Blessings from God!!

Written from FCI Terre Haute on 11/22/12

It is Thanksgiving today and it seems to me that I need to share my gratitude to God for the blessings He has given me.

I have been delivered to a very dismal place.  The conditions here are horrible.  This is a transfer hub, so the length of my stay should be short, except that my travel fell on a holiday weekend.  This hub is in a minimum security prison and this area we are housed in is considered the "hole".  Many cells are occupied by members of the prison who are receiving disciplinary action.

We (my cell-y and I) are on 24 hour lock-down.  The cells in our hallway host all sorts of interesting men.  Shouting, loud talking and door-banging are sounds around us.  The talk is foul and in a variety of languages that last long into the night or morning (it is hard to tell without a clock)!

We have been here for 6 nights and we are hopeful that we only have 4 nights left, if the Lord is willing.  If our estimates are correct, we hope to be taken to the local airport where we will board the private fleet of "ConAir"!!

Surviving this week forced us both to focus on the positive things and giving thanks to God for the blessings we have, in this unsavory place.  So I thought I would make a list of some of these blessings, as it suggests in the old hymn, "Count Your Many Blessings..."  We, as Christ-Followers, need to do this so we don't lose site of what God does for us.  When we see these blessings listed, we can turn them into praise to God.

So here is my list of how God has blessed me this past week:

• He gave me courage in a very fearful chapter in my life.
• He matched me with a good cell-y.
• He influenced the guard to change our cell to a "less" dirty cell.
• He gave me great patience to endure long days of boredom.
• He influenced the orderly to give us King James Bibles off the book cart, even though we were restricted from having books.
• He arranged for our late night "Talk Show Host" to be shipped out so we could get some sleep  :-)
• He made sure my money transferred from the county jail so I could purchase some survival items.
• He arranged for our commissary order to arrive before Thanksgiving!  Our order consisted of:
• Pen
• Paper
• Envelopes
• Stamps
• Bar of soap (nope not soap on a rope!!)
• Flavored tooth paste
• Deodorant -- doubles as air freshener
• 2 FM radios
• batteries for the radios
• We share these items to save money.  It was like CHRISTMAS when they arrived!!!
• He has given us some cloudy days so our cell stays cooler (only mid-80's)
• He is healing my burn wound in spite of the unsanitary conditions here.
• He had me remove the pornography that was glued to the bottom of the upper bunk bed and let me replace it with Scripture!
• He used the gang-banger, in the cell next door, to silence the entire block who decided to start a "barn-yard choir" -- you feel me????
• He blessed me with local Christian Radio Stations that play Praise Music!!  It has been three weeks since I heard this much PRAISE!  I sit in my bunk and raise my arms to Heaven and just mouth the words of the songs.  I long to be able to praise God in a group setting.  I MISS MY CHURCH!!!!
• He blessed me with a thanksgiving dinner - but it wasn't as good as what my family makes.  None the less, I had a good meal when others can't afford any food.
• He blessed me with a family who carried on a family tradition in my absence by celebrating Thanksgiving in Maplewood, MN.  I was there in spirit - rearranging the home decorations!!  :-) 
• He blessed me with good conversations with my cell-y that really help me to pass the time.
• He blessed me with a clock on the radio so I can get a sense of time, other than sunrise and sunset.
• He blessed me with a new understanding of what it is like to lose all privileges and freedom.   This is helping me to see how much more I have Freedom in Jesus Christ!  They will NEVER be able to take this away from me!!
• He is showing me how to find hope in Jesus when my surroundings seem hopeless.
• He is showing me how to be Joy-filled!
• He has blessed me with His presence even here in prison.
• He has blessed me with a beautiful wife who emulates the Grace of Jesus.  She is strong and courageous in obedience to God's Word.   Her faith is so strong and comforts our family during this difficult time.

My list could go on much longer...I have time to write....but, you may not have time to read it all.

It is my prayer that you had a great Thanksgiving.  Although I would rather have been with my family, I still had a good Thanksgiving.  I am thankful for what God has done and continues to do for me.  He is a great and powerful God who cares enough to bless me.  Because of who He is and not just what He does for me, I will Praise Him...even in the storm!!

Psalm 67: 1-7

McFreedom is "McThankful"