Sunday, November 20, 2016

The Celebrate Gratitude Giveaway.





Introducing the Celebrate Gratitude Giveaway!


It's time for me to show my gratitude for all you do to make our bandit* of chickadees so joyful.

This giveaway is a bit different from most.  I won't be publicizing it on IG and won't be asking you to follow people, or join groups.  I'll be sharing the link to this post on The Nest- Silly Bee's Chickadees and of course, on periscope.

The only requirement to enter is that you comment on this post about gratitude.   What does gratitude mean to you?  Do you have a special story?  Do you practice gratitude in a special way with your family during Thanksgiving?  Did you have a special person in your life who taught you about gratitude?  Your post can be just about anything.  If you and a friend were talking about gratitude, what would you say?

Everyone who comments will be entered in the giveaway and the two winners will be chosen with a random number generator and announced on Thanksgiving.  Your entry won't be based on what you shared, just that you did share.  The prizes are two fabulous goodie bags that you can see on periscope.  Just look for the Celebrate Gratitude Giveaway broadcast.  Deadline Thanksgiving Eve, midnight CST (Wednesday, the 23rd).

That's all.  Let's share- come back often to this post and read other responses.  Let's learn from each other.  Let's inspire each other.  Let's show gratitude.


Thank you, chickadees, and Happy Gratitudegiving!

*look it up!


Check out more Silly Bee's Thanksgiving posts!



33 comments:

  1. Since I was a young girl my mom and dad have always opened up our home to anyone that didn't have family around for the holidays. Each Thanksgiving was different and such a blessing. As I started my family I continued the same tradition. My brother in law was in the marines and offen brought home three men home for dinner. They were so happy for a home cooked meal. Now, my daughter and her husband are very involved in a church that has new family in our town. My daughter and son in law invite four families over every Thanksgiving for Thanksgiving breakfast and fellowship. This tradition of sharing our home, food and gratitude has been going on for three generations and hopes it continues. I am so grateful for my family. -Candy Forry

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    1. That is so awesome!! What an amazing tradition!

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  2. Hi Melissa! I was so glad to see you on perioscope tonight. Seeing your beautiful bible journaling helped me a lot. I haven't been able to pick up my bible journaling now for over a year since I lost my husband but after watching your scope I might try.
    What gratitude means to me...when my husbands heart stopped beating, through all the pain, I felt the entire room FILL with Gods mercy! It was overwhelming. Even though the worst moment of my life was happening, I knew at that very moment how much God loves us. That he gave us a beautiful life together. And hope in the coming ressurection. And in his mercy he didn't crush us sooner along the way. My heart, even though shattered in a million pieces...was full of gratitude for incredible mercy.

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  3. Gratitude. What a word. I am a stay at home mom/ house wife. I recently moved my grandfather in with me because of his health and well his home over time has become a health hazard to say the least. I live in a two bedroom duplex... That is me, my husband, my six year old son and my grandfather. I feel terrible because my grandfather refuses to sleep anywhere else other than the couch. I wish I could do more for him, but finances just do not permit it. But none the less he is more than grateful. He is constantly showing his gratitude towards me and my husband for allowing him to live with us, as is he is a burden. It breaks my heart. I am so grateful to be able to do this for him, even if I feel like it's not enough. I get to take care of him and that pleases me beyond anything. I am grateful for him because he keeps a smile on my face even on days that I just don't feel like it. I get to hear the stories of when he was in the army and served over seas in Germany. I get to hear stories about my mom, whom I lost when I was twelve, things I have never heard. It's a blessing it truly is.

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  4. Hello, I think gratitude is the key to happiness. I think a lot of people are so concerned with what is next, or what they want, they do not take the time to relish what they already have. It truly is the small things that are the key to finding happiness. If you have a place to live, food to eat, people that love you, You are rich! It took me 40 years and a really, really rough patch in my marriage to figure this out.My family is what I am grateful for :)

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  5. I'm so stinkin' grateful for this community!! I have met so many amazing ladies over the past almost 2 years of Bible journaling. Today I had the honor of meeting up with many of them to journal together. So encouraging!! 💜💜💜

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  6. Hi there Melissa and everyone on the blog… I am thankful for friendship for family and I think most of all for the grace and mercy of God. He redeemed me and gave me a peace and a joy in my heart that I did not know before And I am thankful that he has brought people into my life in my real life as well as from Periscope this group of community this group of women and Bible journalers have impacted my life more than anyone can understand. And for this I am grateful and I thank God

