Veterans | Thankful Thursday

I appreciate all the military men and women in our great nation. I know many fought hard and gave their life for our freedom and I am so thankful. I am equally thankful for the men and women in uniform who gave it their all and got to come back home to American soil. History tells us that America has not been kind to our heroes very often. After Vietnam those who were sent overseas and saw things most of us never even see in our worst nightmare, and they returned to a country who turned them into villains and despised them. It is so wrong and for that I am so sorry. I was not alive during that war but my heart breaks to read about the things that was said and done to our war heroes.

Today is Thankful Thursday, and I am so grateful for all our soldiers in every branch of the armed forces. My pastor recognized our veterans today and I got choked up. Tears filled my eyes as I looked into the faces of these brave men and women who fought for our freedom and served in any capacity! I enjoy my freedom in this country because of those who have gone before and those who continue to serve today! God bless you all!!

I have family members who are veterans and I appreciate them so much. I am glad they were allowed to serve and come back home to us when many others were not. I cannot imagine the courage it would take to enlist even in times of peace, knowing how volatile this world is right now. I pray for them and thank God for them.

JOHN 15:13 Greater love hath no man this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

I do not know anyone who laid down their life for friends. Do you know who did lay down His life for His friends, for the whole wide world? Jesus Christ did that. Not just for the Jews. Not just for His disciples. He died for the entire world. I am so thankful that He gave His life for mine! What a Redeemer! What a loving God we serve!

Are you a friend of God? Jesus goes on in verse 14 to say, "Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." That's it! That is the requirement to be a friend of Jesus. Do what He says. Obey Him. Listen to Him. Love Him!

If you are thankful for salvation in Jesus Christ today, why not tell someone? Share your testimony. You never know who needs that kind of encouragement and hope, especially in the troubled times we live in. If you do not know Jesus as your Savior and Lord, make today the day you say yes to the Master. Put your hand in His nail scarred one and you will never regret it. Do it today!

What are you thankful for on this Thankful Thursday? Let God know it!

God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Marco Polo Bible Study | Thankful Thursday

Welcome to another Thankful Thursday! It is so crazy to think tomorrow is the first day of July. This year has been whizzing by! This morning, my best friend and I had Bible study. We live in two different states, hundreds of miles apart, but through an app called Marco Polo, we have been able to have an awesome, interactive Bible study.

Heather is an amazing woman of God. She is my encourager and supporter. She cheers me on and tells me the truth in love, and she shares her love of Jesus and her life experiences to help not only me, but so many others around her. What a gift she is!!

I have studied the Bible with lots of other people. I always learn something, but with Heather, it's different. She picks up on details and loves to unravel them to see how everything is connected. I love joining her. It is richer and deeper when we can truly see beyond the words on the page and transport ourselves back into another culture, another time, and yet we see so many similarities in our world today. We are studying Obadiah and I am loving every single minute of it!!

Do you have a friend you can study with? It is such a treasure to study with others. Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. Ecclesiastes 4:9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. I thank God for my friend and Bible study partner.

I hope you will join me today in counting my blessings. I am so thankful for the many blessings He has given to me. He is a good, good Father and I love Him so much! God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Thankful For My BFF | Thankful Thursday

Meet my beautiful blue eyed, brown haired best friend for ever and always! Her name is Heather Rose and she is my very closest friend. She knows way too much! Today is her birthday and I hope it is the most fantastic day ever. I thank God for her mother Cindy choosing life for this amazing woman of God. She is a threat to the enemy and she is the apple of God's eye.

Heather and I have been friends since we were kids. We grew up together. We went to Youth Group together. We studied the Bible together. We worked together. We went to Taco Bell together.... a lot! We enjoyed pie together....lots of delicious pie. It's our thing.

I love Heather's laugh. It is contagious and it seriously brings me joy even if she is laughing at me!! We laugh until we can hardly understand each other and then we laugh harder at that and when we see others staring at us, well it gets real. Tears are flowing and it is the best belly laughter ever. She makes me want to be better.

