Thanksgiving V ~

1-7 April:  This week, I have been thankful to know THE LORD IS RISEN! There are tombs for Mao, for Mohammed and for others who are considered great religious leaders, but the Garden Tomb is empty - HE IS RISEN, INDEED! I am thankful for assurance that this risen Savior will surely return to claim His own for a "forever" future in the kingdom He shares with His Father; thankful to read Paul's description of that day from 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 where it is written: "Our Lord Jesus told us that when he comes, we won’t go up to meet him ahead of his followers who have already died. With a loud command and with the shout of the chief angel and a blast of God’s trumpet, the Lord will return from heaven. Then those who had faith in Christ before they died will be raised to life. Next, all of us who are still alive will be taken up into the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the sky. From that time on we will all be with the Lord forever." (CEV); thankful that there's a prospect of warmer weather and April RAIN showers in the near future - the snow won't last forever; thankful to recall the acapella rendition of "Jesus Loves Me" shared by one of the little ones in our church family during Sabbath services, what a blessing to know that it is true for us who are older, as well; thankful for the warnings in God's Word, warnings like this one to Israel in millennia past but they apply to us today as well, like this one: "I spoke to you when you felt safe and secure, but you said, 'I won’t listen.' You have been that way since your youth; not listening to a word I say." (Jeremiah 22:21; CEB); thankful to see a more spring-like landscape as I look from my window - yesterday was an interesting mix of fluffy snowflakes and wind with periods of sunshine and blue skies! I was thankful for the blessing of tissue repair and healing that occurs after an injury - nothing less than a miracle; thankful to read this counsel from Hebrews 12:2 where it is written: "We must never stop looking to Jesus. He is the leader of our faith, and he is the one who makes our faith complete. He suffered death on a cross. But he accepted the shame of the cross as if it were nothing because of the joy he could see waiting for him. And now he is sitting at the right side of God’s throne." (ERV); thankful for a toasty abode that keeps me warm and dry in this April snow; thankful for the family that surrounds me with love and affection; thankful for this message from Ephesians 1:7-10 where we read: "In Him we have redemption (deliverance and salvation) through His blood, the remission (forgiveness) of our offenses (shortcomings and trespasses), in accordance with the riches and the generosity of His gracious favor, which He lavished upon us in every kind of wisdom and understanding (practical insight and prudence), making known to us the mystery (secret) of His will (of His plan, of His purpose). [And it is this:] In accordance with His good pleasure (His merciful intention) which He had previously purposed and set forth in Him, [He planned] ... to unify all things and head them up and consummate them in Christ, [both] things in heaven and things on the earth." (AMPC); thankful that it is rain (not the fluffy white stuff) that is falling from the clouds overhead; thankful that I can live confidently as a daughter of our heavenly Father, who is love; thankful for the message of 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 where it is written: "We are ruled by Christ’s love for us. We are certain that if one person died for everyone else, then all of us have died. And Christ did die for all of us. He died so we would no longer live for ourselves, but for the one who died and was raised to life for us." (CEB); thankful that our Father still hears and answers the prayers of our hearts when we call on Him for help; thankful for springtime on the Camas Prairie - the flowers are coming!;  thankful for these words from Jeremiah 24:7 where it is written: "... I will give them a heart that they might know me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God for they shall return unto me with their whole heart." (JUB); thankful to be celebrating another Sabbath with family and friends, being blessed with Bible study, prayer and praise, in worship and fellowship; thankful for the Amazing Facts program on fasting we watched Friday evening - many new concepts to consider; and I am thankful to read these words from Galatians 2:19-20 (and praying it will be true in my life!): "I have been crucified-with Christ! And I no longer am living, but Christ is living in me. And what I am now living in the flesh, I am living by faith in the Son of God— the One having loved me and handed Himself over for me." (DLNT).