I'm Grateful

This morning at church the choir sang a Hezekiah Walker song called, "I'm Grateful". I don't have to do a bunch of explaining about the song because the title pretty much speaks for itself.

On a side note, this is one of the reasons I love our church. The music represents the variety and the differences in all of us. Contemporary Christian, Gospel, Southern Gospel, Latin and Praise & Worship can be sung on any given Sunday.

Here is the video if you'd like to hear it.

God is so good. The older I get, the more I come to know just how faithful He is. It makes me wonder, when things get tight, why would I ever doubt His ability to take care of me. I really don't beat myself up because of it because to some degree, WE ALL DO IT and it's just a product of our humanness. It's also a result of having to exercise our faith because we can't see the end of a situation.

I'm grateful for a lot of things. I don't have to look far at all for reasons for my gratitude.

• I woke up this morning and so did my wife and daughter.
• It was nice and warm when I woke up on a brisk, cool day.
• We ate Breakfast.
• We drove to church in our CAR.
• We are getting a house built.
• I have a job and I was just hired to do a new one. :o) (More about that in a minute)
• We a son and little brother on the way...This again is after Mrs. Jones was told that her chances of having children didn't exist
• My 1st Annual MRI since my major tumor removal surgery came back negative for any new growths.
• That I can run and bare the pain since the surgery with minimal medication.
  
• That God has give Mrs. Jones and I the strength and grace to work through our issues when marriage gets tough.
• That He loves me even when I'm doing unlovable things.
• That I don't have to be perfect because He's take care of that through His Son.

Here's a quick update on the interview I had a couple of weeks ago.

On Friday, the hiring manager informed me that she would like to extend the offer of the position to me. And to that, I must say:

I was then asked about expected compensation. On the piece of paper that was in front of me, I wrote down what I thought was an aggressive percentage of my current salary. She then said toe me, "Oh, I think that we can do even better than that, because I know that you're gonna work hard for me". I was like:

Mrs. Jones and I were talking the other day about how much of an increase I could expect to get if I got the job. But, then I began to dream a little. If God wanted to bless us financially in a way that would really blow my mind, what would that amount look like. Well, it looks like we just might hit that number. I should get the offer in writing on Monday. A better defined career path, opportunity for professional growth and more moolah to take care of my family, especially with all the new expenses coming down the with the house and newborn.

That brings me to my final point. I should really do a separate post for this, but I don't feel like it. Sorry for the long posts. It's the issue of Faith and being rewarded for the amount of Faith you have.

Matthew 17:20 talks about how all you need is just a little (size of a mustard seed) faith, nothing will be impossible for you. If this is true, why do we sometimes beat ourselves up as well as others for not having more faith. But, what if we changed the word faith to hope. If you have hope, by definition it is an indication that you haven't given up on the things what you want. Hope, in a sense demands, that some action of some type is pushing you toward the thing you hope for. It means that you are an equal participant with God to bring what you hope for to fruition. There have been many things that I have asked God for that have come to pass. Many of these things that I have received didn't come without me sometimes doubting multiple times through the process. Therefore, I really don't think God denies my request just because I doubt, but only when I decide to GIVE UP!

Your Faith, whether it's a little or a lot, is all God needs to do His thing for you as long as it lines up with His word. But, if you GIVE UP, well that's when the blessing halts and you have to regroup, repent and reconnect with with your creator.

Thanks to everybody who prayed for us and continues to do so. We are also grateful for family and friends who love us as well.