Bridget A. Thomas
Every day is a gift!
An Easter Prayer
Tomorrow we will celebrate Easter. This Easter will be different than any of us have ever seen before, because life is different right now for every single person on the globe. While we are going through this unprecedented time, my hope is that this will draw us closer to the Lord. We will not get to do many of the things we normally do each Easter. We might not see as many Easter bunnies, egg hunts, and baskets filled with candy. I dare say, this Easter will be one that we will not soon forget. But perhaps if we approach Easter with the right perspective, we can spend our day focusing on Jesus and what He did for us on the cross. We can use our time to worship the Lord, remember what Easter is all about, and give Jesus our gratitude. Let’s take a moment to do that now. Let’s thank Jesus for what He did for us on the cross. Will you pray this Easter prayer with me?
Dear Jesus,
How can we begin to thank You for what You did over 2,000 years ago? The words “Thank You” will never be enough. In fact, no words could ever fully express our heartfelt gratitude. We are deeply humbled to think about what You did for us and for all who would accept You. You, who knew no sin, took on the sin of the world. You knew each and every one of us would stumble and fall. But You still loved us all so much that you went to the cross for us. You paid our sin debt that we could never pay on our own. And as a result, you washed us clean. You made us as white as snow. You redeemed us from our sins. You saved us from death. You gave us the gift of salvation. You gave us the opportunity to have a relationship with You. And this relationship is more precious that anything we will ever know on this earth. Nothing compares to the price you paid for us. But today and everyday, we give You our hearts. We surrender all to You. We honor You. We worship You. We love You. You are our Redeemer, Provider, and Shepherd. We praise Your Holy Name. May our lips praise Your name every day of our lives.
In Your Holy Name we pray,
Amen
If you have never accepted Jesus as Savior, I invite you to do so today. If you want to know how, you can say the prayer found here. And if you need information on next steps after that, contact me here. This will be the best decision you ever make. This will bring true contentment into your life. And this will bring you hope. In these uncertain times, we all could use hope. And the only way to find true hope is through Jesus.
I pray you have a blessed Easter!
© 2020 Bridget A. Thomas
Worshiping the Lord
A few days ago, the governor of my state ordered everyone to stay at home, unless they needed to go out for something essential. For the most part, many people across the globe have already been doing this. I am thankful to say that I have been working from home for the last couple of weeks. The only times I have gone out was for something like groceries. I know this lifestyle is hard on many people. For me, I haven’t minded it a bit. I am a homebody and always enjoy staying home. I’ve had more quality time with my husband. My dogs are very happy to have me here too. And I have spent more time with Jesus.
As you know, churches have been closed as well. Some churches are offering online options these days, which is great. But there is something that has been weighing heavily on my heart about this, especially with Easter approaching. The enemy would love for people to not worship on a regular basis, especially on Easter, the holiest day. So I am writing today to ask you to PLEASE continue to worship the Lord in any way possible. You can watch a sermon on television, choose an online option, or even hold your own worship service with your family as you sing praises and read from the Bible.
As Christians, we have to take a stand against the enemy. We cannot let him win this battle. He would love to see us all just shrug our shoulders and say, “Oh well, we will just go to church some other time.” We cannot have this mindset, today or any day. We must take a stand in the name of the Lord. As Christians we have to be strong and courageous. We cannot weaken in our Christian walk. Rather we must persevere and strengthen our relationship with God. We must put on the armor of God every single day (see Ephesians 6:10-18). The enemy wants to devour us. So we have to be alert.
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. – 1 Peter 5:8
As a matter of fact, during this season which we are all in, we have an opportunity to grow closer to God than ever before. We should be turning to Him in the midst of all that is going on. We should look to Him for strength and purpose as each day brings us new surprises. Many of us have extra time on our hands. So we can use that time to read the Bible, pray, listen to praise music, and just spend some quiet time in His presence. If it feels like you have less time now, because you are home with children, then make it a priority to carve out time with God every single day. This season can bring us all rich spiritual growth, if we walk through it with God by our side. In case you missed my post on the Christians Read blog from last Thursday, you can read here how we can all cling to the Lord during this pandemic.
I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. – Psalm 34:1
The enemy doesn’t want us to cling to God during this season. He wants us to worry and fret. He wants us to watch the news and have fear. He wants us to put church and God to the side. But we cannot allow that. Let’s take a stand and continue to worship the Lord and praise His holy name!
© 2020 Bridget A. Thomas
Photo courtesy of Pexels.
The Whole Heart Challenge – Chapter 9
I can’t believe we have reached the end of the Whole Heart Challenge. I have enjoyed walking through this with you, and I hope you have enjoyed it too. I hope reading through Giving God Your Whole Heart has given you a new passion in your spiritual walk.
