A Reason To Be Thankful!!!

Psalms 136:1-3
Psalm 136
1 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good:
for his mercy endureth for ever.
2 O give thanks unto the God of gods:
for his mercy endureth for ever.
3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords:
for his mercy endureth for ever.


This is one of 22 references in Psalms to give thanks. Obviously thanksgiving is important especially in reference to praise and worship. We are not requested or suggested to be grateful for God's bountiful blessings but we are commanded to be thankful. Well I don't need to be commanded to give thanks because I'm eternally grateful to God for His goodness to me and my family. His goodness has preceded me by blessing my parents against all odds. My father had a third grade education and lost his mother at the age of three and my mother didn't graduate high school and lost her mother at the age of 8 but I having lost both of them when I was between 37 and 40 years of age grew up with both my parents. That's a reason for gratitude!! I am a writer, singer, producer and instrumentalist that travels the world proclaiming the gospel and teaching praise and worship to many. All the prayers my parents prayed for me and my siblings are being answered today. I am divorced and remarried to my soulmate and God is richly blessing our lives together. We just celebrated 8 years of marriage although we have known each other over 30 years!! God's favor over our ministry is almost overwhelming and together we have 9 children and 5 grandchildren and another on the way!! Complaining is an option for some but not in my case. I'm not strung out, broke,sick,lost... The list goes on. I'm not homeless!! The thank you list outweighs the complaint list!! God is great and greatly to be praised. If you're alive you have a reason to be thankful!! Thank Him today and everyday and you won't have time to complain!! Happy Thanksgiving to you all and God bless from Timstrel!!

"Are You In The Fire?"

I was reading some time ago in the book of Job and if you don't know this man's story you are missing a great life application moment!! Just a brief synopsis: Job is selected by God to be the victim of the devil based on God's recommendation and referral as being one whom would not forsake his relationship with God even if all God's blessing were withdrawn from him and the devil is instructed by God to do all he wants to Job but not to touch his soul. When you have time read the story but I want to observe a verse written in the book of Job by Job. In  Job 23:10 it says,"But He knows the way that I take: when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold" KJV and another version The Message says, "But He knows where I am and what I've done. He can cross-examine me all He wants, and I'll pass the test with honors. I've followed Him closely, my feet in His footprints, not once swerving from His way. I've obeyed every word He's spoken, and not just obeyed His advice-I've treasured it. I can honestly say that  I haven't done all that Job has done and I also haven't gone through what he went through but I can truthfully say that I have been tried!! In the fire I haven't maintained my stance of not complaining as even Job did but the fire has had a twofold effect on my life. It has burned away all unnecessary things that have clouded my vision and weighed me down and also the fire has purified and perfected my development into what I am in the process of becoming!! The fire will purify you and also burn away those distractions that cloud your vision. You may not enjoy all aspects of the trial by fire but when you come out you will be pure and illuminating the reflection of He Who is in the fire. The fourth one in the fiery furnace that looks like and now we know is the Son of God!! Let's get through this and become what He wants to make us!! We can make it through this!!

The Wait Is Over

You know waiting for someone can be irritating especially when you're ready and prompt but when it comes to waiting on God to move or do something in your life it's less irritating and more stressing or causing you discomfort. The wait has many variables that we must explore. Firstly there is the question of "Are you ready yet?" or another valid question, "I this what God wants for your life right now or even at all?" These questions must be answered in order to understand if you should continue waiting or not and the other thing is this. If you get what you think you want before you're ready for it you will not only regret it but you may miss the real thing God intended for your life. I am speaking this from the aspect of one that is currently living this!! I was in what I know now to be a holding pattern until I was ready for God to unveil His true plan for my life. It was a season called transition. During this transition I went through transformation and became the person God wanted to use for His purpose. After this season God was able to release through me what His intention was for me because He could trust that I would do His will with it!! Hold on because if you endure the season of preparation you will be exactly what God wants you to be!!