Thanksgiving VI ~

7-13 July:  In the last week, I have been thankful for this thought from Lamantations 3:21-23 - "This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness."; thankful for sunlight and blue skies; thankful for tor this favorite "I will ...." promise from Ezekiel 36:26-27 where it is written: "I will plant a new heart and new spirit inside of you. I will take out your stubborn, stony heart and give you a willing, tender heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit inside of you and inspire you to live by My statutes and follow My laws." (VOICE); thankful that - in spite of my imperfections - I still can be used by the Creator to bless someone else; thankful to know that when things begin to close in, I can follow Jesus' example - to slip away and find a quiet place to pray; thankful for the cautionary message of Jeremiah 17:9-10: “Nothing can hide its evil as well as the human mind. It can be very sick, and no one really understands it. But I am the Lord, and I can look into a person’s heart. I can test a person’s mind and decide what each one should have. I can give each person the right payment for what they do." (ERV);  thankful that - in spite of my imperfections - I still can be used by the Creator to bless someone else; thankful to know that when things begin to close in, I can follow Jesus' example - to slip away and find a quiet place to pray; and I am thankful for the cautionary message of Jeremiah17:9,10: “Nothing can hide its evil as well as the human mind. It can be very sick, and no one really understands it. But I am the Lord, and I can look into a person’s heart. I can test a person’s mind and decide what each one should have. I can give each person the right payment for what they do." (ERV); thankful for another day of life, and for the measure of health and strength that remains to me as I work into my 81st year; thankful for this home where I live and all the ways in which our Father provides for my needs; thankful as I read this message from The Voice translation of Philippians 1:6 (a favorite passage in fresh phrasing!): "I am confident that the Creator, who has begun such a great work among you, will not stop in mid-design but will keep perfecting you until the day Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King, returns to redeem the world."; thankful for the short learning curve shown in the big dog boarding with us - yesterday, I took him out on the retractable lead to an area on the lawn I am able to reach without relying on my walker for support and next day he was acting as if he wanted to go out and took me down to an even closer spot and did his business. Hooray!  I was thankful for the smooth relations of the two big dogs in the house; thankful as I join in praise with this passage from Jeremiah 32:17 where it is written: “Eternal Lord, with Your outstretched arm and Your enormous power You created the heavens and the earth. Nothing is too difficult for You." (VOICE); thankful for the news D.D. and party are on their way back to the Idahome;  thankful to share these words of praise from Isaiah 25:1 where we read: "O Lord, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things; Your plans formed of old are faithfulness and truth." (MEV); thankful to be waking to another Sabbath, the Creator's chosen celebration of His artistry in forming our earth and all that is in it (Genesis 2:2-3;Exodus 20:8-11); and thankful for this message of praise from Philippians 2:9-11 where it is written: "So God raised Him up to the highest place and gave Him the name above all. So when His name is called, every knee will bow, in heaven, on earth, and below. And every tongue will confess 'Jesus, the Anointed One, is Lord,' to the glory of God our Father!" (VOICE).