Thanksgiving IV ~

4-10 December:  This week I have been thankful for the fresh layer of snow outside my window - reminds me of David's prayer (Psalm 51:6,7) "You want me to be completely truthful, so teach me wisdom. Take away my sin, and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow"; I'm thankful for a ride home from church with friends (I was willing to wait for the carolers to return, but glad for the ride that was offered); and I am thankful for the promise of Jesus recorded in John 8:12: "Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. The one following Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life” (DLNT); thankful for bright sunlight streaming through my window after several days of waking up to overcast skies; I'm thankful to know that our heavenly Father loves me (and you, too!) as if there were none other to love; and I am thankful to read this statement of Jesus, recorded in the Phillips New Testament: "Jesus gave them [an] illustration but they did not grasp the point of what He was saying to them. So Jesus said to them once more, 'I do assure you that I myself am the door for the sheep. All who have gone before Me are like thieves and rogues, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If [anyone] goes in through Me, [they] will be safe and sound . . . . The thief comes with the sole intention of stealing and killing and destroying, but I came to bring them life, and far more life than before'" (John 10:6-10); thankful for the venison D.S.I.L. brought in from the hills this fall - the flavor is sweeter than the "mulies" husband hunted in Nevada - makes a good stew; I'm thankful to be inside instead of outdoors in the weather; and I am thankful for this message from Micah 7:8,9: "Do not gloat over me, my enemies! For though I fall, I will rise again. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. I will be patient as the Lord punishes me, for I have sinned against Him. But after that, He will take up my case and give me justice for all I have suffered from my enemies. The Lord will bring me into the light, and I will see His righteousness" (NLT); thankful to hear a little scripture song playing in my ear - "Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee. . . ." - may it be so; I'm thankful for all the memory verses from childhood that help me stay current with Bible study - and the fact that it is still possible to store things in memory banks; and I am thankful for these words of warning that seem to be fulfilled in our day: "'Behold, the days are coming,' declares the Lord God, 'when I will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord'" (Amos 8:11; ESV); I am thankful to see sunlight in spite of a 5F temperature (at the G'ville airport - near enough to us here); I'm thankful for the years of cut-out and copied recipes collected and in notebooks - what fun to dig through for ideas; and I am thankful for the counsel from Philippians 4:6,7: "Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God. And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours]" (AMP); I am thankful for the ". . . exceeding great and precious promises. . . ." (2 Peter 1:4) that have been given to all believers in God's Word; thankful that - like the little song says - "Every promise in the Book is mine, every chapter, every verse, and each line. . . ."; and I am thankful for the words of Jesus that are recorded in John15:4,5: "Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. A branch can’t produce fruit by itself, but must remain in the vine. Likewise, you can’t produce fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, then you will produce much fruit. Without Me, you can’t do anything" (CEB); thankful for another Sabbath morning - road conditions making travel hazardous, we'll be thankful for all that is available to us via one or another of the venues for worship over the airwaves; I'm thankful for those who go out in these conditions, making efforts to diminish the risk for others who feel they MUST be out on the icy roads; and I am thankful for this wonderful promise from Joel 2:27,28: " And you will know that I am here among my people. . . , and that I alone am the Lord your God . . . . I will pour out my Spirit upon all of you! Your sons and daughters will prophesy; your old men will dream dreams, and your young men see visions" (TLB).