Thanksgiving V ~

26 August-1 September: Last week I was thankful to still be able to put thread through the eye of a needle and mend a sagging hem (and rehem the sleeve of the same dress where I pulled a thread and lost almost all the stitching the day before!); thankful to be part of the preparation for the clothing swap at our church; thankful for this message from Romans 12:4-5 where it is written: "... Just as you have many members in one physical body and those members differ in their functions, so we, though many in number, compose one body in Christ and are all members of one another." (PHILLIPS); thankful to see the rain falling to bring necessary moisture to our dusty earth; thankful to know of the Bible's "latter rain" concept of a mighty pouring out of the Holy Spirit just before Jesus comes to gather His people from the earth; thankful to read these words from Joel 2:23 where it is written: "Be glad then ... and rejoice in the Lord, your God; for He gives you the former or early rain in just measure and in righteousness, and He causes to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain, as before." (AMPC); thankful to be living in a house with running water - cold AND hot; thankful for a bed to sleep in - no fun sleeping on the floor or on the ground either at this age; so thankful for all the sometimes taken-for-granted blessings in my life; thankful to read the words of Jesus about what it is to be doing the work God requires of believers as found in John 6:29 which reads: "... 'This is the work (service) that God asks of you: that you believe in the One Whom He has sent [that you cleave to, trust, rely on, and have faith in His Messenger].'" (AMPC); thankful to anticipate attendance at a home "prayer meeting" event - thanks to the offer of a ride from another church family; thankful for increasing strength after my illness;  thankful for this message from Malachi 3:16-18 where it is written: "Then those whose lives honored God got together and talked it over. God saw what they were doing and listened in. A book was opened in God’s presence and minutes were taken of the meeting, with the names of the God-fearers written down, all the names of those who honored God’s name. God-of-the-Angel-Armies said, 'They’re mine, all mine. They’ll get special treatment when I go into action. I treat them with the same consideration and kindness that parents give the child who honors them. Once more you’ll see the difference it makes between being a person who does the right thing and one who doesn’t, between serving God and not serving Him.'” (MSG); thankful for no more dust on the shelves over my desk nor around the wires for computer and all its attachments ON my desk; thankful for my Father's love and mercy that is poured out on me morning by morning; thankful for this message from Ephesians 2:18-19 where we read: "... It is through Him that we both [whether far off or near] now have an introduction (access) by one [Holy] Spirit to the Father [so that we are able to approach Him]. Therefore you are no longer outsiders (exiles, migrants, and aliens, excluded from the rights of citizens), but you now share citizenship with the saints (God’s own people, consecrated and set apart for Himself); and you belong to God’s [own] household." (AMPC); thankful for the wealth of information available to me from the internet, data that can be found in mere seconds (and can be checked for accuracy in the same time frame!); thankful for all my mechanical helpers that assist in the activities here at home; thankful for the message from Psalm 95:6-7 where it is written: "Come, kneel before the Lord our Maker, for He is our God. We are His sheep, and He is our Shepherd. Oh, that you would hear Him calling you today and come to Him!" (TLB); thankful to wake up not long after my usual time in spite of somehow bumping the switch on my clock from AM to PM; thankful for a new Sabbath and its opportunities for study and prayer, praise and worship with our church family at the Grangeville Seventh-day Adventist Church (280 US 95 North - about two miles from Grangeville going toward Cottonwood), come on over if you can!  I was thankful, too, for these words - a promise for believers everywhere - from Ezekiel 11:19-20 where it is written: "... I will give them one heart [a new heart], and put a new spirit within them. I will take from them the heart of stone, and will give them a heart of flesh [that is responsive to My touch], that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God." (AMP).