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  7. Hello Melissa! I am so very thankful for my husband who makes me feel loved, special and beautiful every day. He is the most wonderful man I have ever met and I can't even imagine my life without him. I am also thankful for my all of my family members and friends no matter how much I see or hear from them. Each person in my life has impacted it in some way, big or small. None of these people would be in my life without God putting them there so I am so grateful that he has put them in my life and that I have the lord in my heart today and forever and know that I will see my mom and others that have gone before me again one day. 💕💕💕💕

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  8. I'm simply grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the people in our community. <3

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  9. hannahatvienna: Thanksgiving tradition: My parents & I were volunteers at children hospital on Thanksgiving morning- afternoon. I also took time to play & read to them while my parents prepared light luncheon for sick kids & their families. My sister provided " piano " accompaniment for volunteers. ( This was like 20 years ago ) We are still doing this... My sister is now a doctor who continues to visit elderly & children. While I go there to prepare luncheon & volunteer myself as a play date. I am thankful that I was healthy as a kid. I thank my parents for starting this tradition for us to appreciate LIFE and gratitude!

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  10. Hi Melissa! MamaKarenP here. Thanksgiving is a special time in our family. We gather around the the table and give thanks for all the family that has gathered and the love we feel between us and thank the Lord for all the goodness he has given to us this year. I'm grateful for my relationship with The Lord and the friends he has given me in all of you ladies. I have grown spiritually by listening to everyone share of the goodness of God. Thank you Melissa for all you do!

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  11. GRATITIDE is such a big word in 9 letters.
    After graduating from the university I joined the Peace Corps and worked as a volunteer teaching teachers how to teach in a third world country.
    22 years later, with a Paraguayan husband and two beautiful daughters (the oldest has moved back to the states to finish her high school and go on to medical school) I am still here. Many times crying to the Lord asking why.
    When I first arrived here I bathed and washed my hair from a bucket of cold well water I pulled up I became grateful of the safe water easily ready in the states. At night inside my mud hut I realized how hard my parents worked to give us such a warm home. Wind and rain prevents us from having electrity. I am so thankful for my electric gate, handy cooking electric gadgets and of course the internet!
    It is so easy to whine and complain about all the things I done have here, no Target, Wal-Mart, craft stores, coffee shops or malls. But the Lord has given me everything I need. I just need to open my eyes and be grateful for it!

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  12. What a fantastic opportunity to share our grattitude! It's hard to focus on just a portion of how blessed and thankful I am! I'll say that knowing that God is in control and that He is a good, good father gives me much to be thankful for! Having lost my mother to cancer when she was just 36, and my dad a few years ago, the holidays can sometimes be a little depressing. I now try to focus on what He has given me and for that... my cup runneth over... so many blessings since I started bible journaling and it's been so nice to be in such a supportive community! One of my favorite Thanksgiving memories was shortly after my older boys married and for the first time, we they not going to be home for thanksgiving. My husband and daughter and I decided we would volurnteer to serve the homeless. It truly is better to give than receive. I hope to do it again someday!! Teri Mayo

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  13. Hey y'all!! My name is Amber! I was that little girl that always walked around with a baby doll, I always dreamed about being a momma!! Well along comes my dear husband and we marry in 2000 and waste no time to start our family. We would fuss about how many kids we wanted, lol. I'd want a house full (around 5) and he wanted one or two. Well we tried and tried and tried and tried some more but unfortunately no baby was coming. Long story short we endured lots of years (15 years) of trying, fertility treatments, tears and loss. We had 6 losses ( one miscarriage and 5 failed adoptions (the mothers decided to parent)) all 6 were losses cus everyone of those babies grew in my heart if only one grew in my tummy. From all of this I had a lot of hurt, anger, bitterness, depression, and heartache. I channeled a lot of those feelings to God. I blamed him a lot for our lack of children. I spent more time fussing and complaining about what I didn't have than thanking for what I did!! I couldn't get past my hurt. But our loving, merciful, very patient and very forgiving Heavenly Father began to work a miracle, a miracle within my heart. He began to change my bitterness into excitement, my anger into love, my heartache into a warm heart, my depression into joy, and my hurt into thankfulness. All this time I kept waiting for a miracle that I thought God was depriving me of when he had been blessing me all my life!! There were miracles all around me!! I began to see God as he truly is, he was grieving with me, he was hurting with me, and in that hopelessness I truly found him! After believing and being saved since I was 6, having a father that was a pastor until I was 9 ( he passed away), being raised in church, and having a walk with God for years... it took my infertility to truly find God to truly have that real one on one relationship with him.
    I had always thought I was a pretty thankful person but he began to show me my faults and change my heart. He began to mold me into a new creation, and continues to mold me every day!! I'm still a majorly big work in progress lol. But he opened my eyes to all the wonderful blessings around me, my blessings that He had lavished on me. I couldn't help but begin to praise and thank him, everyday!! So when I pray I always begin with thanksgiving for all of his wonderful blessings. I also have a gratitude log every month where I write something down everyday for something I'm thankful for. It may be something as small as sleeping in late to something big as an answered prayer for someone's salvation! But each day I thank him! Because He is good all the time and all the time He is good!!
    Now I patiently wait (most days) and grow as I see His master plan unfold for my life and my husbands, we're happy and have joy in Him and we're content with our family of two. We believe and trust in God for our future and we praise and thank Him for our every blessing and we believe in His perfect will! Our hearts are open to a child if it's in His plan but if not we will still praise and thank Him everyday!! Our salvation is reason enough to lift our hands in praise and thank Him each and every day!!
    Oh and just a side note, I have a home daycare with 6 little boys that I get to love and cherish each week and watch them grow! I've been blessed to help raise a bunch of babies since 2006 and some still come and see us and spend the weekends with us ��

