Thanksgiving IV ~

14-20 May:  This week I have been thankful for the years blessed by living with a wise and wonderful mother who lived a "can do" life relying on our Father for every trial that crossed her way; thankful for the privilege of motherhood (and especially that all my children are still speaking to me after all the mistakes I made during their lives!); and I am thankful for this thought from Psalm 139:13,14: "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit them together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous—and how well I know it." (TLB); thankful for the blessings from the Mothers' Day greetings received from my family - including the beautiful (and delicious!) breakfast; thankful for a sunshine-y morning; and I am thankful for the words found in Ecclesiastes 11:5 that remind us of this concept: "As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things." (NIV);
thankful to know of and to be part of a world-wide prayer fellowship of believers who are praying for a great pouring-out of God's Spirit on the earth's ten largest cities - that these people may come to know the Savior; thankful for pray-ers of all different faiths who have learned that prayer changes things; and thankful for this description of the Savior from Zephaniah 3:17 where we read: "The Lord your God is in your midst, a Mighty One, who will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will renew you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." (MEV); thankful to know the white stuff that was coming down onto the lawn won't last long; thankful for God's promise that "As long as the earth continues, there will always be a time for planting and a time for harvest. There will always be cold and hot, summer and winter, day and night on earth.” (Genesis 8:22; ERV); and  thankful to agree with this message from the PHILLIPS version of Romans 11:32 where we read: "Frankly, I stand amazed at the unfathomable complexity of God’s wisdom and God’s knowledge. How could man ever understand his reasons for action, or explain his methods of working?"; thankful for the instruction in the Scripture on how one is to live a life pleasing to the Creator and Redeemer of the world on which we live; thankful to be among those who have learned of the wonderful, marvelous work of our salvation - by His grace; and thankful for the truth of Psalm 23:4 where we read: "Even when walking through the dark valley of death I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me, guarding, guiding all the way." (TLB); thankful as I marked the completion of another circuit around our star; thankful for the health and strength still remaining after 78 years of life; and thankful for this message - a long-time favorite - from Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and He will show you the right way" (GNT); thankful for blue skies and sunlight gleaming from the roofs of buildings on the hill above us - promises of a fine morning; I'm thankful for waking early to enjoy the sunrise; and thankful to echo the psalmist who wrote Psalm 31:7 where we read: "I will be glad and rejoice in Your lovingkindness, for You have seen my trouble; You have known my soul in adversities."(MEV).