Happy Thanksgiving, My Dear Siestas!
I got up early this morning and recited to our gracious Abba a long list of things I’m thankful for today. Important things like the laughter and love of family. Like lives of purpose even in pain and relief to our insufferable egos that it’s not all about us. Like fellow sojourners who make me want to love Jesus more. Like favorable prognoses for a couple of loved ones recently diagnosed with cancer. For heroic determination to bring glory to God in the lives of several others with less favorable prognoses. For the steel resolve of people I know who are determined to fight the good fight of faith even if it kills them. For four generations of Moores that will celebrate Thanksgiving together today. For our only missing loved ones, Melissa and Colin, and the joy of picturing them gathered around the table with Travis and Angela and Jack and Lily Kate and Levi Cottrell. For two six month-old puppies that bring so much life to this house and for the great relief that they’ve finally quit trying to dig up Beanie and Sunny. For a Texas Chocolate Sheetcake cooling on the counter and the heavenly scent of our very own Natalie Mikles‘ Buttermilk Pie baking in the oven. (Siesta Fiesta Cookbook, p.277!)
Oh, mercy. And for you, Siestas. And for you. I am so thankful for you. You have grown so dear to me this year. Such a blast. Such encouragement. Blessed Community. Day before yesterday I was on a walk with God at our cactus-ranch with my Scripture memory index cards in tow, reciting them to the One who wrote them. This is one of my favorite memory segments of the last year and with deep sincerity and teeming love I speak it over you this special day:
“I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God that was given to you in Christ Jesus. For you were made rich in every way in Him, in all your speech and in every kind of knowledge (dig Paul’s inspired concept of real riches! these riches are already yours! claim them and put them to use!) – just as the testimony about Christ has been confirmed among you – so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. GOD IS FAITHFUL, by whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 NET
We are rich in every way.
Nothing makes us richer than the knowledge of Christ and the everyday-speech to share it with a hurting, wandering soul.
We do not lack a single spiritual gift we need to fulfill our destiny.
We will be strengthened by God to the very end then we will flat-out see Jesus.
He will never – not ever – be unfaithful to us.
Yep. That makes for a mighty happy Thanksgiving. Do not under any circumstance let Satan steal your joy and your gratitude today. Get down on the floor of the bathroom at your relative’s house if you have to and grab it back in Jesus’ Name. Give not one inch to your betrayer nor trust his lying tongue. Love the Truth today more than your turkey and dressing and gratitude will flood your heart.
Thank you for being such a sweet part of my life and my pursuit of Jesus. We are a mighty cloud of witnesses. Let’s cheer each other onward, Dear Ones, for the joy set before us!
I lift you to our Father with joy and gratefulness today, Siestas. Thank you for everything.
Amen Siesta!
I am so grateful for how the Lord has used LPM in my life the past 6 months. They have been the best months of studying His word and hearing his direction. This has really helped me get through some challenging circumstances. Thank you for being available to him for whatever…
Hi Beth,
Amazing how that devil sneaks in to steal our joy…especially when we need to be so grateful.
I can empathize with your story about you and Keith and your fight.
My dear sister in Christ and cousin came out to spend a few days with me for Thanksgiving. On the third day of her visit, we got into a little “tiff”. Our relationship has been a
little strained since then. She’s now staying with some friends…not because of the “tiff” – that was part of the plan.
I need to get face down on the floor and beg for His forgiveness. I also need to give my cousin a call.
We all need to be on our guard. The devil is trying to do everything he can to steal our joy this holiday season.
Siestas, the Holidays can be hard. Please lift each other up DAILY so we truly can experience His peace and His joy!
I am still just feeling so grateful to have been present with you for Breaking Free. I can’t stop thinking about it. I was sitting there for the most part thinking of my alcoholism and how no one there would understand it..and then the power went out and you asked for testimony. I almost shared it until I heard everyone elses. Oh my gosh, the suffering that I had no idea! Lupus, Diabetes, Abandonment, a Tumor, Sexual Abuse..so much stuff that could not be taken away by just not drinking. I felt so stupid for having such a frivolus burden. Thank you God for opening my eyes. That power outage blessed me. I am thankful for it and for you. I would still be in an awful pit if not for you. By the way, I celebrated 6 months sobriety on the day of that power outage. :-).
