Thanksgiving III ~

             10-16 January: This week I have been thankful for the blessing I've found in the daily 30-minute readings from Shelley Quinn's book, Life Affirmations from Scripture; thankful to have discovered a missing subscription invoice while there is still time to cover it; and thankful for these wise words from a visiting pastor yesterday: "The thing that keeps us from fulfilling our dreams is that we forget what we want MOST for that which we want NOW!" - "[Looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith [the first incentive for our belief and the One who brings our faith to maturity], who for the joy [of accomplishing the goal] set before Him endured the cross. . . . " (Hebrews 12:2); for the daily blessing in recognizing our Father's faithfulness to His Word; for the house we live in and its many comforts; and for this message from Isaiah 43:1-3: ". . . Don’t be afraid, for I have ransomed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up—the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, your Savior, the Holy One. . . ." (TLB);  for a new day and the strength that is given to meet its needs; for the songs with which the Father fills my heart; and for this precious message from Isaiah 44:3: ". . . I will pour water on [one] who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring"; to have wakened early in spite of a rather late bedtime - my favorite time to do some devotional reading is in those early morning hours; for answered prayers; and for these words from Isaiah 45:5: "I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me"; to see sunshine rather than the weather forecast-ed when I checked yesterday; thankful for bananas and other fresh fruit for my breakfast; and thankful for this message from Ezekiel 11:19,20: "Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God";  for a good night of sleep - insomnia occasionally prevents rest but I remember the psalmist's helpful words re wakefulness; I'm thankful for opportunities to assist a D.D. in completing her post-op eye meds; and for these words from Isaiah 54:10: "'. . . The mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,' says the Lord, who has mercy on you"; and  I'm so thankful on a snow-y Sabbath morning for the blessing of Hope Sabbath School - an inter-active, in-depth study of God's Word that's available on demand at http://hopess.hopetv.org/ ; for the safe travel through miserable weather as family and friends travel to/for/from work; and for these precious words from Psalm 91:11: "For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways."