THANKFUL!!
While ti is necessary to be in an attitude of gratitude on a daily basis, THIS is the season set aside on the calendar when we look back at the year to reflect on things we are undeniably thankful for. Surely, it is a grand idea to recite what we are thankful during this season - after you have been through a log (.... and I have) ... I tend to be thankful daily - with - or without a feast of turkey and the dressings attached. Don't get me wrong - preparing for the Thanksgiving holiday is a festive time but I am undeniably grateful for every day!!!
Being "Thankful" exists in everyone in varying degrees. I'd be FIRST to tell you that I like "stuff" but as I get older it is NOT the "stuff" that I am especially thank for. Don't get me wrong - I like "stuff" a lot. As I have gotten older the "stuff" does not define me as much as PEACE OF MIND! I am grateful that my life is what it is - 'cause certainly it could have been worse - so the "things" as wonderful as they are take second place to "PEACE OF MIND". Peace of mind is PRICELESS! As I search my soul in this season of being thankful - for sure - PEACE OF MIND ranks pretty high on my personal list.
Being a single-mother, I am THANKFUL that my daughter has been brought up in an atmosphere of THANKSGIVING! While I am proud that she is now a college graduate - she is returning to me values I instilled inside of her. Sometimes SHE prays for me. She reminds ME of God's Word. I can tell you NOW that when you bring up a child in the way of the Lord - they will not stray. If they do stray, they will not stray too far. The Word is what I desired to plant inside of her - I am THANKFUL that I am able to see the harvest. God I thank you!! We have not slept on a "bed of ease" by any means. We have had to go to counselling - more than once. There were some "questions" that lied between us that I did not know how to address. Rejection issues from when her father walked out on us. Girls need the affirmation of their Father. I bend my elbow and pat "myself" on the back because I never kept him away form her or kept them from having a relationship - he later admitted that he just did not KNOW how to be a parent. Fast forward, I had to navigate the painful waters of reassuring her when we had to stand in front of his coffin during his funeral. Truth is, her father DIED in her eyes long before she saw him for the last time at his funeral. His funeral was a painful closure to an era in both of our lives. I am THANKFUL that he was introduced to the plan of salvation before his journey into eternity. RIP, Johnny. This affliction was painful - felt like it lasted FOREVER - but it was for a MOMENT. Words cannot begin to express the level of growth I attained during this period of my life. I learned about TRUE intimacy with God. I learned (... among many things) ... how strong my daughter was. God grew her up in sooooo many ways as well. We are THANKFUL to have one another. We are THANKFUL that God showed himself mighty in our battle. We are THANKFUL that we have memories and traditions that we have created over the years. We mature at different levels and I am THANKFUL that she and I are "still together" cooking and baking on this THANKSGIVING DAY!!
I am enormously THANKFUL for "Deborah's Freedom"! Those who have followed this page for any length of time know about the battle I had with God about doing this. "Deborah's Freedom" meant that I had to be transparent in some "secret" areas of my life. MANY people had NO IDEA I was living the secret life as a domestic abuse survivor. Oh yeah, I have been dealt a hard hand - but I had to play the cards God gave me. I fought God - tooth and nail - I DID NOT have any aspirations - WHATSOEVER - to be in conversation on social media! NOPE! NO WAY! NOT ME! It may be fruitful for me to end this prose with I gave up fighting - because "GOD WON"! I recall how excited I was when I had document ONE HUNDRED FOLLOWERS! My God. My God! Now as I am being fed metrics that there are TENS OF THOUSANDS in the "like" and "follow" mode I am elated! Thing is - HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS "visit" this page - I call them "curiosity seekers". That is good too! "Deborah's Freedom" IS NOT your local "bible study" or a space where I spew my opinion and shove it down the throats of anyone who will listen. On the contrary - I am still learning myself! I have found that I am NOT a poster child for life - but rather, I am someone that people can identify with. FaceBook and Instagram suggested that I put my photo on my page more often - noting that people wanna SEE the face of the person that can verify that there is a GOD. I can unequivocally verify that there "IS" a true and living God. Look at my photo again - see that smile - that smile was birthed through tears. God dies not love me any more than He does you. What God has done for ME - take it to the bank - He will also do for you! There is no "formula" for moving on with your walk with God - HOW#EVER - you have your BIBLE - B(ASIC) - (i)INSTRUCTIONS - (B)EFORE - (L)EAVING - (E)ARTH as your guide. We are ALL on a journey of learning - we grow differently - thing is - you gotta take steps. Sometimes you gotta crawl. You WILL make it to your destination! YOUR destination may be different from God's destination for you. I mean, who knew "Deborah's Freedom" was gong to grow like it has. Deborah had to get out of God's way. God was unrelenting with his plan for me - in fact - NOTHING else was working out in my life until I said "COMPLETELY YES"!! I am THANKFUL for how God "gives" me what to say and for some it has been an "on-time" word with "pin-point accuracy". I pray to walk worthy of the CALL on my life. The microphone is on every day and I open my mouth - or in this case, I put my hands to the keyboard - and the rest is totally up to God. God told me to "build it" and then he would "bless it". Faith without works is DEAD. Period! I am THANKFUL for the people on "Deborah's Freedom" who have trusted me with confidence that I would never jeopardize. I seek to assist people that need to shift their PERSPECTIVE. Freedom is not free, folks. There is a cost to freedom - at the end of the day - freedom is "sweet"! I am THANKFUL that this forum allows me to be honest - even at the expense of having some that do not agree. It is okay to disagree - it is not okay to be disagreeable. I am growing BEYOND seeking to be a "people please". ( ... now that is FREEDOM all by itself)! I am THANKFUL for the people on "Deborah's Freedom" who have become "friends" to me. Can you tell how "THANKFUL" I am to be chosen for such a time as this to be part of "Deborah's Freedom"? "Deborah's Freedom" belongs to GOD - I am just THANKFUL that He has trusted me with it. I am standing on HOLY GROUND!
