Thanksgiving VI ~

26 May-1 June:  This past week, I have been thankful for the time with my sister and the 3rd D.D. who came for my birthday celebration; thankful - as they returned to their respective homes - to know we are all looking forward to a time when we'll "never part again"; thankful to know the message following what is prob'ly the most well known verse in Scripture, John 3:16, a message that brings the blessing ever closer to me as life goes by: "... God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him." (John 3:17; AMPC); thankful for each new day of life, and the strength that is promised to meet its needs; thankful to see the sunlight coming through my window; thankful for the message found in Paul's words as he bade farewell to the church in Melita: "What I do know is that the Holy Spirit testifies to me from city to city that prisons and troubles await me. But nothing, not even my life, is more important than my completing my mission. This is nothing other than the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus: to testify about the good news of God’s grace." (Acts 20:23-24; CEB);  thankful as I see the spires of pink-y candles blooming on the Horse-chestnut outside my window; thankful to see that the birds have rediscovered the feeders in the branches of that tree; thankful for the counsel from Romans 12:1-2 where it is written: "Brothers and sisters, in light of all I have shared with you about God’s mercies, I urge you to offer your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice to God, a sacred offering that brings Him pleasure; this is your reasonable, essential worship. Do not allow this world to mold you in its own image. Instead, be transformed from the inside out by renewing your mind. As a result, you will be able to discern what God wills and whatever God finds good, pleasing, and complete." (VOICE); thankful to live in a place where meeting folks on the street can bring a real conversation (pushing my walker up the hill the other day, I met a cyclist who stopped, gave me his name and asked mine, asked if I'd lived in this area all my life - then where DID I come from - all in a way that felt friendly, not nosy); thankful to be able to push my walker around this little city built on the hills of the Camas Prairie; thankful as I recall these words from Psalm 103:17-18 where they are written: "... The unfailing love of the Eternal is always and eternal for those who reverently run after Him. He extends His justice on and on to future generations, to those who will keep His bond of love and remember to walk in the guidance of His commands." (VOICE); thankful to have attended our little prayer meeting group that meets in a member's home in an adjacent city one evening; thankful to able to move about inside without the walker (and very thankful for that equipment when out-of-doors!); thankful for these words from Psalm 56:3 where we read: "... When I am afraid, I will put my confidence in You. Yes, I will trust the promises of God. And since I am trusting Him, what can mere man do to me?" (TLB); thankful for an early start to my preparation day with AM tasks well begun as I sent this post; thankful to have less pain in a sore ankle (and that the soreness has not prevented me from walking after meals!); thankful for the good news in this passage, 1 Corinthians 15:16-17 where it is written: "On that day, with a command that thunders into the world, with a voice of a chief heavenly messenger, and with a blast of God’s trumpet, the Lord Himself will descend from heaven; and all those who died in the Anointed One, our Liberating King, will rise from the dead first. Then we who are alive and left behind will be snatched up together with them into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. This is how we, the resurrected and the living, will be with Him forever." (VOICE); thankful to be celebrating another of the weekly memorials of God's work in creating the world in which we live; thankful for the foot-bath that diminished the swelling in my ankle - Epsom Salts are a great remedy!  And I was thankful for this description of life in the kingdom being prepared for God's people from Revelation 21:2-4 where it is written: "...I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband; and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God himself will be with them; He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.'” (RSV).