Well, it’s not Christmas in July but I’ve been running behind most of this year so August is close enough.

Just as we did last December as referenced in the message below, Sid and I are making a one day trip up to Maine today and coming back tomorrow. We haven’t been to our home for a month due to the various reasons you have been following in my Shabbat encouragements.

We are excited to be able to go to Ruach on Shabbat so we will be back right away, but well worth the trip! I was able to take a late day walk on the beach, such precious time with HaShem.

As I re-read the message below, I chuckled at how my life hasn’t changed. I also appreciated the reminder so I am sharing it with you too:

Count your blessings

Do you ever just walk around your house or outdoors and become overwhelmed by God’s blessings? Not all the time (as we probably should), but just now and then when you just can’t help yourself?

So it was this morning. I woke up at our home in Maine. Granted, we’re only here for one day. We drove up from MA last evening to drop our dogs off to be taken care of by a lovely family here while we go to Vermont for the holidays. I have a days’ worth of last minute gift wrapping, bills to pay, and other “desk stuff” to attend to after being in Dallas for so long. Yet as I puttered around gathering gift wrap and bills, I looked out the window and said, “Thank you, God, for all the blessings!!!!” I was ecstatic!

As my face filled with a smile, I was once again reminded of the power of just saying those words, even moreso when said audibly. Speaking those words aloud brought HaShem into the room, right here, for I could feel He heard me. We became as in a conversation, which I know is through the palpable presence of Yeshua.

I shouldn’t have been so surprised by my reaction for I’ve often reminded myself of blessings when life has been challenging as a way to help me gain a healthier perspective. What surprised me this morning was how full of joy and literally gleeful I became when acknowledging His works in our life at a good time in my life. Being home felt great. Thanking Him made it stupendous!

Try it, audibly thanking God for His blessings, a lot. It will literally change your environment, the way you see your situation, your day, the way you see your life. Even if you’re stuck in traffic, instead of grumbling and feeling frustrated, take a deep breath and look around. If you’re by yourself, think about why you’re in your car. Try saying, “Thank you that I have a job. Thank you I have the resources to buy groceries. Thank you that I have a place to go, even if a long drive.” If with others, “Thank you that I have children who need to be driven somewhere. Thank you that I have a friend, or a family member, or that I can help someone else get somewhere. Thank you that I have a car that is working at this moment.” The list is endless and your resulting emotional state will reflect the reality of God’s presence in your life.

So this morning I started counting my blessings, which are too many to name, but to mention just a few: for this beautiful day (yes, it’s raining and overcast, but still calming, subtly colored, framing the ocean’s ripples; for the breeze causing my neighbor’s chimney smoke to dance in the air; for the fire in our fireplace; for loved ones in my life; for the ability to get out of bed this morning; for life to look forward to; for the life of today; for my morning coffee; for having no physical pain at this moment; for the luxury of time given to me to help others; for feeling loved and the ability to love others; for the ability to be grateful and see Him in everything; and most importantly for the gift of Yeshua.

How much more deeply I have lived these last twenty years doing so in the light of knowledge that Yeshua is who He said He was, our promised Messiah. How every moment, every breath, is a blessing as we believers in Him are blessed by that truth . Personally, I don’t get hung up on the details of the when of Yeshua’s birth. If millions of people over millennia observe December 25^th, that has spiritual goodness, for it unites so many to celebrate this humanity altering event.  However you choose to acknowledge this gift of all gifts, the day of the birth of Yeshua, I encourage you to never stop thanking HaShem for giving us the gift of Yeshua, the greatest blessing of all blessings.

Shabbat shalom.

Diane