Heather has amazing handwriting. We wrote lots of letters back and forth. She sends me cards and she sends me SnapChat messages. We always have so much to share and why we think SnapChat is the best way to do that is beyond me, but we like it and it works, so who cares if we send tons of snaps at one time. There really needs to be longer allowances for what we have to share.

Heather gets me. She knows what has broken my heart, what has disappointed me. She has been there when my relatives died and she still prays for me when I tell her that I miss my dad. I wish she had a good dad to miss. Her mom is an amazing mother and father because she had to be both as a single momma and she rocked it! Her sister is so funny and I love their little family like I am another sister.

Proverbs 27:9 says Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel. She is like sweet perfume to my soul. She gives me sound advice. We have had similar struggles in marriage, parenting, life, as Christians... and it is so good to hear her share Bible verses as she lovingly points me back to the cross. She is a great prayer warrior and she loves Jesus so I trust what she tells me and she gives me the encouragement I need to keep going. She takes 1 Thessalonians 5:11 seriously when we are told Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. She lives that out loud!

Psalms 133:1 says Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity. It's true. She and I seldom argued. Even if we disagreed we heard each other out and we never let things come between us. She is miles and miles and states away from me but I can call or text her anytime and she is there for me and the distance never matters.

Heather is a hearer of the word and a doer. Romans 12:10 says Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. I love Heather to pieces and I know she loves me. We do want to show honor for each other. We cherish our friendship. Others come and go in our lives for a reason or a season but I am so glad God gave me Heather for a lifetime!

Ecclesiastes 4:9 says Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. I love doing life with Heather. She is the best friend anyone can have. I can share her with others a little but remember she is my friend first. Maybe I need to work on not being greedy....

I hope you all have a friend like Heather. In Galatians 6:2 it says Carry each other's burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ. I know that we don't do this perfectly, but I know that God has blessed me with a friend who helps me carry my burdens. Sometimes in the hardest seasons of our lives we were not able to be there in person for each other. God told me it was so we wouldn't make idols out of one another. He was training us to lean on Him and He allows us to help each other, too. 

Heather, I appreciate you so much. You are a treasure and I adore you. Happy birthday!!!! Love you bunches girlfriend. And many more......

Love,

Bridgett 

Praying Family & Friends | Thankful Thursday

I am thankful that I have so many wonderful friends and family members I can call on to ask for prayer! I know that God has blessed me abundantly! And God heard and answered prayers from Missouri, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, and Indiana.

So often in life we have times where we pray and ask God to meet a specific need we have and it's exciting to see God move. It's nice to see how our prayers make a difference. Other times we just feel like we need some help. It isn't that our prayers are not good enough. It's just that we really want the help of others interceding on our behalf. And when we join our faith together God moves mountains!

MATTHEW 18:19-20 (19)Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven. (20)For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.

It's Biblical to touch and agree. Jesus spoke those very words in the book of Matthew. When you have someone praying with you, God is going to answer your prayer according to His Will. If you and a friend are gathered to pray, to spend time studying the Bible, or whatever you do in His name, Jesus promises to be in the middle of it. He is showing up for us! And He showed up for me today!!

Remember the man sick of the palsy? His friends had faith but there is never any mention that the sick man had any. These four friends carried him on his bed of affliction, tore up the roof where Jesus was preaching after not being able to press through the crowds to get to the Healer. They lowered their friend down and Jesus answered their prayers. These four friends were desiring something of the Master. Sometimes we have to join our friends in praying for the wayward ones. God will do something about it! Watch this:

MATTHEW 9:2 And, behold, they brought to Him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.

Never discount the power of praying friends. I am so thankful that many of you were just a text away. I am grateful for the praying men and women in my life who took the time to set aside what they were doing to pray for me today. It feels like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I am so thankful for all that the LORD has done!

God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens