Thanksgiving III ~

17-23 July:  This week I've been thankful to be sleeping in my own bed - surrounded by the people, the critters that make this spot my home; I am thankful for the warm hospitality at the home of a church friend and her husband who hosted their annual post-church pot-luck luncheon yesterday; and so thankful for the message of free salvation to all found in Romans 1:16: "I am proud of the good news! It is God’s powerful way of saving all people who have faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles" (CEV); for the protection of the angels - I turned carelessly out of a doorway last evening and found myself falling onto my face - the only damage was a scrape or two and a fat lip, but it could have been much worse! I'm thankful for sunlight and blue skies this morning - those clear skies always make me happy; and I'm thankful for this promise from Revelation 3:4,5: ". . . A few of you . . . will walk with me, clothed in white, because you are worthy to do so. Those who win the victory will be clothed like this in white, and I will not remove their names from the book of the living. In the presence of my Father and of his angels I will declare openly that they belong to me" (GNT); for the news I got yesterday, finally - after several adjustments - my systolic B/P is below 140 mmHg; thankful for a D.D.'s most recent adventure in the kitchen - a delicious quinoa salad; thankful, too, for this favorite verse from Isaiah 41:10: "Don’t be afraid. I am with you. Don’t tremble with fear. I am your God. I will make you strong, as I protect you with my arm and give you victories" (CEV); for a new day of life - brain clicking into gear, limbs all responsive to its directions - with prayers for those who've lost these blessings; thankful for the fresh chopped salad in the fridg, a weekly fiber bounty; and thankful for the truth found in 1 John1:5-7: "Here, then, is the message which we heard from Him, and now proclaim to you: GOD IS LIGHT and no shadow of darkness can exist in Him. Consequently, if we were to say that we enjoyed fellowship with Him and still went on living in darkness, we should be both telling and living a lie. But if we really are living in the same light in which He eternally exists, then we have true fellowship with each other, and the blood which His Son shed for us keeps us clean from all sin" (Phillips); for another visit with my D.S. who has already put more than 8000 miles on the vehicle he purchased in Boston earlier this month - and he's not through yet! I'm thankful that one of my D.D.s was able to fix whatever had interrupted the workings of the computer screen at my desk - couldn't hold an image, just went black - but is on track again; and I am thankful for the message found in Malachi 3:16-18: " All those who truly respected the Lord and honored His name started discussing these things, and when God saw what was happening, He had their names written as a reminder in His book. Then the Lord All-Powerful said: 'You people are precious to Me, and when I come to bring justice, I will protect you, just as parents protect an obedient child. Then everyone will once again see the difference between those who obey me by doing right and those who reject me by doing wrong'" (CEV); for all the ". . . exceeding great and precious promises. . . ." (2 Peter 1:4) in God's Word, promises that are given to help us in our walk with Him; thankful for energy and will to work for the preparation elements of the Sabbath; and for the testimony given by Simon Peter in Matthew 16:15,16: "[Jesus] said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), the Son of the living God” (AMP); Thankful for another Sabbath, for this little device that can communicate when my monitor has gone to black for some reason, and for this good news from John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world . . . ."