I am so thankful for prayer.  I’m thankful that God gave us this way to communicate with Him.  Verses like Psalm 62:8 are so encouraging…”Pour out your heart before Him.”  God cares about our thoughts and He desires that we communicate.  Even though He already knows every thought, word, and desire, He wants and allows us to talk about them with Him.

I’m thankful that I truly can pour out my heart before Him…whether it’s praise, petition, questions, or even just silence.  I’m thankful that God is teaching me about prayer, because…..I am not the prayer warrior that I ought to be.

The past few days I have had several friends on Facebook post some pretty serious prayer requests.  I’m thankful for how Facebook can be a prayer chain!  I love how a person can post a status, and within minutes or seconds, the Body of Christ all around the country and maybe all around the world is in prayer.

I’m thankful that God teaches my heart through prayer.  His power is displayed as He answers sometimes very specific prayer requests.  His concern is evident when He answers prayers I had prayed for probably about ten years.  I learn about His peace as I am inexplicably comforted and at rest when I had moments before been hurt, confused, or worried.  His greatness and majesty is impressed upon my heart when I spend time in praise.

I’m thankful that prayer is a weapon!!  It really is.  One of the sweet couples Michael and I talked to during our premarital counseling were telling us about the power of prayer.  The wife, Danielle, said something about how prayer is sometimes being strong and waging warfare for our spouse when they might be weak.  I love that.  It totally puts it in a new perspective when I stop and think that when I pray, I am waging war on behalf of the people I love and care about.

-Bonnie

Michael and I have been together for almost 19 months now.  It is amazing how I have grown to love him so much more.  It is so true that you fall more in love…and I know that I don’t even know the half of it.  I can’t wait to be celebrating our 10th anniversary and look back and see how much more we love each other and how much we have grown in Christ.  And then our 25th.  And then our 50th!!!

I am thankful for our giddy love.  The kind that is often referred to as “new love.”

I am thankful for our romantic love.  The kind that says “I love you” and means it from the bottom of our hearts.

I am thankful for our commitment love.  The kind that draws close to the other even (and especially!) during difficult times.

I am thankful for our forever love.  The kind that says “til death do us part.”

I am thankful for our spontaneous love.  The kind that dances in Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

I am thankful for our fun love.  The kind that laughs and jokes together.

I am thankful for our spiritual love.  The kind that talks, encourages, and gently reproves.

I never, ever want to take my sweetheart for granted.  Every now and then I just stop and think….Michael is God’s gift to me.  How should I be treating God’s gift to me?  How should I be loving him?  How should I be taking care of him?  How grateful should I be to God for giving me such a wonderful treasure of a gift?

Michael Thomas…I am so thankful for you.  Thank you for truly being my best friend.  Thank you for your sweet words, your listening ears, your encouraging talks.  Thank you for constantly pointing and prodding me upward to Christ.  Thank you for your example to me.  Thank you for being the most incredible fiance in the world!!  I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you!!!

-Bonnie

It’s November!!  Thanksgiving is right around the corner!  This time of year, a lot of people point out how we shouldn’t only be thankful one day a year….we should be thankful all year.  That is so true.  But I am glad for the extra reminder once a year to focus on the blessings God has poured out on us!

Praise the LORD!
I will praise the LORD
with my whole heart,
In the assembly of the upright
and in the congregation.
Psalm 111:1

I know that I do not praise and thank God enough for all of the tremendous blessings He gives me each and every day.  I take so much for granted and so often I don’t even see what He has done/is doing.  

This November I want to spend extra time praising God…in my prayers…with my friends…and on our blog.

To start off with…..I am so, so, SO thankful for God’s never ending mercy.  It is so humbling to know that He is continually pouring out grace and wisdom…no matter how many times I mess up or ask for help or forgiveness.  He never leaves me or forsakes me.

Praise the Lord!

-Bonnie