Jesus, Brenda and I have never been rich. We have had to trust You for provision over and over again over the past 23 years. We have found You faithful time and time again. We have never gone without and so compared to many people in this world we are rich beyond measure because we have a place to live, food to eat, clothes to wear, transportation, and luxuries beyond our deserving. In our darkest hours You have showed us Your power. When we had little or nothing in the bank You met our needs over and over again. THANK YOU.
We are rich in relationships. I want to thank You today for those people You have brought into our lives. Thank You for family. They loved, molded, and shaped us. Thank You for Spiritual family as well. Thank You for those You used to disciple Brenda and I over the years. Thank You for those families You put before us to model what healthy family relationships looked like. Thank You for those friends that have stuck with us over the decades through thick and thin. Thank You for allowing us to grow up in healthy churches like Denman Avenue Baptist Church and First Baptist Church respectively.
Thank You for the people You have allowed Brenda and I to lead to a saving relationship in You over the years. My mind drifts back through the years back to Burke, to CentrePointe, to FBC Paradise, to FBC Seminole, and now Faith Community. I think of the many people who once lived in darkness and were shackled in sin and Jesus came and rescued them. GLORY TO GOD. I think of people like Willie, Ed, Kelly, and Chris to name just a few. There were teenagers and their families who came to know You and serve You. THANK YOU LORD.
I thank you for those many people we served that entrusted their hearts to me to be more than their preacher but to be their pastor. I thank You for those who have loved us and tangibly expressed that love in many thoughtful and tangible ways. I want to thank You for every person who has shared their resources with over the years. Whether they sent checks in the mail, paid for car repair bills, gave us vehicles, paid our house payment in tough times, or filled our freezer with meat; I thank You for each of them. I thank You for every person who has partnered with me to get my books into print. I thank You for every person that has and continues to pray for us and our ministry. I also thank You for those You have used to make the trips to Kermit possible. Thank You for those who have given money and gift cards to make that weekly 800 mile round trip to teach Your word possible. I could not do it without them. THANK YOU.
Today I also want to thank You for true friends. In fact, they are more than friends. They are trusted brothers and sisters in Christ. These are the ones who have rejoiced with us in times of triumph and wept with us in times of sorrows. These are the ones who have listened lovingly when our souls were bruised and battered. These are the ones who provided a safe place to share our burdens. They know who they are. THANK YOU.
Thank You for those flocks I got to serve and all those deep relationships that were forged. These are relationships we treasure and hold dear to our hearts even today. Lord, You see the faces flashing across my mind. You know the gratitude in my heart for those flocks who opened their hearts and homes to the Edwards family. I thank You for each and every one of them. THANK YOU.
I also want to thank You for all those young men and women You called into full time service for You under our ministry. So many of them have gone on to do a great things for You. I praise Your name for using them and give You all the glory. Thank You for allowing me to play an ever so small part in their lives. THANK YOU.
I want to Thank You for my inner circle. I have leaned on them for counsel, wisdom, prayer, and support time and again. I thank You for their unconditional love for me even though I know I am not an easy person to love. Thank You for a true band of brothers in my life. THANK YOU.
How could I give You thanks and not thank You for the woman sleeping in the room next to me. You have allowed me to share my life with Brenda for the past 23 years. The road we have walked together has not been an easy one. We have faced trials. We have watched ministries die before our eyes. We have known great sacrifice and learned to trust You together. No matter how hard things have gotten she does not complain. She has loved me through every season of life. How can I ever thank You enough for her. And I thank You for my boys. They are becoming men right before our eyes. It is good to have all of them under one roof for these few days. I thank You for this time together. Thank You for bountiful feast we will share together and with friends later today. THANK YOU.
Jesus, I thank You for saving me. I am most thankful that today I can say I am a child of God. In humble gratitude I once again lay my life at your feet on Your altar. It is all I know to do. THANK YOU. In Jesus name, amen.
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