Thankful Thursday

Yesterday, I participated in my first Word-Filled Wednesday. It's a very wonderful experience~ I am greatly encouraged to read of so many precious portions of God's Words and how these have encouraged various people in different stages of their life. Truly, we do not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God! And the photos are all so beautiful.

Today, I am participating in my first Thankful Thursday :-)

I have so many things to be thankful for daily that I thought it's good for me to start putting them down every Thursday otherwise I will forget. It's good to count our blessings daily and to remember that God is working all things for His glory and our good, and the good of His church. God is gracious to me though I am a forgetful person. I realized that even in very difficult, painful and dark days, we can find something to thank God for because He is our Redeemer and our God. His love and mercies is from everlasting to everlasting, and underneath us is His everlasting arms.

The last few weeks have been very tiring, stressful and busy weeks for me. I have many things to thank God for.

1. I thank God for giving me grace to know Him, love Him, walk with Him and serve Him. Knowing God through our Lord Jesus Christ is the best thing that has happened to me in this life and it is still the best thing that is happening to me daily. Thank God for saving me from my sins and giving me a new life in Christ.

2. I thank God for the joy of worship and fellowship last Lord's day. It is always refreshing to be in the house of God to participate in public worship together with God's people and to enjoy their fellowship.

3. I thank God for giving me strength and wisdom to cope with the challenges daily. There have been many challenges over the last few weeks and I will not have the strength to cope if not for the Lord's strengthening me day by day. I often feel very tired and weak but thank God for sustaining me daily. I have found that God's grace is sufficient for me each day as He has promised! Thank and praise Him!

4. I thank God for giving me joy in Him despite physical tiredness and mental stress. My flesh and my heart fail me at times, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever. In Christ, I am able to rejoice daily and accept all things as from His loving hands.

5. I thank God for enabling me to complete 2 freelance assignments on time. Thank God for wisdom and strength to do my best for these freelance job assignments. One of my customer gave a very kind and encouraging comment to acknowledge her appreciation of my work. I am so encouraged by God's goodness in helping me to do a good job.

6. I thank God for providing more freelance job assignments for me. Thanks to those of you who have been praying for me. Thank God for His faithfulness in hearing and answering our prayers. I have just been given new freelance assignments! Truly, the Lord is our Shepherd and we shall not want (lack). He provides for our every need. Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragements!

7. I thank God for family and friends who love, accept and care for me in big ways and little little ways. These mean a lot to me. I thank God for all of them, and they are tokens of God's love for me.

8. I thank God for all of you, my dear blogging friends. It is such a joy and privilege to know all of you and to be able to share our experiences and encourage one another through our blogs. I have never expected this when I first started my blog in February 2008. This has been one of the best experience I ever have in making online friends. You are tokens of God's love for me too and I am greatly encouraged. Thank you once again for being my friends and for being such a blessing and encouragement to me. May God bless all of you abundantly!

I pray that God will give me a thankful heart daily no matter what I am going through. I am a pilgrim here, sojourning on a pilgrim journey towards the celestial city. I pray that God will enable me to set my heart and affection on things above and not on things below here. I pray that I may be able to serve God and glorify Him here, and be used of Him as an instrument to draw sinners to know His saving grace and be an encouragement to fellow Christians who are precious in God's sight and redeemed by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In this life, I may face many different and difficult challenges, my bipolar may also give problem through manic or depression. But God's love remains unchanging and His grace is sufficient for me. He is lovingly working all things for His glory and my good, and the good of His church. I pray that He may give me a thankful heart always so that I can praise Him in all circumstances.

How about you? How has the Lord blessed and helped you through the past week? What are the things you are thankful for? We serve such a great God. Let us unite our hearts in thanksgiving to such a loving and faithful Saviour Who never leave us nor forsake us, and nothing shall ever separate us from His love.

All praise and glory be to God!