses-drawn out of the waters (Ex. 2:10)
• Timothy-honoring or worshiping God (2 Co. 1:1)

Who wouldn't want this name based on the meaning? (although I haven't heard of many of them)

• Dara-pearl of wisdom (1 Ch. 2:6)
• Dodavah-love of Jehovah (2 Ch. 20:37)
• Elizaphan-God protects (Nu.3:30)
• Ezekias-Jehovah is strong; strength of Jehovah (Mat. 1:9)
• Hasadiah-whom Jehovah loves; Jehovah is kind (1 Chr. 3:20)
• Ismaiah — Jehovah hears (1Ch. 12:4).
• Jedidiah-beloved of Jehovah (2 Sa. 12:25)
• Jehozabad-Jehovah has given or bestowed (2 Ki. 12:21)
• Joanna-Jehovah has favored (Luke 3:27)
• Tabeal-God is good (Isa.7:6)

Who would want this name?

• Chesil-fool; (fat?) (Jos. 15:30)
• Chozeba-decietful (1 Chr. 4:22)
• Dibri-wordy (Le. 24:11)
• Doeg-fearful; timid;anxious (I Sa. 21:7)
• Gareb-scabby (2 Sa. 23:38)
• Hathath-terror (1 Ch 4:13)
• Hulday-weasel (2 Ki. 22:14)
• Ikkesh-perverse (2 Sa. 23:26)
• Leah-fatigued; wearied (Ge 29:16)
• Mahli-sickly;sick;weak (Nu.3:20)
• Marah-bitterness (Ex. 15:23)

My niece is named Danette Lynn.  It means so much that my sister chose to name her daughter after me.  I wouldn't be honest if I didn't admit that she has a little extra space in my heart because of that.

So all of this is to reveal my "B" word........BESSIELYN....that is my name :-)  I was named after my maternal grandmother, Bessie Mae.  When I was a freshman in high school I dropped my name to Lynn (and added an "n"?) just because people were always mispronouncing my name or shortening it to Bessie, which I never liked because of a mean boy in the 6th grade that told me Bessie was the name of Mrs O'Leary's cow that started the 1871 Chicago fire.  Interesting how his story meant more to me than my sweet grandmother that I was named after?  The power of words!  Anyway, all of this leads me to think about my most important name "child of God".  That is who I am! And all because of a loving Savior who in some inconceivable way is also my brother! "Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." (Romans 8:17)

Blogging Through The Alphabet: Letter A

I used to blog quite frequently, but just got out of the habit and decided I would take up a challenge of a friend to spend the next 26 weeks blogging through the alphabet.

Blogging Through The Alphabet (you can read other people's post on the letter A here)

So I begin today with the letter A which will be for Adonai.  I have always enjoyed studying the different names for God.  We lose so much from the original languages that the Bible was written (Old Testament-Hebrew and New Testament-Greek).  They had many more names for God that reflected different aspects of His personality.  I was going to say what my favorite is, but I think I will keep any readers in suspense and reveal it with the letter E :-) 

The first use of the word Adonai in the Bible is found in Genesis 15:2 "But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" Adonai is the plural for the Hebrew word "adon" which translates to "my lord". Thus the word Adonai generally denotes the authority and exalted position of God. Primarily, as it pertains to God, Adonai stress God's relationship with man as Master, Authority and Provider.  If God is Adonai to you, He is the one to whom you submit or bow down; He is the Boss of your life. Adonai is the ultimate authority figure in your life and the One to whom you owe your complete allegiance.

So it begs us to question "Who's the boss of you?",  Most of us don't like to submit to anyone else.  Our culture cries out for us to be "our own person", be self sufficient.  How many times have we tried to see how close we can come to breaking the rules without really breaking them? Isn't our prison system filled with people that thought they could break the rules with no consequences?

