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Today the Lord sent me three very timely Divine appointments.

The first one was at the gas station, my first stop of the morning.  As I was standing there trying to figure out what the problem with the pump was, an attendant came out of the office, figured it out for me, and then proceeded to pump my gas.  That's the first time anyone has pumped my gas (other than in states like NJ where they still do that) in maybe 15 years.

Then I went into town to run some errands.  Last stop was Costco, where I stocked up on groceries, and one of the boxes wound up being heavier than what I was strong enough to lift out of the cart.  As I stood by my car pondering what to do--other than empty it and reload it in the car--a young man walked by and looked at me inquisitively.  I told him my dilemma, and asked if he would be willing to put my box in the car for me.  He seemed genuinely happy to do so.  Even insisted on taking my shopping cart back to the store for me (although he was already pushing one of his own).

When I got home, I started unloading my car, when another car parked near mine and three people got out--two ladies and a young man.  One of the ladies asked me if I needed help.  I told her I had a really heavy box in the front seat that was probably too heavy for her, but maybe the young man could carry it up to my apartment for me?  He said he would.  She insisted on helping too by carrying some of the many other bags I was trying to juggle.

She said she knew me, but couldn't remember from where.  I told her I recognized her too.  Turned out we had both gone to the same church almost ten years ago, and sung in the choir together.  The two young people with her were her children, who had just recently moved into my building.  So not only did I get some much appreciated help, but I also got to meet my new neighbors.  Coincidence?  I think not.

3

On this Thanksgiving day I'm pondering the many blessings in my life that I too often take for granted, such as the roof over my head.

As I've listened to fierce winds howling and whipping through the trees outside my windows these last several nights, I've been very, very grateful for my cozy apartment that keeps me safe and warm.

2

My head was hurting last night and I didn't want to take any more painkillers, so I put on a soothing CD in hopes that it would distract me and help me fall asleep.  It kept playing all night long, and didn't stop until I got up this morning and turned it off.

What's so special about that?  My CD player does not have a continuous play option, and has never done that before.

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Yes, I did follow through on my intentions to look for things to be grateful for, even scribbled some notes on bits and pieces of paper, but procrastination got the best of me, and I never turned any of those notes into a post.

So what finally got me started?  This huge evidence of God's hand on my grandson's life.

A couple of days ago, said grandson turned 16, got his driver's license, and wrecked his van--all in the same day.

He was driving solo, when he swerved to avoid hitting a car in the middle of the road.  The van skidded and fell, hood first, into a creek about 10 feet off to the side.  Miraculously, by the grace of God, my grandson managed to walk away without a bump or a scratch.

In his own words, "God obviously had His hand in there.  I was completely airborne at one point and landed on the front of the car. It's physically impossible that my head didn't hit the airbag.  I could have been killed."

A day we will all remember, I'm sure.

ANOTHER BLOG?

I never thought Christians got depressed, but I am a Christian and I have been struggling with depression.  I feel as though my whole life is going south, and it's all my fault.

Instead of focusing on my many blessings, or the positive things I've done, my mind is full of condemnation and regrets.  I hate looking in the mirror and seeing how deformed I've allowed my body to become, I hate living in poverty because of the poor choices I've made, and those are only a couple of the many things I've been hating about myself lately.

Unfortunately, I cannot turn back the clock and undo the damage I've done, nor can the continuous replaying of negative tapes in my head change one thing.  So what to do?

Philippians 4:8 says, "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."

With that exhortation in mind, I have set this up as a personal blog to help raise me out of the doldrums.  Whether I post daily or not, my intention is to find 365 positive things to write about as I look for glimpses of God's grace throughout my day.