Thanksgiving

This is the first time I have posted on this blog that Emily's aunt, Becky Dietz, has created. I am thankful for this blog. Many people have been able to be in contact with our family at the touch of a button or two. We appreciate the love and support that you have all lavished upon us. The encouragement that we have received is really hard to explain or put into words. Your prayers are felt everyday. Emily is doing so well and there is no doubt that it is because God has had his hand upon her the entire time...her entire life. But many times when we as Christians experience the the saving hand of God, we forget over time that we are where we are NOW because of what He has done. Remember king Asa in 2Chronicles 16. God supplied his every need during the hard times of foriegn invaders. But when a seemingly easy situation arose later during his reign, Asa relied on his own strength and finite hand. It is my deepest hope that everyone touched by God through this event in our lives remembers that when we see Emily talking and walking, sitting at the supper table, leading a Bible study, holding our children or just living life,that God is not only the one responsible for saving her and answering our prayers, but the one we need every hour. It is written about King Asa that at the end of his reign he became diseased in his feet. But even in his disease "he sought not the Lord, but the physicians". The Bible says that he slept with his fathers where they "buried him in his own sepulcres which he made for himself". Asa began trusting in God for his every need and saw his needs met. He saw armies wiped out by God on behalf of Israel. Asa had faith in God during his reign. But over time, Asa began to put his trust in the might and wisdom of men. Let us not forget what God has done and as my deacon always says "Let's be careful to always give God thanks for what He has done and give Him the glory in all things".
Luke Panter