It is easy to be submissive when we agree with the rules.  But when God is Adonai, you allow him to have total control and authority.  Your rules then become:

• "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." (Matthew 22:37)
•  "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:44)
•  "So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one      separate." (Matthew 19:6)
• "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right" (Ephesians 6:1)
• "Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor." (Romans 12:10)

These are just of few of many.  But if we all submitted and did these five, how would our world be different?  If marriages were intact, children obeyed their parents, everyone loved their enemies and tried to outdo one another in showing honor?  It would be transforming.  That is is why it is important for those of us who call God, Adonai to be different.  We are called to be the light in the darkness.  Perhaps that would be easier to do if we remember who is the Master of our lives and what He asks us to submit to.  Who's your boss?

Tenth Anniversary Of Accident

Anniversary is usually a happy word.  Perhaps today isn't as much of an Anniversary as it a Memorial?  Ten years ago today a man chose to get behind the wheel of a car drunk and in his impaired judgment got on the 75 freeway in Dallas, Texas going south on the north bound lane. As you can see in this picture, that wasn't an easy feat, as it has a barrier down the middle, walls on each side and you would have to enter totally on the wrong side, not just cross over a median.

 It was 10:00 P.M., so it was dark, but still incomprehensible how this could happen, except it shows how impaired one can be when drunk behind the wheel.  He was driving a Ford F-150, I was in a Honda Accord.

My legs were crushed and I had several broken ribs.  Fortunately, no head injuries.  I spent 3 weeks in a medically induced coma and 6 months in rehab.

 Then there were another 2 years of surgeries and recoveries before life became my "new normal".

The scars tell the story.

 All those memories do come flooding back today.  But I thought in honor of the day I would list 10 positive things that came out of that day.

1. Where my accident happened was a blessing.  If it had been a mile further up the freeway or a mile behind, I would have been taken to another hospital.  As it was I was taken to Baylor hospital where it just so happened the premier trauma surgeon in Dallas just happened to be on call?  Any other hospital and it was fairly certain that my leg would have been amputated.  So while I may question at times why God didn't prevent my accident, I know that He couldn't control someone else's poor decision to drive drunk and I thank Him for making sure I would get the best help.  I am also thankful for the unknown angels that stopped and talked with me until the emergency workers could get there. They also called Steve and my mom to let them know what had happened.  I don't know who they were so I just call them my angels.

2.  I can honestly say through rehab and my recovery that "Never Once Did I Ever Walk Alone".  I could not have done it without the thousands of prayers that were going up for me.  God gave me the strength I needed for each step of the way.  I am forever thankful!

3.  I have been blessed with the most amazing caretaker ever!  My husband Steve sacrificed/sacrifices so much for me each and every day.  From bathing and putting lotion on me, to cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, taking me to doctor appointments, therapy appointments, giving me shots, hooking up IV's, etc. etc.  Then what Steve couldn't do my mother supplemented.  When Steve had to return to work, she stayed with me and took me to appointments, also cleaned my house, cooked and took great care of me!  All the while, my father was ill and she was caring for him too.

4.  I am thankful for my family. Brothers, Sisters, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins (my grandparents were deceased) who though they didn't live in the Dallas area, all came to visit and then stayed in touch throughout my recovery.  Long before the days when Facebook makes it a little easier :-)

5.  My church family was absolutely AMAZING!  Where do I begin?  First of all the Church Administrator at the time knew to file this as a Workmen's Compensation case because I was coming home after being with a child in my ministry at the hospital.  It has meant Steve and I have not paid one penny of any of the expenses over the years!  Then my church elders committed to pay my a full salary, even though WC was paying 80%.  They bought me a laptop computer so that I could keep up with communications at home.  I had a Children's Ministry team that stepped up to the plate and covered all the basis so that the children/families would continue to have opportunities to learn and serve the Lord together.  The many visits, calls, cards and prayers were the best medicine possible. Ten years later and my heart is still touched by Bob Legan, who called and prayed for me every Tuesday afternoon on the phone.  For Bill Thoma who fasted and prayed every Saturday for 6 months! For Matalee Heflin, who at the age of 3, would call and sing songs for me over the phone. For my Supper Club friends who decorated my house for Christmas.  And too many more to list here.

