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I give thanks to God for my life.  Now it hasn't always been that way.  I lived much of my life taking for granted each new day, giving no thought to God.  I did what I wanted. I went to school when I should and to work when I should (most the time anyway).  I took  for granted the sunshine and rain, food, and my health, even my very life.  One of God's commandments is 'Thou shalt have no other god's before Me'  In truth I was my own god.  Don't get me wrong... while growing up I was taught that there was a God and that He was creator.  I believed that to be true but it really had very little effect on my life.  When I was old enough to leave home, I dropped out of church.  Now that I had very little restraint my sins began to blossom and expand.  The people that I was with were increasingly evil and so was I.  When I was young I would lie to my parents.  As a young adult I would still lie to them to hide behavior that I was ashamed of, never even considering that God was seeing it all.  For nothing is hidden from His eyes.  His commandments say 'Thou shalt not bear false witness'  I was a liar and guilty before Him.  God has always been so faithful in seeking me.  Nearly every job  that I ever had,  had a christian working there.  I am thankful for the witness that He kept in my life.  After I married, my husband and we  began attending church.  My heart began to be stirred to know God.  I tried reading the Bible and a friend of my husbands gave us Bible teaching tapes to listen to.  We also had our first child.  My husband and I were both overwhelmed by the miracle of birth.  We could hardly look at our child without crying,  and knowing that this was truly a miracle  of  God.  One day while listening to a Bible teaching tape I told God that I needed Him and all that He had to offer.  Later I was baptized as a believer in Jesus Christ.  You see this is when my life truly changed,  I was born again.  No longer did I take my life for granted but I thanked my God for it.  I thanked Him for my family, my home,  for the blue sky and the rain.  The desire of my heart and my prayer was to be a Godly wife and mother...without Jesus  without forgiveness of my sins, without a new life through Christ I would have made a terrible mother and wife.  Self centered liars don't make good moms.  But praise God for His great mercy,  though I broke His commandments He loved me anyway.  My sins were great but His love was greater,  He sent His Son to pay the debt that I owed for my sin, for the wages of sin is death but the fee gift is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord!    All I can say is Thank You, Lord  and I want to keep saying it til the day He takes me home.     Kathy