I'm Grateful for You.

Ephesians 1:15-16
15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.

I want to take time today and remember "Aunt" Eleanor who passed away on Thursday. She was like an aunt to us all in the family, but really she was a step mom to my dad and his brothers and sister. Eleanor always asked how everyone was doing even though she may not have remembered people's names very well; she still knew of them in her heart.

Her heart was so warm and fuzzy. She never failed to give money to charitable organizations, church, and family members as she saw fit. I was always very grateful when she always supported the mission trips that were always a part of my summers. There were various other occasions where she supported me as well, such as, most recently, graduation. One of the last things she ever did was write a nice note and give me a check. She also talked about the family with my dad immediately before the end of her time.

Even though you couldn't do too much with her, you could still visit her or go out to dinner with her. We could keep her company and catch up on everything. All in all, because of her giving nature and faithfulness, you can tell she listens to God's calling and puts him first.

So now Aunt Eleanor, I say thank for being generous to the family. You can finally see Grandpop again! "Into the darkness you shine, out of the ashes we rise...And if our God is for us then who could ever stop us, and if our God is with us, then what could stand against?"

Those words are from the song "Our God is Greater" by Chris Tomlin. No matter what you're going through remember that God is with you. He has the awesome power to shine against through the negative light.



P.S. If you have trouble with the video stopping and starting, keep the video paused, and let it "buffer" (load) as it's called for a while. You will see the red bar along the bottom advance (speed depends on your Internet connection). Wait until that bar gets pretty far along (I'd say more than halfway) before you play the video and it shouldn't pause.