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  14. My husband & I continue our Thanksgiving Tradition in showing our boys gratitude in everything in life from small to big. We both come from single moms & know what not to have & still be grateful in the littlest things in life because God will provide more than enough always! My boys have more than we ever had growing up So we worked hard to tell them childhood memories & experiences from us & other children & families we grew up w/throughout our lives. As we prepare our Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner we involve them in the buying,prepping,& preparing & spending time in kitchen while we hear oldie music of our roots, spanish & 70s & 80s & we tell stories & have a chance to tell their stories so we spend quality time & build those memories because family time is very important to us! It gives us a moment to soak in their laughter, their thoughts, their joy to forever keep them in our hearts as parents & gives me a chance to Thank God how He has blessed me w/my husband & boys! And blessing them to know what it is to have a big family w/mami & papi together with their 3 brothers! It's a time for gratitude for what I didn't have growing up & my mami showing me about God, working hard, traditions, values & teaching us to be grateful in everything we had with joy! And we are showing our boys the same thing. We also show them family & friends are important & be grateful for them, life is short. We always have our home full of family & friends w/children, during the holidays. We show them that nobody should be alone during these times. Extend invitations bring them to a house full of laughter & loving on each other! A Bible Verse that is perfect for me in Gratitude is Psalm 100:1-5 Thank you God for another year of life with my hubby, boys, mami(who I almost lost last year!) Familia & friends you have given more than I can ever deserve! Thank you for your compassion & Mercy!

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  15. I am so grateful for all who have helped me on my journey back to the Catholic Church. My bible study group has been so fantastic and I feel like I am truly understanding the bible for the first time.---Jessica Lewer

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  16. Each of the previous responders have blessed me immensely. I have pondered who taught me the most about gratitude. I cannot pinpoint one. The first hymns I learned to play were "Trust and Obey" and "Count Your Many Blessings". I have a very large extended family and at every family gathering I would listen to one after another recount stories of God's provision. Then I experienced it myself in 1979 when my dad died without life insurance. I was in college and my younger brother was in high school. Time and again my mom would pray and funds would arrive from an anonymous source for exactly the amount she needed. I had multiple mentors who taught me that you can't out give God. For many years as a single woman, I did not live near family. Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I always try to find a way to express my gratitude by reaching out to others. This year my great-niece and I decorated "gratitudes boxes" together. Did you know the slots on the back of a pizza box are perfect for slips of paper to go through? We cut a hole in the top the size of a small paper plate which we covered on the inside with a clear cellophane sheet and on the outside with the rim of the plate. It stands up on end by itself. So perfect for our daily gratitudes! Count your many blessings and it will surprise you what the Lord has done! Natalie Dollar