When I originally planned to hold this challenge, I had no idea that the whole world would be walking through uncertain times. But God knew. He knew we would need to draw closer to Him in this storm. He knew we would need to learn to seek Him, to trust Him, and to give Him control of our lives. I truly hope that walking through this challenge not only helped you draw closer to God, but also gave you comfort through this difficult season.
One of the things I touched on in the final chapter of the book was that we have a decision to make. Will you give God your whole heart? This, in fact, might be something we will have to decide each day. Or perhaps from one moment to the next. Giving God your whole heart is a lifelong journey. But I can promise you that you will never regret it. You will have a sense of peace in your life because you will know that you followed the right path. And you will come to fully realize just how much God loves you, which in turn will only make you want to give Him your whole heart even more. You cannot lose when you give God your whole heart. He longs to have a relationship with you. He wants to be in your life. Once you fully surrender to Him, you will feel freer than you ever have before. He will bring happiness and contentment into your life. He loves you and cares for you, and only wants what is best for you. So I hope you will decide to give God your whole heart!
Share in the comments: Was there something from this chapter of the book (or from the entire challenge) that resonated with you?
Don’t forget to listen to today’s song. I never get tired of this song. It is a favorite of mine. Walk With Me by Jesus Culture
The Whole Heart Challenge – Chapter 8
Today we are discussing chapter 8 of my book, Giving God Your Whole Heart. This chapter is about allowing God to lead in our lives. I believe what we discussed in chapter 7, trusting God, is an important step towards allowing God to have control in our lives. In our society, it can be especially difficult to allow God to have control. Many of us are used to handling life in our own strength. We might feel as though if we can’t control things, then everything will go wrong.
Once we learn to embrace God’s love and to trust Him, we realize that His plans are always better than our plans. Things might not always go the way we want. But we can rest assured that whatever God brings into our lives is always for the best. When we hand God the steering wheel, He will never lead us down the wrong road. We will always arrive at the best destination. God loves you so much and will always have your best interest in mind.
Share in the comments: Was there something from this chapter of the book that resonated with you?
Don’t forget to listen to today’s song. I really love this song! Keeper of My Heart by Avalon
(If you want to join the Whole Heart Challenge, then I invite you to grab a copy of my book, Giving God Your Whole Heart. We will meet up here each Tuesday and Saturday throughout the month to discuss each of the nine chapters in the book.)
Super Easy Broccoli Salad
I don’t normally share recipes, but my husband thought this was clever and wanted me to post it. I think he is biased, and I really doubt I am the first person to think of this.
I have been on a broccoli salad kick lately. It tastes good and it can be low carb friendly, depending on the ingredients. I ate two different broccoli salads at two different restaurants recently. This was before the restaurants had to be take-out or drive-thru only, due to COVID-19.
Speaking of which, this might be a good time to try new things. Since many of the food items we are used to buying are out of stock, you might be forced to try something new. But who knows, maybe you will like it and find a new favorite. And trying new recipes might also help entertain you and your family.
(For more tips on how to survive COVID-19, read my Christians Read blog post here: Clinging to God in the Pandemic.)
Anyway, since I have been on this broccoli salad kick, I wanted to make one at home. Fortunately the produce section in my grocery store still has plenty of food because fruits and vegetables are not good for hoarding.
Two Ingredients Only:
- Fresh Broccoli
- Marie’s Original Coleslaw Dressing (I don’t know if this is available to my friends in other countries. If not, hopefully you can find something similar?)
The dressing comes in two different sizes. I initially used the small jar with one bundle of broccoli. In my grocery store, one bundle of broccoli was about 3 stalks. Later I bought the larger jar and used two bundles of broccoli.
Directions:
- Wash the broccoli
- Chop the tops into bite-size pieces
- Put the broccoli and dressing in a large bowl, and mix well
That’s it! Super easy and delicious. If you want to be adventurous, you can throw in other ingredients, such as raisins, cranberries, chopped almonds, carrot, cheese, etc. Otherwise, this is yummy as is. Enjoy!
The Whole Heart Challenge – Chapter 7
Today we are discussing chapter 7 of my book, Giving God Your Whole Heart. Trusting God can be a blatant issue for some. Yet it can be more of a subtle issue for others, and we might not realize that we have a problem in this area. I think there are two key points that can help us to trust God more. Often times our lack of trust comes from the pain we have dealt with in life. So we have to remember that the enemy is the one who brought suffering into this world, not God. And another big key to trusting God is that we have to fully accept and embrace His love. God is love and He loves us beyond measure. When we realize just how much our Father loves us, trusting Him comes easier. If we keep our focus on Jesus, this helps us grow our trust in the Lord. God loved us THAT much to send His Son to die for us. Even after man fell and sinned in the Garden of Eden, God made a way to save us. There is no greater love than that. So how can we not trust Him when we see how much He loves us?