6.  I am thankful for the skills and talents that God blessed Dr. Paul Freudigman with.  He didn't necessarily recognize they were from God.  But I thank God for the wisdom he had in using a Russian technique called and Illizarov Frame to save my leg.  Yes, I had to wear it two different times to get complete healing, but I am blessed with two legs and not living life in  a wheelchair.  Dr. F. did not have the best bedside manner, so I am also thankful for his assistant, Robin, who provided a more tender touch.  I have to admit, somewhere along the way in my 2 year treatment, Dr. Freudigman softened and would actually pat me on the shoulder :-)  I am thankful for all the nurses, and rehab staff that took such great care of me!

7.  I am actually thankful for rehab itself.  Sometimes it just takes putting things in perspective.  There were so many in rehab that were in far worse shape than I was.  My original roommate (before I got moved to a private room) had a head injury from being t-boned in an accident and they had to keep her in a caged bed because she was so irrational.  I made a friend named Mary who lost her battle to keep her leg and had to have it amputated.  There was a father of four (don't remember his name) whose children would come to visit him and he could not speak to them because he had had a stroke in his 30's, nor could he hug them because he did not have use of his arms.  The therapists were gentle but persistent in pushing me to do things I didn't think I could do, but were needed in order for me to gain strength and recover.  I wish I remembered all of their names. But thankful that there are people who feel called to be be therapist and the work that they do!

8.  I am thankful for contemporary Christian music!  And thankful for CD players and headphones.  Again no Ipod's ten years ago...isn't that amazing?  But the music would soothe my soul and the lyrics would help me to worship God in the midst of the storm.  I especially listened over and over to the CD my children's ministry friends made me.  At the time I was a part of a Children's Ministry Network of other children's ministers in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and we would meet once a month to "pick each other's brains" and for fellowship.  They became wonderful friends.  They got together and each contributed their favorite song and put them on a CD for me and then wrote a description of why that song was important to them.  It was a priceless treasure!

9.  I am thankful for Church Mutual my workman's compensation insurance, who has really taken very good care of me!  From the get go they have given me everything I have needed to have the best quality of life.  They remodeled our house and made it handicap friendly.  Tearing up carpet and putting in wood floors so a wheel chair would be easily managed.  They remodeled the master bath so that I would have a walk in shower and be able to use my wheelchair at the vanity and toilet.  They would have remodeled the kitchen, making cabinets lower, but I didn't think that was necessary.  They put rails on my pool so that I could do water therapy.  They provided a power chair so that once I returned to work I could get around the halls of the church building easier than a wheel chair. They even offered to buy us a new van to transport the chair, but thinking I wouldn't be incapacitated that long, we denied that too (maybe our only regret).

10.  I could probably keep listing things, but I said 10 for 10 years, so here we go.  It is hard to believe in about 3 weeks we will have lived in Colorado for 5 years!!  I am pretty sure if the accident had not happened we would not be here.  For too many reasons to list here, the best being Steve and I both retired, we did choose to move to be closer to my family in Denver.  Again God has blessed me with a wonderful church family.  It is hard to hide from them my immobility as most Sundays, I am on a walker.  There isn't a time that I with them that someone isn't asking me how I am doing.  Someone is always telling me they are praying for me.  They pray that my pain will subside.  Without surgery, that doesn't seem to be in God's plan for me.  Does that get discouraging?  Yes, it does.  But I remind myself that the apostle Paul (who had a much deeper relationship with God than I do) prayed several times that his thorn in the flesh be removed, and it wasn't.  God told him "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  Paul then says, "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."  I cannot do less.

I thank God for each of these 10 and so much more!  May I continue to surrender to His control and I pray that He will continue to use me in His Kingdom for His glory.