It’s Thanksgiving week. Yes, we get to eat turkey and stuffing but that’s not all. This week comes with all kinds of emotions for each of us.
We look at the blessings but we also look at the difficult seasons. It’s knowing through all of it, Jesus is with us and we trust Him.
Psalm 28:7 says, The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.
I remember my first Thanksgiving without my Mom. It was hard and I wanted to get through it quickly.
Right before Thanksgiving week we sang Blessed Be Your Name by Matt Redmon in church. The words were hard to sing…
You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say, Lord
Blessed be Your name, Lord
Those words pierced me. Jesus gives and he takes away but I will choose to say Blessed Be Your Name. For the first time I understood those words.
Let’s be honest, none of us like the “taking away” part. Loss is never easy.
I’m learning more and more that thankfulness doesn’t mean that life is easy but thankfulness is a choice. No matter what the journey brings, I want to choose to say, Lord Blessed Be Your Name.
I know many of you have lost loved ones this year and Thanksgiving is going to be different. There’s one less seat around the table.
Please know that I’m praying for you! I may not know your name but Jesus does. Trust Him. He is always faithful.
I can’t remember if I have shared this song before but I love it. In life’s seasons of ups and downs, It is well with my soul. Let’s praise Him!
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I really enjoy reading your blog .I loss my mom in 2008 and I loss my brother and his wife in 2011 and if it wasn’t for the Lord I would not have made it trough. Right now today I’m still dealing with grief .
Cyndi, thank you for this post. I am so thankful each day for your style and spiritual message. You brin a ray of sunshine into our lives.
God bless,
Cat
Thank you for your post, the song and prayers. Greatly appreciated and much needed.
I LOVE this amazing song!
God’s timing is so perfect. Thank you for letting him use you to speak these words. I lost my mom a year and a half ago and my dad this year. The holidays are going to be very difficult this year. Thank you for praying for us!
Thank you for sharing the poem from your Mom “recipe for life”, I plan to share it with my family on Christmas Day.
I lost my mother less than 3 weeks ago, and her memorial service is Friday. I have wanted to call her today, as that has been our tradition. Thank you for your blessings today.
You are such a blessing Cyndi. Thank you so much for your prayers and guidance, they have brought me great comfort. However, it has also been a blessing to read the hopeful words in all of the replies here. This holiday season will be hard for many of us and knowing that God’s plan is wise and good gives me strength. Thank you so much for your prayers. May we all be strong and hopeful during this holiday season. Blessings to all.
Thanks for the sweet words. It’s been almost two years since Mom died (many years since my dad and then Mom’s second husband). I finally realized that Christmas is harder since now I can’t make things for my mom (quilts, etc), all of our extended family doesn’t want to exchange gifts anymore and I don’t want to overload our daughter. So, I plan on making items and selling them on consignment. I hope someone loves them.
Thank you, Cyndi, for sharing the video as a reminder that “It is Well”…I just returned from our church’s Thanksgiving fellowship meal and hymn sing. A video was shown about how Horatio Spafford came about writing that great hymn….such hardship and grief he went through, but he still trusted Him through it all.
May you and your family have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving.
Thank you Cyndy. I just lost my 90 year old Dad
Wednesday and our hearts are broken. I know God is with us and we will be ok. It is such a blessing
To know he is with Jesus. I feel so blessed to have
Him with us for as long as we did. God bless you
and your family this holiday season. Your posts
Are a blessing to me.
Thank You ! for the prayers. I have watched as god has blessed you and your husband this year, a new Home, Wow ! that is a hug blessing. As I continue to pray for you both, I am excited to hear more of how God is using you through your blog nearing a new year. I always get excited to open my mail for you ha, you have blessed me, I now wear skinny jeans and Love them lol I have been blessed with the info you share with us girls. Thank You !!!
Happy Thanksgiving ! Your Sister In Christ !
A beautiful message that I so needed to hear. Thank you!
