In good times and bad, I'm slowly learning to thank God for His blessings and mercies, even in the midst of a disaster.
Most recent (tiny disaster) example: my hubby, sick with the flu/fever/etc, passed out on the way from bathroom to bedroom in the middle of the night. The sound of a grown man collapsing onto a cement floor is awful. But he did not hit his head, thank you Lord, and he is well on his way back to health now.

Article on this thought at http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art57960.asp .

Romans 8:28 tells us "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." All means ALL in this verse, and we truly must be thankful even when things are dark and not going well in our lives. I recently went through nearly two years of the darkest, toughtest time of my life, but God used that time as a refiner's fire for me and I came out the other side a stronger person and a much stronger Christian for it. God used that time to get me into my Bible and into my devotion time with Him. He also got me into a position where I had no choice but to rely solely on Him, because there was no one else to rely on. Even in the past few months when some serious health problems have come up with both my new husband and me, Romans 8:28 has been in the forefront of my mind, and has been the Scripture that God has given me every single time I have taken one of the problems to Him in prayer. Our God is good all the time and all the time God is good!

Kathi, I am sure you are now a beautiful vessel, fit for God's use. You have a marvelous perspective on how God is sanctifying you. I find myself afraid of the refiner's fire--not fond of pain of any kind. And you went right to the heart of things with "Our God is good all the time". Trusting that God is Good goes a long way toward helping me endure whatever comes my way.

LeeAnn - the greatest thing that has come out of one of my trials is that a young lady who had turned away from God because of how she had seen "Christians" living has now returned to church, rededicated her life to Christ and has done a complete turnaround. Believe me, I would go through the heartache and the pain all over again, every single day, if it means bringing one more person into God's sheepfold, or bringing a stray sheep back into the fold.

Kathi,
Boy, those "Christians" do a lot of damage, don't they? If only people saw Christ in us. If only people saw Christ in me, heard Him in my words, and He wasn't drowned out by my selfishness, conceit, bad mood or uncaring words.
We know that it's all about Jesus and what He did for us. It's all about getting into a relationship with Him. But others can't see that until they see proof of Him living in us. I tremble to think of God showing me, one day, all the times I failed to be the fragrance of Christ in someone's life. I'll see if I can be a faithful witness for the rest of today...

It took a long time for me to learn that we have to be thankful for good AND bad things (not just to tolerate bad things).

I used to get a daily devotional email (can't remember who it was by - darn memory) but I clearly remember one of the things he said.

It was about the mountain and the valley. He said that experiences in the valley are tough - it is dark and we can't ofetn see where we are going - but if you think about it, that is where things grow the most. There is not much growing on top of a mountsin where we can see clearly all that is around us.

So God gives us these "vallley experiences" to strengthen us and make us grow more.

And like Kathi, once we have been through these rough times - we have an eperience that we can share with others.

It is hard to witness to someone when your life is all sunshine and nothing bad ever happens - because they look at you like "so what do you know?"

But if you have walked in the same shoes and can STILL be thankful - then that is faith!

So right, Michelle.
Aside from 'count it all joy when you fall into various trials', I like this passage:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

I love the song, "Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here below." Everything that happens to us is a chance to give thanks.

___________
Trish

The older I get the more thankful I am for more things. I am so thankful for my salvation, and I can't wait to get to heaven to tell Him in person how much I appreciate His paying my sin debt for me. It's amazing to me how much closer I feel I am drawing in my walk with God now that I am purposely getting up earlier every morning to spend some quiet, quality time in my devotions with Him before I go charging out the door to deal with the real world.

Have you seen that poster that says:
Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, Satan shudders and says "Oh no! She's awake!"

Love that. You know, I'm sure, that the spiritual world is AT LEAST as real as the one outside our door. It's hard to keep that in mind all the time. A great book for visualizing this is C.S. Lewis' "The Great Divorce", a quick but mind-blowing read.

Today I'm especially thankful that God has brought me to this stage in my life, where my time is largely mine to do with what I please, with a plan in hand on how to redeem the time! Now if I could just figure out how to fit it all in...

Another good book (Christian fiction) along those lines is "This Present Darkness" by Frank Peretti.

It demonstrates how angels and demons react when we pray - and don't.

I haven't read that in a while - gotta go find it!

I have found that when the bad times are feeling really really bad is when I'm not trusting God. I am placing my trust in myself and thinking that I have to fix the problem. That gives way to thinking that 'all is lost' because I know that I'm not equipped to make everything right.

When I remember to put my trust in Him, the horror evaporates. I know that whatever the circumstance, He is bigger and stronger and He is the miracle worker. I am in His hands. Then I remember to let Him have control.

That's when I can be thankful for the lessons I'm learning from the trial and incredbly thankful that God is in control.

Lynne, I have also found that when my life is not going right it is because I have not included God in each day of my life. Everything just goes so much smoother when I keep God close to me, praising his gifts and blessings. He is the director of my life and when I remember that, things just fall in place.

God bless you!

__________
Trish

Every time something bad happens I still find something to thank my Heavenly Father for - like "Thank you, Lord, for giving me the strength to endure/overcome."

I often think of the words of a song I heard only once in a church, sung by a group of women who had amazingly beautiful, strong voices. The only words I remember are: "Sanctified wholly, so I might be, a vessel of honor for Thee." I can still hear their voices when I say those words and it uplifts me.

Today I am thankful that God has brought together a good man, my daughter and grandson to become a family. I see them grow each day towards that which will bring them together in love and joy and faith in God. My grandson finally has a father-figure in his life after 12 years. Thank you, Heavenly Father.

Phyllis, that is something to be thankful for. I'm sure it blesses your heart.

Yes, Lynne, it really does. I pray all works out well for them.

I don't know if any of you like to sing...but i found this song by Christina Aguilera to be so beautiful "Mercy On Me" I love the piano..so check it out whenever you feel like singing your heart out <3