"In Everything, Give Thanks"!

What I've been thanking the Lord for today...

*Dan's new job!
After being unemployed for a year, Dan reported on base for his first day of work last Monday! It has been so neat to see how God provided for our family over the course of the year. While I had my moments of anxiety, I can say in all honesty, they were moments. The Lord gave me a supernatural peace! We were blessed by so many people in so many different ways. And I am just so thankful for the journey of going through this experience.

*Medicine
While on that first day of work, Dan felt miserable. You see, the cold bug decided to target our entire family and he had perfect aim. Throughout the last three weeks, one or more of us has been doing battle with this bug. Dan was able to start antibiotics last Tuesday, and while the rest of last week wasn't too great for him, he is doing much better now. Lydia was feeling particularly crummy last Wednesday and was devastated that we had to stay home from pie and praise service at church. Our trip to Indy for Thursday was a possible no-go, too. After some discussion with the Indy Ernst's, we decided to go (sans Dan, who had to work on Friday). And now Claire is the sickie in the house. *Also, very grateful for the pharmacist at Meijer who filled up another bottle of antibiotics for Jake (for a returning ear infection). After only taking 2 doses of it, it fell on the floor, cracked open, and $38 worth of medicine was wasted.

*Water

The Children of the World (International Children's Choir) came to our church this past Sunday evening. They came about 10 years ago and I remember it being so touching. I was excited for our kids to get to see them and they held their attention the entire time. They sing with such joy even though they have been through so much. Here is a blurb from their pamphlet..."this inspiring group travels across the U.S. for 10 months, putting a voice and face to the desperate needs of children whose lives have been devastated by civil war, famine, poverty, unclean water, and preventable diseases." I take so much for granted, I know. Clean water is one of them. I go often to fill up a cup with filtered, clean water from my refrigerator without thinking anything of it. According to World Help, "six thousand children died today from water-related illnesses." This truly saddens my heart. Every year, we get a catalog from Samaritan's Purse. This year, we were trying to decide which ministry to give to. There are so many needs...clothing, food, shelter, other medical needs, schooling, etc... But truly, after seeing the faces and hearing a couple of these kids stories, I believe we have our answer. If you are interested in helping out this cause as well, go to http://www.causelife.org/ to learn more about what you can do to save the life of a child by helping to provide clean drinking water.

*Life

I have life on the brain right now, as I just found out the gender of Sarah Beth and Matthew's first child. Lydia and Claire are happy that the number of girl cousins will be a bit more balanced now! Congrats again, SB and Matt!! Can hardly wait until April to meet my little niece...ooh, I love the sound of that! And of course, I am eternally grateful for my new life in Christ! I am reminded of pastor's message in which he talked about how the Lord created us and then bought us back!! How great the Father's love for us!