I have a husband....you know him as the Preacher.  He is a walking, talking miracle.  Almost ten years ago he had a massive stroke, but God healed him.

Last week a friend of ours had heart surgery and then suffered a stroke.  She was in the same hospital the Preacher was in all those years ago.  She was moved into the same ICU that the Preacher was in also.  She could not talk at all and had paralysis.  We were in the area by "Divine coincidence" and stopped for a visit.  It was hard to see my friend in that condition.  Memories of the Preacher's time there came flooding back especially when I learned she had the same doctor he had had.  We prayed with her and her family and then went home with heavy hearts.

Last night we called her husband's cell phone to check on them.  He asked us to hold on, put the phone on speaker phone and . . . my friend said hello to us!  It was amazing!!!  She has been moved out of ICU, is walking around and talking just as clearly as she ever did.  I couldn't detect any slurring or forgetfulness or hesitation as would be so common with a stroke patient.  It is nothing short of a miracle and the staff in ICU were calling her the "miracle lady."

"Praise God from Whom all blessings flow
 Praise Him all creatures here below"

Our God is real and He is still working in the lives of regular ordinary people.  Ask for the miracle.  Submit to His will.  Rejoice and give Him the glory however He answers your prayers!

Numbers 14 tells about the Children of Israel totally messing up....again.  But this time it was particularly bad.  God had brought them out of slavery in Egypt, saved them from Pharaoh's vicious army, parted the Red Sea and brought them through it, provided crystal clear water in the desert, provided the perfect finger food, and kept their clothes from wearing out just to name a few things.  He had also brought them right up to the border of the very land He had promised to them.  WOW!  And He had shown them how spectacular that land was with grapes the size of basketballs, honey that actually flowed and a lushness that they could only imagine after hundreds of years in the desert of Egypt.

And then they snubbed Him.  Seriously?  God came down in a cloud so they could see Him and have something visual to relate to and yet they snubbed their noses at His power?  They griped at what He had given them and said it would have been better if they died in the desert.  That's pretty nervey of them, don't you think?  So God said (in essence) "Fine.  You keep throwing that up into my face; then you can have it."  And right at the very brink of the Promised Land He turned them around and sent them back out into the desert and said, "Live there until everyone over the age of 20 is dead except Moses, Joshua and Caleb."

Now, HOLD ON.  You mean to tell me that God the Father gave them great gifts and provided for them and they were flipping their heads at Him and being ungrateful and demanding?  Sounds like human children.  And you mean to tell me that God the Father chastened them over and over (He says ten times) and yet they kept ramping up the snottiness?  Hmmmm, sounds like human teenagers.  And then they made insulting remarks to Him and told Him they could have done better for themselves by themselves?  Sounds like human grown ups.

So, what did God do?  He said (in essence), "That's it.  You won't learn any other way than to get just what you said you wanted.  So turn yourselves right around and get back into the wilderness and go without the blessings I had planned and stay there until all of you that are old enough to be accountable for your actions are dead....D.E.A.D."  At this point I want to type a very tiny "wow" because I am kinda whispering it.  As a mommy I have done that to my kids.....well, basically.  I have corrected and scolded and disciplined and finally, when they wouldn't shape up out of their belligerence, I have pulled the plug.

It all seems like a very childish scenario to me.  Those foolish, self-centered, immature Children of Israel.  And yet . . . maybe . . . well, if I look closely . . . yup.  I do the same thing to God.  We all do.  We snub our noses at His will and we gripe about the blessings He gives us and we are never satisfied.  Somehow we think He can never get it quite right for us.  Really?  I know that God is a righteous Judge and that He is holy and perfect.  But I have a hard time relating to those concepts most of the time.  However, I can completely relate to God the FATHER who is constantly dealing with me the ornery, stubborn, cantankerous, spiteful, snotty little child.  I am ashamed when I look back and see how often I have been insolent to the God who created the very world and designed my whole life forever ago.

I think the whole family picture is correct.  I am definitely a child of God.  I need to focus on growing up.    Father, please help Thou my unbelief.

People who know me well know that my favorite holiday is Christmas and then my birthday.  After that though.....it's Thanksgiving!  And I love to be thankful.  In fact, my parents instilled in us the need to be very thankful for everything at all times.

So today I am writing a list of things that I am thankful for:

* the Preacher and sweet daughter bought me an early birthday present - a netbook!

* a friend who had a stroke after open heart surgery has regained movement and speech and is out of ICU!

* cellphones......I am thankful for this often b/c I can call my folks or my married son and his wife whenever I want to without worrying about the long distance bill!

* Bible colleges that take a stand on the Word of God

* Christian friends who will guide your kids in the same path as you would when asked for advice

* coffee.....yup, I'm serious.  I love the taste!

* online reading programs for my Bible reading

* honey cough drops

* Christian friends all across the nation who encourage me even when they don't target me with their actions

Take a few minutes every day and be thankful for one or two or a hundred things!  God blesses me every day  even when it is blizzarding outside.  If you look, you WILL find something every day in your life too!  Try to make it a new habit and give it a conscious effort this week.  Maybe even share some of your blessings here!