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  17. Hey y'all! GRATEFUL what a powerful yet often times overlooked presence! When I look at my life there is so much that I am grateful for! I was raised in a loving Christian home. My mom was 25 and my dad was 49 when I was born. My mom had rheumatic fever when she was 14. She had heart issues from that point on. She almost died when I was born and then had to have open heart surgery when I was 3. She cried out to God and begged Him to let her see her girls grow up. He granted her plea! My father, being 24 years older than my mom, always took such good care of mom, my sister and I. He was a compassionate and loving man. I sat in his lap everyday up until the day he went to be with our Heavenly Father in 1995. The lost of my dad brought my mom and I even closer than we had been. She was my mom and my best friend. She loved to go on out of town shopping excursions. Wayne knew that the stores didn't close until 9 and we would not leave until they closed us out of the stores. All the while she was wearing her high heel shoes looking like a million bucks. When she needed a 2nd open heart surgery we went back out to Texas Heart Institution. She had her surgery on October 1, 2003. She did not improve at all. They had to take her back to surgery. I sat in a waiting room all by myself praying for God to please not take my precious mom but he called her home on October 13. My heart broke into a million peaces, and I went into a deep state of depression. BUT GOD! He was in control and He was with me through all my tears and fears! And my sweet husband Wayne and son Jake! I know that if it was not for God whispering you will see both of your parents again child because you are my child. You have made me Lord of your life and because of my son Jesus and salvation you have Blessed Assurance! I am GRATEFUL for Jesus Christ my Savior for this world is fleeting but I am assured of a eternal home!

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  18. The dictionary defines gratitude as "the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness." I think that often we remember being thankful but we forget the showing appreciation and returning kindness part. I'm so grateful for this community where we give and receive from one another; not just happy mail but joy and encouragement.

    The last couple of years have been difficult since the death of my grandmother. It's hard to be grateful or even thankful when someone you love so dearly is gone from you. This year, I'm hoping our family will be back to "normal" or at least have a new normal where we are able to love one another, be grateful and return kindness to one another.

    Anyhow, thank you Melissa, for being a light in the dark. Much love to you, sister.

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  20. I am so grateful to be the mother of two wonderful boys!!! I am so proud of them and i dont think there can be a better gift in a lifetime 😘😘😘

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  21. When my ex-husband and I first separated I was left cut off financially. A pound a good portion of what I own to make sure she had a Christmas. But on Christmas Eve she thought of one more thing she wanted she wanted a large stuffed husky dog I had no money left and no time to find anything. She was disappointed the next morning when she didn't have it. We were at my sisters house for Christmas and her mother-in-law showed up with the kids Christmas gifts she felt guilty bringing Katie's cousins something and not having anything for her so on Christmas Eve when she was out she stopped and just picked up a stuffed animal that happened to be a large husky dog. I was so grateful that God made a way for the small things, she had Christmas gifts but the child who never asked for anything had God make a way for her wish to be granted and for that Christmas in the middle of chaos to be special.

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  22. Gratitude means so much to me. I am grateful for my Heavenly Father who promises salvation and everlasting life. I am grateful for the earthly parents that I had. They taught me how to love and how to be a good person. I am so thankful for the people in my life. I have a wonderful husband of 33 years, our adult son who is my joy, my heart, my life. I have a sister, niece and nephew who are my everything. My family brings me joy and happiness. I'm so grateful for all that I have. God Bless and Happy Thanksgiving.

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  23. Gratitude means so much to me. I am grateful for my Heavenly Father who promises salvation and everlasting life. I am grateful for the earthly parents that I had. They taught me how to love and how to be a good person. I am so thankful for the people in my life. I have a wonderful husband of 33 years, our adult son who is my joy, my heart, my life. I have a sister, niece and nephew who are my everything. My family brings me joy and happiness. I'm so grateful for all that I have. God Bless and Happy Thanksgiving.

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  24. Oh my, I really should start writing these things down! let me just bullet list some of the things that I am grateful for;
    my parents, my mom who I miss dearly, and my father who served our country that I am so proud that we live in.
    my family ~~ my husband and children that God has given us.
    Oh Jesus and the wonderful Gift of salvation that he has given to us all who accept it.
    my Creativity.
    please look over my horrible grammar. I wished I could go on.
    PS. I am thankful for Periscope and you and all the creative people that has helped me come back to my creative self.

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  25. I am so grateful to be a grandma - memaw to Oliver and Avett!! The joys of my life!!

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  26. I truly believe that Gratitude is Magical! No matter what circumstances we are living in, having a grateful heart will always make your life rich! Its an amazing practice, that is so very powerful. The times that I have been focused on gratitude are definitely when I am happiest and most at peace. We have all heard of keeping a Gratitude Journal, when I am doing this consistently I find that I become so much more aware of all the many things I am blessed with both big and small. Throughout my day I notice so much more because I know I will be writing my gratitudes at the end of the night. Sometimes the list is long and easy and occasionally they can be more of a stretch when we have a rough day, but there is always much to be thankful for!. Gratitude is actually also very closely linked to generosity. When we feel grateful, we are living from a space of abundance and therefore have more to offer and are more willing to share what we do have with others. This year I have decided to start a new tradition and write a letter to each of my family members to have sitting at there place settings about all the reasons I am grateful to have them in my life! Thank you Melissa for giving us this chance to share about Gratitude! Much love to you!!

