Salamat Kaayo Dios!!

Can you believe it is already Thanksgiving 2011??
When I was 9 and 10, adults told me that time flies faster as you get older. At the time, I didn't believe them....that was until I turned 12...then all of a sudden, I started experiencing the same thing!! And what do you know?!? Time flies faster with every year!!

Salamat Kaayo Dios....means Thank you very much God!!
Here are some things I'm thankful for:
- An all-knowing, all-powerful omniscient & omnipresent -- my Jehovah Rapha and El Shaddai
- The most sensitive, tender, wise, compassionate, understanding, listening, fantastic, and amazing father in the world.
- The most precious, perceiving, caring, diligent, detective mother in the world.
- The most priceless siblings...all of which I love and adore, and make me draw nearer to God, and teach me so many, many invaluable lessons and character qualities.
- An amazing house staff and ranch hands, who help us so very much, and who watch out for our personal well-being as well.
- The mentors, friends, acquaintances, and disciples God has blessed me with to both give and receive from.
- The finest church family in our State, who are adamantly seeking Christ and His kingdom first.
- Living out in the country on 50 acres of rolling hills, which is next to 10,000 acres of forest, and still only being 15 minutes from town.
- All of our currently 60+ animals (not counting the mice, voles, frogs, crickets, stinkbugs, spiders, snakes, and many wildlife....including the 6 elk and 1 moose in our pasture yesterday).
- The opportunity to serve God both her in the US and in foreign countries as well.
- The opportunity to spend 3 months in the Philippines, delivering babies, encouraging women, and encouraging villages in the Bukid.
- Being able to see clearly 90% of the time, and not having to wear glasses (which didn't always help)
- Being able to still hear sounds of God's creation, music, voices, and laughter...and, a baby's first cry.
- Being able to feel and touch without any inhibitions (the only 1 of my 5 senses that I have almost completely).
- Being able to smell and taste, even though it may be limited....how more delicious can something be than mint, jalapenos, cherries, and olives??
- My fingers...that though they have a mind of their own on the piano sometimes, that God has gifted them to do His work.
- Playing the piano unto the Lord.
- Being able to walk without crutches...(though sometimes I'm ungrateful to God that He didn't make me have to use them for more than 3 months!! They were SO useful!! lol)
- Having the open relationships I have with our clientele, veterinary clinics and WSU.
- Computer technology...what a lifesaver...(and a potential time waster if you're not careful! ;p)
- Cameras...Canon is my favorite. :D How precious it is to be able to go out on the hillside and capture memories!!
- Language learning......thank you God that I can pick them up fairly easily (especially when I'm in that language's country! ;p)
- My online studies...both Midwifery and EMT.....how much I'm learning!!
- Sutures and lidocaine, essential oils and traumeel, needles and syringes.
- Jugular Vein....most fun to draw blood from!!
- Molly and Raphya.....how much they taught me...the one-my babysitter/ever ready listener, the other-the perfect example of meekness..."Strength Under Control".
- The many times I got bucked off, and the lessons I learned of how to stay on a horse.
- Foal and Cria Imprinting.
- Good books....auto/biographies, medical, historical fiction, mystery, detective, veterinary.
- Organizations like Idaho Chooses Life, ACLJ, Good Samaritan Rehabilitation Center, Compassion International, No Greater Joy, IBLP/ATI, Vision Forum, Alert Academy, Mercy in Action, Newlife International, & Idaho Character Foundation.
And SO much, much more!!!

As we prepare for Thanksgiving tomorrow, remember that it is not just a holiday, but a day to spend a day in complete Thanksgiving unto the Lord. Remember that "holy" means set-apart.....may it be a holy day...a set-apart day.

And then ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the LORD, offer it at your own will.

~ Leviticus 22:29 ~

Here's my challenge for you. See if you can not once complain, murmur, or let a disparaging remark pass your lips, but only let uplifting, righteous, and encouraging words pass them.

Then saith He unto His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest.

~ Matthew 9:37-38 ~

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessings, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

~ Malachi 3:10 ~