I'm so thankful...

that the Lord answers prayers. It is a wonderful faith grower, seeing your prayers answered. Last week I was praying for cooler(baking)weather, among other things. The end of last week and beginning of this week has been perfect for it! There are now cookies, brownies, toffee bars, pies, quick breads, muffins, etc filling the freezer. Yesterday Scott went to price out the cost of a chest freezer for the church and also for us. The prices are quite reasonable, so hopefully we'll see those arriving sometime this week. I'd like to be able to transfer a lot of the baked goods to the church, in order to make room for the food items I need to feed the helpers next week. The Lord also worked that out, and it looks like we'll be able to feed them here instead of at the church. I could've done it there, but it would have required quite a bit of transferring of our kitchen supplies there, since that kitchen has kind of the bare minimum for meals. We always do potlucks and haven't needed much more than plates and utensils. So, that was another prayer answered. This morning in my devotional I was reading about John("Praying") Hyde, missionary to India in 1892 to evangelize Punjab. It said that after struggling for several years he rededicated himself to working through prayer. Reminding God of promises He's made. Knowing that He wants people to be saved, but earnestly praying and showing Him that that is our desire too! In early 1902 Hyde prayed to win at least one soul to to Christ per day. By December 31st, he had seen 400 people saved! I know, from reading many missionary biographies, that this is not the result of all missionaries. Some gave their lives to the mission field and only saw 1 saved. They were sowing the seed of the Gospel though and others that came after them reaped the harvest. It's a reminder and an encouragement to keep praying, to not give up. I remember praying for some people for over 10 years before they got saved. Some of the people on our prayer list probably don't have another 10 years to live though and NONE of us are promised tomorrow! There could be a car accident, fire, etc and life is ended. Last week I was reading about a farmer that told the preacher he was going to be saved sometime, but not til he was good and ready! The next Monday the preacher got a phone call saying that the farmer had fallen from the hayloft and died instantly(he died lost). When we're young, we think we have the rest of our lives ahead of us. Having seen several friends die young and hearing of others, has given me a more realistic view of how quickly life can end. Seeing my own father leave the house, looking like his usual self and then being told a couple hours later that he was dead, was perhaps the one that hit closest to home.

There is a lot to be thankful for, but only because the Lord has provided it. Sometimes I wonder, "why was I born in a free country?" I didn't deserve it. I could have been born in the Middle East, where women are treated more like possessions, where it would have been very difficult for me to hear the Gospel and be saved. But I wasn't. I'm no better than those women, no more deserving. That thought alone gives me SO MUCH to be thankful for. We're not all called to go to those countries and share the Gospel, but we can be a part of it by financially supporting missionaries that the Lord does lead over there. If we can't help them financially we can still help them by PRAYING for them daily. I'm thankful that the Lord answers prayers BIG and small. I'm thankful that He's there for me day and night. When I'm happy and when I'm sad. I'm thankful that He's made a way for us to talk to Him and oh so thankful that Jesus died on the cross for my sins. Making a way for ALL to be saved. Amazing what thoughts an answer to prayer can lead to, eh?:)