I’m glad you and Keith worked it out too. Good to know we are all human.
Isn’t it nice to know that we are all in the same boat! God is good, even when our family/friends relationships are SO HARD! HE is the one who can make us holy when we have absolutely no desire to be, and know we can’t be on our own.
Thank you God for putting us into your family…you are the BEST Father of all…
I giggled out loud when I read that last little bit about getting on the floor of your relative’s..Thursday morning before we made the long drive home, I wrote in my prayer journal, “God please take my voice away if that is what it takes to keep me from speaking out of line.” I am not kidding…He didn’t take my voice away, but I listened to week 5 in Living Beyond Yourself all the way to TN!! And the man and I had some serious prayer time! It was a peaceful weekend. Thank you Jesus!
Thanking God for each of you!
stephanie
OK are you reading my mind? I am one of your Anonymous bloggers and I have been given II Cor. 9:11 as part of my “prophetic” word- “You will be made rich in every way so that you may be generous on every occassion.” At a time I feel I am sure the evil one wants to rob, steal and destroy my loved ones and me- I continue to receive words of encouragement and yours was yet one more from the very verse that was sent my way to claim- Oh thank you and blessings again to you and yours this season as I light my Advent candles of hope, peace, joy, love and the birth of our Lord. Dear Sister in Christ- have blessed holiday season with all those who bless and nurture you.
Spiritual Mom Beth!!!:)
Laughter, love of fam, purpose in pain (praise You Lord), relief to our egos (praise the Lord!), fellow sojourners, Yes! Love Jesus more!!!(I want to)…yes, glory to God, fighting the good fight of faith (let it be true of us, Lord), cute puppies! WOW:) Lots to be thankful for!!:)…We are thankful for you too, Spiritual Mom Beth:)…you are definitely dear to us too:)…Aw, thankyou for this blessing: the grace and spiritual gifting, HE is Faithful, strengthening us to the end!!:)…No, not ever unfaithful to us…I love Him for that, and I could cry thinking about it, I want to know Him, Beth; He has redeemed my life from such awfulness…Loving Truth, Him, His Word…you are most def a sweet blessing on our lives too Spiritual Mom Beth:) We are joyous and grateful for Him!! YES, He is amazing to us!:) Be encouraged Mama Siesta:)
((HUGS)) and love in CHRIST,
katiegfromtennessee
2 Timothy 4:7 (AMP)
“I have fought the good (worthy, honorable, and noble) fight, I have finished the race, I have kept (firmly held) the faith.” Lord, help us to be found faithful, Amen:)
Thank you for the encouragement. Always a word aptly spoken. So thankful for you and your family that you have shared with us through the blog.
Thank you for the reminder to be thankful for the simple things like chocolate cake, puppies, and the people sitting around the table with us! Blessing to you!
Thank you Beth. I am so thankful for the influence you have had on my relationship with Jesus. I thank you for letting us into your life and heart in a cyberspace kind of way. It feels like we are friends, and because of that when I hear your messages if feels like it is coming from a close friend and for some reason that makes everything soak in a little deeper. (My enlish teacher mom would make me reword that sentance–sorry Mom.) It is not some stranger telling me about scripture, it is a true friend that I talk to all the time.
A big thanks to all the people behind the scenes that work just as hard to make it possible for Beth to bring the message of Christ around the world!
Love you lots!
Meghan
Thanking God that He loves me anyway!! I confess that I am weak, but HE is powerfully STRONG! He can overcome anything satan throws at us. He can overcome our weak, pitiful selves. “Fill me, Jesus, fill me now. Fill me, Jesus, with your precious holy power. I am yours, O Lord, to do with as You will. So, fill me, Jesus … right now.” (years ago I sang this at FBC Houston)
… loving God and loving you,
You are so encouraging! I have missed you! so glad I decided to visit again today! You make me Love Him and fell His love for me.
Thank you Beth for sharing about your loss of beloved canine family members recently. We just had one of my daughters little 7 lb. doggies (who was here visiting with our 4 larger dogs) plucked from our backyard by an owl Friday night. We thankfully did find his little body after hours of searching, but of course we are heartbroken as is his constant companion brother. He is now buried in our backyard after a sweet prayer my husband said and all the family members, human and canine said good-bye. Anyway, you have new pet loves, and we know she will too. It’s just another part of this real life journey I’m thankful you have helped me go through, along with countless others.
