Thankful!

"I will give thanks to You, Lord,

  with all my heart;

     I will tell of all Your wonderful deeds.

             I will be glad and rejoice in You;

       I will sing the praises of Your Name, 

                 O Most High."  Ps. 9:1-2

The word for this day for me was "thankful".  I want to live out a heart of gratitude; to become a walking "thank You".   I remember when Carolyn was living in Newton, that one year she chose 1 Thess. 5:17-18 for our theme verse for our women at church.

"Pray without ceasing.  In every thing give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

Dwight L. Moody wrote "Among all the apostles, none suffered so much as Paul; but none of them do we find so often giving thanks as he.  Take his letter to the Philippians.  Remember what he suffered at Philippi; how they laid many stripes upon him and cast him in prison.  Yet every chapter in that epistle speaks of rejoicing and giving thanks.  There is that well-known passage:
'Be careful for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known unto God.' Phil. 4:6"

We had breakfast out on Carolyn's patio.  So thankful for our sweet time with Carolyn!!

Carolyn decided we would try to visit the Reagan Library.  We had heard on the news a couple of nights before how the fires came so very close to it!  This picture was on the news.  You can read how the photographer got this picture - click here.

We read that the Reagan Library WAS open to the public, so we decided to go.  You can see the charred hills.  

 Along the road leading to the library, there are flags of each of the presidents of the United States.

 Look how close the fires came!

So thankful that this library was spared from the fires!  So thankful for the firemen who fought these fires!

Someone took our photo standing by the bronze of President Reagan.  It is called After the Ride created by Glenna Goodacre in 1998.

Look at the detail on belt buckle!

I have been to this childhood home twice!  I was travelling to Wisconsin by myself when I saw a sign for it, so I stopped by.  Then I took Allen this past summer on our way to Door County.

A Secret Hiding Place

"This tile came from the fireplace in Ronald Reagan's boyhood home.  He often told the story that his family kept a penny behind the loose tile so they would never be penniless.  He inspected this spot later on a visit to Dixon."

We listened to narratives on personal phone devices.

 "President Carolyn"?

The pistol used to shoot the president.

 This is where the bullet penetrated Reagan's jacket.

I am thankful that he survived and for the doctor's that saved him.

The motivation for Hinckley's assassination attempt was to impress actress Jodie Foster. ???  How?

Others seriously injured were press secretary Tom Brady, policeman Thomas Delahanty and secret serviceman Tim McCarthy, each who took a bullet to protect the president.  Secret serviceman, Jerry Parr was credited with saving the president's life by pushing him into the limo and diverting the presidential motorcade to George Washington University Hospital instead of returning to Washington.

We never know what a day might bring.  My favorite Bible verse is Psalm 16:11. God will direct our paths if we but follow Him. He brings such joy and also eternal life! 

You will show me the path of life;
   In Your presence is fullness of joy;
       At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

I am so thankful for my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!!

                                           (to be continued on next post)