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    1. Deanna, I love your sacrifice of letter writing! I may borrow that idea to include with simple Christmas gifts.

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  27. James 4:8 says "to draw near to God and He will draw near to me!!!" I am grateful for a place that's better than any other place in the whole world and that place is near my Jesus. Because when I'm there "everything" is good!!!
    Happy Thanksgiving everyone, God is so good to us.

    Melissa I am thankful and grateful for you. You are a precious lady and I smile every time I think of you :)
    Debra

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  28. I'm not reading the comments before I type this. I'm thankful for everything. I'm also thankful the prizes are being chosen randomly and not on writing merit.
    Thankfulness. Who taught me this? Well, my parent's of coarse. They grew up at the end of the depression but that's another story.
    This year has been hard. The worst of my life. I'm thankful for my G-d and Father in heaven, my PaPa, as some say, and for His Word!. Thankful for everything and everyone He has given me! He's given me family, friends, friends on my phone(a.k.a. Periscipe and social media), and has provided for me in every way possible.
    Throughout this year I have a new understanding of what was written in Nehemiah 8:10 The joy of the Lord is my strength. I wrote it on that cute little chalk and white board stand that I'm thankful I found at an affordable price.
    The only way to live is to stand firmly on the Rock of my salvation! 2 Samuel 22:47 The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation.
    A verse that I'm clinging to right at this moment is Psalm 18:32 NIV It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. We just have to do that K.I.S.S. thing. That's right keep it simple, silly bee. It is God who makes my way perfect as other versions say. He has His will and He has my back. His plan is always better, more secure and more perfect than anything I could have ever thought up.
    So, I'm thankful for everything. Might sound pretty cheezy and simple but like I said earlier, keep it simple silly bee.
    Back to Nehemiah 8:10 the entire verse says: Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength. Sounds like Thanksgiving to me. We eat and drink, we give to others and we give thanks for the joy of the LORD is our strength.

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  29. Hi Melissa thank you for reminding me about this giveaway, you are so sweet😊
    What gratitude means to me is having a thankful heart at all times, in the little as well as the big things in life and as the Bible says knowing (remembering, recognizing) that all good things come from God and He gives them to us just because He loves us ❤ and I am thankful because He is a Good Father. In the past years we always go around the table and everyone says what they are thankful for before we cut the turkey, this year I was thinking of having everyone list different things they are thankful for like: 1. What's the biggest. 2.what's a "silly" 3. Place 4. Something new that you learned etc. I'm still hiking of what else. I personally am very thankful for the friends like you and all the girls who scope and blog or share on IG encouragement to women, as I work 9-6, 4 children later I don't get a chance to go out and spend time with other friends who share my faith. Thank you!~Maria

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  30. To me, having gratitude is a way of life. It is a part of being a Christian and loving Jesus, for me. I would not have one without the other.
    Today, I am thankful to be breathing and to be breathing fresh air in through the window which doesn't happen many months for me in North Florida. I am thankful for God. I am grateful for Jesus who died on the cross for my sins. I am grateful for my daughters, parents, & other family members. I am thankful for my Shih Tzu, Benny, who is 1/2 on me at the moment. I am blessed to have a bed and lots of pillows that help my body in pain & aching from severe chronic lyme disease & more to get as comfortable as possible. I am very thankful for the few doctors & researchers who have chosen to study lyme & treat patients correctly, instead of turning a blind eye to follow rules. I am grateful for my doctors & for the abilities to walk around my house & for the times I do not require a walker or wheelchair. I am definitely happy I can bathe myself even if not as often as I'd like to, after experiencing 8 years without this ability. I am grateful for new research & studies being done, & for any awareness about the disease, both acute and chronic. I want to shout from the rooftop with joy when I am able to be around my girls & especially when either is kind to me.
    This community of women on Periscope has changed my life for the better. I am so grateful each time I am able to be on someone's scope, especially live,and for the times I am able to scope or watch replays. I am blessed by the Christian love that we share & the things I learn & experience. I am grateful to be able to think about & pray for each wonderful lady daily, & often for specific people & situations.
    God is good, all the time!!!

    God, thank you for bringing these women into my life. I know you knew how much I needed them. I lift each & every one of them up to you. May they feel your presence & love.

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