Thanksgiving III ~

10-16 July:  This week I've been thankful for Sabbath's sermon that cautioned about accepting a counterfeit instead of searching carefully for truth; for waking early to begin our travel day; and for these words from Psalm 33:4: "The word of the Lord is right; and all His works are done in truth."; for the comfortable ride in the little Kia we're renting for this journey; for a visit with friends as we stopped in Ely; for the praises in Psalm 29:1,2,11: " You, divine beings! Give to the Lord—give to the Lord glory and power!  Give to the Lord the glory due his name.  Bow down to the Lord in holy splendor!   Let the Lord give strength to his people!  Let the Lord bless his people with peace!; thankful for traveling mercies as we journey; for the warmth of our welcome in this D.S.'s family; thankful for the words of Psalm 57:5,9-11: "May You, my God, be honored above the heavens; may Your glory be seen everywhere on earth.  I will praise You, Lord, for everyone to hear and I will sing hymns to You in every nation.  Your love reaches higher than the heavens; Your loyalty extends beyond the clouds.   May You, my God, be honored above the heavens; may Your glory be seen everywhere on earth"; I am thankful for the rugged beauty of the Colorado National Monument where we visited Tuesday - what a fascinating place!  I'm thankful for the delicious food prepared for us; and for these words from Psalm 65:5: "By awesome and wondrous things You answer us in righteousness, O God of our salvation, You who are the trust and hope of all the ends of the earth . . . .";  for Wednesday's drive through the gorgeous scenery of Grand Mesa, and the wonders of the trip north from Grand Junction over Douglas Pass on Thursday morning - just spectacular!  So thankful for the kind motel keeper in Twin Falls who called a competitor to reserve a room for us; thankful to be able to show my sis the glories of Shoshone Falls on the Snake River; thankful for these words of praise from Psalm 69:30: "I will praise the name of God with song and magnify Him with thanksgiving"; I'm thankful for the many miles of safe travel over this journey; for the convenience of phone calls in far-away places; and for the message of Psalm 73:26: "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the rock and strength of my heart and my portion forever";  I am thankful to be back home this Sabbath morning, with plans to be with my church family as we join to study together, with prayer and praise, and our pastor here to lead worship with a thoughtful message from the Word;  and for this message from Isaiah 58:12,13: "You will be called 'Fence Fixer' and 'Builder of Roads and Houses.' That will happen when you stop sinning against God’s law about the Sabbath and when you stop doing things to please yourself on that special day. You should call the Sabbath a happy day. You should honor the Lord’s special day by not saying and doing things that you do every other day of the week" (ERV).