As you prepare for a feast with family and friends - don't forget that being THANKFUL is not just for THANKSGIVING DAY! Feed someone that is homeless on a day that is NOT in this season - they are hungry the other 364 days. If your volunteer efforts are only for a "camera shot" - search your soul. N one needs to "SEE" that you are being kind to someone less for fortunate - GOD SEES IT - and "THAT" is what matters. I am still THANKFUL for the box of food a local church gave me when I had NOTHING but a mayo jar in my refrigerator and no idea how we would eat. I am THANKFUL for the people who slid a $20 in my hand for gas not knowing that I cam church on "E" and my pride or my pain would not ask for help. Be careful when you do NOT listen to God when HE asks you to help someone - even on the smallest scale. That one act of kindness could make the difference between eating and not eating. I give NOW not out of extreme abundance - but rather because I KNOW what it means to hve NOTHING.
My own life is "FAR" from where I imagined it would be BUT I am THANKFUL my life turned out the way that it has . THE BEST IS YET TO COME!! Remember my name - "Deborah's Freedom" has many more lives to touch and God is making room for the gift and calling within me. The testimonies I receive as a result of what God is doing through me are phenomenal! God is doing exceedingly, abundantly and far beyond anything I could have asked or thought! I am living a dream! I am THANKFUL! I am THANKFUL for the opportunity to give of myself to "Deborah's Freedom" everyday!
WHAT ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR?
Pause and give HIM THANKS!
I THANK GOD FOR YOU!
Being "Thankful" exists in everyone in varying degrees. I'd be FIRST to tell you that I like "stuff" but as I get older it is NOT the "stuff" that I am especially thank for. Don't get me wrong - I like "stuff" a lot. As I have gotten older the "stuff" does not define me as much as PEACE OF MIND! I am grateful that my life is what it is - 'cause certainly it could have been worse - so the "things" as wonderful as they are take second place to "PEACE OF MIND". Peace of mind is PRICELESS! As I search my soul in this season of being thankful - for sure - PEACE OF MIND ranks pretty high on my personal list.
Being a single-mother, I am THANKFUL that my daughter has been brought up in an atmosphere of THANKSGIVING! While I am proud that she is now a college graduate - she is returning to me values I instilled inside of her. Sometimes SHE prays for me. She reminds ME of God's Word. I can tell you NOW that when you bring up a child in the way of the Lord - they will not stray. If they do stray, they will not stray too far. The Word is what I desired to plant inside of her - I am THANKFUL that I am able to see the harvest. God I thank you!! We have not slept on a "bed of ease" by any means. We have had to go to counselling - more than once. There were some "questions" that lied between us that I did not know how to address. Rejection issues from when her father walked out on us. Girls need the affirmation of their Father. I bend my elbow and pat "myself" on the back because I never kept him away form her or kept them from having a relationship - he later admitted that he just did not KNOW how to be a parent. Fast forward, I had to navigate the painful waters of reassuring her when we had to stand in front of his coffin during his funeral. Truth is, her father DIED in her eyes long before she saw him for the last time at his funeral. His funeral was a painful closure to an era in both of our lives. I am THANKFUL that he was introduced to the plan of salvation before his journey into eternity. RIP, Johnny. This affliction was painful - felt like it lasted FOREVER - but it was for a MOMENT. Words cannot begin to express the level of growth I attained during this period of my life. I learned about TRUE intimacy with God. I learned (... among many things) ... how strong my daughter was. God grew her up in sooooo many ways as well. We are THANKFUL to have one another. We are THANKFUL that God showed himself mighty in our battle. We are THANKFUL that we have memories and traditions that we have created over the years. We mature at different levels and I am THANKFUL that she and I are "still together" cooking and baking on this THANKSGIVING DAY!!
I am enormously THANKFUL for "Deborah's Freedom"! Those who have followed this page for any length of time know about the battle I had with God about doing this. "Deborah's Freedom" meant that I had to be transparent in some "secret" areas of my life. MANY people had NO IDEA I was living the secret life as a domestic abuse survivor. Oh yeah, I have been dealt a hard hand - but I had to play the cards God gave me. I fought God - tooth and nail - I DID NOT have any aspirations - WHATSOEVER - to be in conversation on social media! NOPE! NO WAY! NOT ME! It may be fruitful for me to end this prose with I gave up fighting - because "GOD WON"! I recall how excited I was when I had document ONE HUNDRED FOLLOWERS! My God. My God! Now as I am being fed metrics that there are TENS OF THOUSANDS in the "like" and "follow" mode I am elated! Thing is - HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS "visit" this page - I call them "curiosity seekers". That is good too! "Deborah's Freedom" IS NOT your local "bible study" or a space where I spew my opinion and shove it down the throats of anyone who will listen. On the contrary - I am still learning myself! I have found that I am NOT a poster child for life - but rather, I am someone that people can identify with. FaceBook and Instagram suggested that I put my photo on my page more often - noting that people wanna SEE the face of the person that can verify that there is a GOD. I can unequivocally verify that there "IS" a true and living God. Look at my photo again - see that smile - that smile was birthed through tears. God dies not love me any more than He does you. What God has done for ME - take it to the bank - He will also do for you! There is no "formula" for moving on with your walk with God - HOW#EVER - you have your BIBLE - B(ASIC) - (i)INSTRUCTIONS - (B)EFORE - (L)EAVING - (E)ARTH as your guide. We are ALL on a journey of learning - we grow differently - thing is - you gotta take steps. Sometimes you gotta crawl. You WILL make it to your destination! YOUR destination may be different from God's destination for you. I mean, who knew "Deborah's Freedom" was gong to grow like it has. Deborah had to get out of God's way. God was unrelenting with his plan for me - in fact - NOTHING else was working out in my life until I said "COMPLETELY YES"!! I am THANKFUL for how God "gives" me what to say and for some it has been an "on-time" word with "pin-point accuracy". I pray to walk worthy of the CALL on my life. The microphone is on every day and I open my mouth - or in this case, I put my hands to the keyboard - and the rest is totally up to God. God told me to "build it" and then he would "bless it". Faith without works is DEAD. Period! I am THANKFUL for the people on "Deborah's Freedom" who have trusted me with confidence that I would never jeopardize. I seek to assist people that need to shift their PERSPECTIVE. Freedom is not free, folks. There is a cost to freedom - at the end of the day - freedom is "sweet"! I am THANKFUL that this forum allows me to be honest - even at the expense of having some that do not agree. It is okay to disagree - it is not okay to be disagreeable. I am growing BEYOND seeking to be a "people please". ( ... now that is FREEDOM all by itself)! I am THANKFUL for the people on "Deborah's Freedom" who have become "friends" to me. Can you tell how "THANKFUL" I am to be chosen for such a time as this to be part of "Deborah's Freedom"? "Deborah's Freedom" belongs to GOD - I am just THANKFUL that He has trusted me with it. I am standing on HOLY GROUND!
As you prepare for a feast with family and friends - don't forget that being THANKFUL is not just for THANKSGIVING DAY! Feed someone that is homeless on a day that is NOT in this season - they are hungry the other 364 days. If your volunteer efforts are only for a "camera shot" - search your soul. N one needs to "SEE" that you are being kind to someone less for fortunate - GOD SEES IT - and "THAT" is what matters. I am still THANKFUL for the box of food a local church gave me when I had NOTHING but a mayo jar in my refrigerator and no idea how we would eat. I am THANKFUL for the people who slid a $20 in my hand for gas not knowing that I cam church on "E" and my pride or my pain would not ask for help. Be careful when you do NOT listen to God when HE asks you to help someone - even on the smallest scale. That one act of kindness could make the difference between eating and not eating. I give NOW not out of extreme abundance - but rather because I KNOW what it means to hve NOTHING.
My own life is "FAR" from where I imagined it would be BUT I am THANKFUL my life turned out the way that it has . THE BEST IS YET TO COME!! Remember my name - "Deborah's Freedom" has many more lives to touch and God is making room for the gift and calling within me. The testimonies I receive as a result of what God is doing through me are phenomenal! God is doing exceedingly, abundantly and far beyond anything I could have asked or thought! I am living a dream! I am THANKFUL! I am THANKFUL for the opportunity to give of myself to "Deborah's Freedom" everyday!
WHAT ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR?
Pause and give HIM THANKS!
I THANK GOD FOR YOU!
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