Hey lads and lassies! We are smack dab in the middle of our {Thanks}giving week, and I sure do hope you’re enjoying it! Mayhaps you’re even a little thankful for it?

The sweet and sassy lassie sharing with you today hearkens from a brave and rugged land that will ever hold a place in my heart, since it’s where the Hubs and I fell in love, and where the Bear was born, among other things. Laura Anne Mackay is a delightful and bonnie Scottish lass, who blogs her brave heart out at Learning from Sophie. But she has a better intro lined up for you, so let’s segue… (I told you letting people write their own intros is brilliant!)

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Wait! I thought I got to stay on the bus forever!


(Video c/o Central Christian Church, Las Vegas!)

Poor Lisa. I remember when it was me who was the new Christian, and my friends had told me that knowing Jesus was the coolest thing ever (truth) and that I’d never be sad again (lie) – I was pretty destroyed when I discovered that being a Christian did not keep me on that proverbial ‘happy bus’ forever.

There are times in our lives when God is so obviously and blatantly present in our lives, we feel close to Him, we can hear His voice clearly and it seems we are abundantly blessed. Life is good. Everything is not just as we had hoped, but so much better than we expected!

And then there are those other times. When there are bills to pay and no money to pay them, times when we wonder if we will ever be able to stop fighting with the ones we love, the times where people get sick or die, when it feels God is distant or He just simply doesn’t seem to be protecting us or blessing us in the manner we think He should.

It’s easy to be thankful when we are on that happy bus.

It’s not so easy when we are the ones in pursuit of happiness.

And yet, there is something about choosing to praise God in the bad times as well as the good ones. Not that we’re happy to be going through a difficult time, but because we have hope and comfort in the fact that God is the same – yesterday, today and forever. I find myself challenged by Job’s response to losing so many people He cared about, had worked hard for & stewarded well:

“… he fell to the ground in worship and said:
‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.’
In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.”

-Job 1:20-22

The fact is that in our lives there will be times of mourning, and times of celebrating. We won’t always be happy, and we won’t always be sad or angry or mourning. And the thing is, God just has this amazing ability to bring good out of the situations we can despair of – along with free will, He also gave us grace.

But here is what I strive to be: content in all circumstances, always praising, always thankful, and never taking anything for granted.

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Laura Anne Mackay is a woman with a passion for God and a passion for people. Her vision: to minister to broken people, to encourage and connect people, to show people God’s love in action. She’s a writer, singer, youth worker, support worker – and loves to tell you all about sex ed!

Laura Anne lives in Edinburgh, Scotland. Amongst many other activities, her main role is to co-run a pregnancy resource centre, as well as helping support a national network of pregnancy centres across Scotland.  She has never eaten haggis or a deep fried mars bar, and does not know how to play the bagpipes.

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Thanks so much for sharing that, Laura Anne! I still can’t believe you haven’t eaten haggis, but that was certainly some food for thought (for me at least) on the American ideals regarding life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I hope I can get on the contentment bus and stay there! 😉

xCC