Can’t wait to host an “Esther” study in the spring, and will also be attending another one with another group of sisters in Christ. Double the blessing!
Thank you, Beth, for your wise words on Thanksgiving. Like the rest of the siestas I thank the Lord for you. I thank your husband, your daughters and extended family for sharing you with all of us.
May the Lord continue to give you wisdom and truth and may He continue to hold you firmly in the palm of His hand! May He continue to bless you richly with His amazing sense of humor and share with all of us. May we all give thanks in all things.
Love,
Kathy
Love,
Kathy
Beth: It just doesn’t get any better. A woman like you being so real with women like us. Knowing that we can have “whopper fights” with our men and by God’s grace make it right and seek forgiveness, face down.
God bless you, sister for your transparency.
I love that about you.
Georgia Jan
Happy Thanksgiving and I’m grateful for Having Blog Sista’s.
Thank You Lord for Saving Us!
Happy Thanksgiving and I’m grateful for Having Blog Sista’s.
Thank You Lord for Saving Us!
Thank you for your encouraging words. I love that you said, “We do not lack a single spiritual gift we need to fulfill our destiny.” Sometimes I feel so insignificant, but need to be reminded that I am important to God and He has already given me everything I need. That is awesome! Thank you for sharing your heart.
From Sunny California!
Thank you for this Beth. I am printing this out to stick in my bible…. You are such a powerful teacher and sister in Christ to us all. And, you are counted among my blessings. PS ~ I couldn’t help but laugh at your puppies ~~ while watching MY chocolate lab’s tail about bring down our Christmas tree (Gracie’s VERY excited that my children are sitting with her!). Thank you again for this post! A true treasure and truth to hold dear.
I am thankful for many of God’s blessings this year. I have one I want to share. Three leaders and I facilitated the “Living Beyond Yourself – Fruit of the Spirit” study at our church. We just finished it Monday night and I want to tell you that it was AMAZING! (All of Beth’s studies are amazing but this one was extra special for all ten weeks!) To see so many women on their knees rededicating their lives to Christ! WOW! Thank you BETH MOORE for your love and teaching us God’s Word! May God bless you and keep you (and your family) in 2009!
From Reno, NV
I didn’t have a chance to read the Thanksgiving blog until this morning. It blessed me on this December 3rd. I especially needed the reminder to have a grateful heart in the midst of trying circumstances and even the reading of it brought joy to my despairing heart. I will rejoice and give thanks!
Thank YOU Beth, and the LPM team, for being constant encouragers to us siestas! I am so thankful to the Lord for you and wish His richest blessings on each and each one of you! 😉
Did someone mention TEXAS SHEET CAKE????
My favorite dessert!
Thanks a bunch Beth, I’m craving it now…. :-p
I have so much to be thankful for this year. It has been such a hard year for me… but God is SO good… the Lord is so faithful, He is so, so good to me.
I am thankful for you too Beth, and your family. God Bless.
Thankyou. I haven’t been on the blog sight for a few days, and today was a grumpy-life-sucked-out-of-me-need-an-encouraging-word-or- I-will-surly-die kind of day. Your post helped. That and the psalm I read and prayed back to God. Y’all are the close Christian girlfriend I needed.
Thank You Beth. I am in the 9th week of your 10 week bible study series “Believing God” and I don’t want it to end. I wish you had the DVD series in Spanish. I’m so excited about it that just want to share it with everyone I know.
Love in Christ, Yuridia
I am going to take a chance and leave a comment on this past post.
I don't know if you gave it a second thought when you said:
>Do not under any circumstance let Satan steal your joy and your gratitude today. Get down on the floor of the bathroom at your relative's house if you have to and grab it back in Jesus' Name.
Getting down on my knees in a bathroom created such a mental image for me that your admonition has come to mind repeatedly. And to be honest I have found myself on my knees in a few bathrooms over the past few months…the most recent being my own bathroom on the 4th of July before heading to a perfectly benign, but insecurity-producing get-together.
Thank you for your vivid and practical words. I first thought them comical and now I found them powerful! Thanks!