Share in the comments: Was there something from this chapter of the book that resonated with you?
Don’t forget to listen to today’s song!! This song quickly became a favorite for me. I need tissues when I listen to this song. My favorite line: “You’re the one who runs in my direction when the whole world walks away.” I hope you love this song as much as I do! The God Who Stays by Matthew West
(If you want to join the Whole Heart Challenge, then I invite you to grab a copy of my book, Giving God Your Whole Heart. We will meet up here each Tuesday and Saturday throughout the month to discuss each of the nine chapters in the book.)
The Whole Heart Challenge – Chapter 6
Today we are discussing chapter 6 of my book, Giving God Your Whole Heart. In chapter six of this book, we focus on working for the Kingdom of God. There are three things that I try remind myself when it comes to working for the Kingdom of God.
1 – Love. When we walk in love, everything else falls into place. We will innately do the right thing, seek to uplift other people, and let God work through us. When we walk in love, working for the Kingdom of God becomes second nature, and the light of Jesus will shine in all that we do. Jesus commanded us to love. So let’s endeavor to make love a lasting habit in our lives.
2 – Honor. God should be our number one priority in life. We should seek to honor Him in all of our words and actions. If we keep that in mind, working for the kingdom of God will come easily to us. People will look at us and see how good the Lord is.
3 – This one is similar to number two. It helps me to remember that “it’s not about me.” It’s all about Him. Keeping this perspective helps us to always put our best foot forward and live a life of integrity, while spreading the light and love of Jesus to those around us.
Share in the comments: Was there something from this chapter of the book that resonated with you?
Don’t forget to check out today’s song: Give Me Your Eyes by Brandon Heath
(If you want to join the Whole Heart Challenge, then I invite you to grab a copy of my book, Giving God Your Whole Heart. We will meet up here each Tuesday and Saturday throughout the month to discuss each of the nine chapters in the book.)
The Whole Heart Challenge – Chapter 5
Today we are discussing chapter 5 of my book, Giving God Your Whole Heart. We all long for something. Many of us have a deep well inside of us that we never seem to be able to fill. Deep down we can’t seem to find true contentment. We try to fill ourselves up with different things. We feel empty, so we distract ourselves with momentary excitement. In our society today, it is worse than ever. I am sad when I think about this and how people are easily swayed. They think that their phone, social media, video games, shopping, and many other things will bring them happiness. But the only way we will ever find true fulfillment is with Jesus. He is the only one who can quench our thirst. He is the only one who can fill that void inside. When we take time to just sit in His presence with no distractions, nothing but Him, we will get to taste that Living Water that He talks about. Our souls will be refreshed and rejuvenated.
Share in the comments: Was there something from this chapter of the book that resonated with you?
Don’t forget to listen to today’s song. It is such a happy song! What a Friend by Matt Maher
(If you want to join the Whole Heart Challenge, then I invite you to grab a copy of my book, Giving God Your Whole Heart. We will meet up here each Tuesday and Saturday throughout the month to discuss each of the nine chapters in the book.)
Sharing a Post – “Pray with Me about the Coronavirus”
I am sharing an excellent post with a heartfelt prayer, from the Peaceful Wife blog. This is very much needed right now. Please take a few moments to pray this prayer. This is a time when we should all unite together. And most of all, we should turn to God, instead of allowing fear to consume us. Blessings to you all…
This is the perfect time to join together in prayer to the sovereign Lord of the universe who loves us all.
The Whole Heart Challenge – Chapter 4
Today we are discussing chapter 4 of my book, Giving God Your Whole Heart. In this chapter we touch on seeking the Lord. In a way, this entire book is about seeking the Lord. It might sound obvious to some, but I think in reality seeking the Lord is something we forget to do. Life gets in the way, and we just try to get through each day. We have to be intentional about seeking God first in our lives. When I began to seek the Lord with all my heart, mind, and soul it changed my life. When we intentionally seek God, our eyes will be opened and we will see Him everywhere. We will realize just how much He cares and how He is in our everyday lives. In turn, this also draws us closer to Him. It is an awesome feeling to know the Lord is by your side all day and every day. Seeking God is not something I ever intend to give up. Seeking the Lord is a lifelong journey. And the amazing thing is that we will never run out of things to learn about God. And He will never stop molding us to be more like Jesus.
Share in the comments: Was there something from this chapter of the book that resonated with you?
Don’t forget to check out today’s song: First by Lauren Daigle
(If you want to join the Whole Heart Challenge, then I invite you to grab a copy of my book, Giving God Your Whole Heart. We will meet up here each Tuesday and Saturday throughout the month to discuss each of the nine chapters in the book.)
Bridget A. Thomas 