Beautiful. Your words touched my heart and you always share songs that can identify with. There is something so moving in musc and these two songs touch my heart. God bless and happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. I am thankful I came across your blog several years ago!
I prayer for all of you!!! Thank you for your words and song!!!
Your words about your mom always touch me. I lost my mom right before Thanksgiving in 2009. 7 years later and the loss still resonates. I remember having a similar experience singing “Blessed be Your Name”. He really does comfort us intimately in our grief. I found Stephen Curtis Chapman’s “Beauty from the Ashes” CD during that time & his songs of his own grief really ministered to me in mine.
Your post is a great encouragement for today. My grandmother passed away in August. She would have been 99 today. I miss her every day.
Thank you for this. I just lost my Mom in April. I still find myself either going to bed with tears or waking up with them. Although I lost my Dad 12 years ago, I think this is one of the hardest things I’ve had to go through. I see I am not alone. The only thing that gives me peace is knowing she is home with Jesus, whole and healed. I am going to share this post with my sisters.
Thanks so much for reminding me of the love of my Jesus! I know He is with my dad and that it is more wonderful than I can imagine in Heaven. I am so thankful for the blessings God has given me. You are a beautiful person and thank you for the prayers
This is very timely as I lost my mom 11 weeks ago, and the holidays will be rough. Please pray for my daughter Ashley as my mom helped raise her and she is having a hard time. She would rather spend the holidays alone and that is so sad for me. I choose to sing blessed be the lord as I know he blesses us and is with us during these difficult time. Prayers for everyone this holiday season as we go thru this together.
Cyndi,
Your message spoke to my soul as I just lost my husband of 39 years on Oct 3. God has blessed me greatly during this season of grief and I could not get by each day without him. I look and find blessings in each day. We sang Blessed Be Your Name at church last week and I couldn’t stay in the assembly until it was over. Thank you for always sharing your message from Jesus. I appeciate all prayers.
Lost my Dad earlier this year. I was born on his birthday …… has been a tough year. We are not alone in our grief but sometimes it feels that way. Thank you for you post today.
Warm thoughts to you and all that have shared.
Thank you Cyndi. Love that song. I appreciate your prayers. Last weekend we had to move my Mom and step Dad in assisted living. One of the hardest things I’ve done. They r battling with dementia. My Mom has had trouble adjusting. These holidays will be different will be,but we rejoice in the new birth of our first grandchild. Judah is 15 weeks old. Thank you for your prayers and planting the seed for Christ.
Such a timely post as we lost our sister to a 9 year battle with ovarian cancer THIS morning!! I shared your post with my husband . God speaks to us through many ways.
Our gospel reading today is from Luke: 23: 35-43 “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied to him: “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise”
Yes, Blessed be His name!
I am so sorry to hear that. My prayers go out to you. What a wonderful verse and how true. Thinking of you this thanksgiving.
Thank You!
Very well said Cyndi, thanks for the message!
Cyndi,
This message was just what I needed. I am also facing the “firsts”- since my husband passed away in September from pancreatic cancer. I know that I still have much to be thankful for-and pray for God’s guidance to get me through.
Thank you, Cyndi, for this lovely post. I lost my dear grandmother unexpectedly this year. We hadn’t no idea this time last year would be our final holiday season with her. It is now a season of mixed emotions, as you know. I appreciate the prayers for us. Blessings to you and your family!
Thank you Cyndi! My mom died on May 5th, so I too, am one of those that needs and appreciates your prayers. We are going to stay at a friends cabin north of Cashiers, NC for the week because I don’t want to be at home. And now that Larry will begin chemo on Dec. 5th, both of us really need the get away.
Thank you and God bless!
Thanks Cyndi,I lost a cousin in October,will pass on your words of encouragement to her parents. God bless you.
Thank you for sharing your heart, Cyndi. We sing this song on our Praise Team. It is sometimes hard to understand His ways, but we know that His will is good.
Thank you, I am one of those you are praying for. We lost my dad in April to a long hard battle with cancer. It is comforting to know you are praying for us. I really needed this post today.