Thanksgiving VI ~

4-10 August:  This last week, I was thankful to be anticipating a visit with dear friends from our China years, coming for breakfast Monday morning; thankful for lists - plans on paper that allow me to see my progress toward a goal; thankful for this message from Jeremiah 33:3 where it is written: "Call to Me, and I will answer you. I will tell you of great things, things beyond what you can imagine, things you could never have known." (VOICE); thankful for the D.D. who adds my wants to her already overflowing "to do" list; thankful that guests arrived safely at their hotel after a drive through the mountains from Missoula; thankful and in agreements with the psalmist's message in Psalm 119:128-130 where it is written: "It’s true that I regard all Your guidance to be correct and good; I despise every deceptive path. Your decrees inspire wonder; because of that, my soul desires to keep them. When Your words are unveiled, light shines forth; they bring understanding to the simple." (VOICE); thankful for through the years friendship - a visit with dear friends I'd not seen since I lived in Sichuan more than twenty years past prove that friendship is precious and durable. I was thankful for the blessings technology has granted with messages and images shared among family and friends; thankful as I read these words from Psalm 119:89-93 where it is written: "Forever, O Eternal One, Your word stands in heaven, firm and resolute. Your faithfulness endures to every generation; You founded the earth, and it remains. Everything remains today in keeping with Your laws, for all things exist to serve You. If I had not found joy in Your guidance, then I would have died from my misery. I will never forget Your precepts, for through them You have given me life." (VOICE); thankful for the D.S.I.L. who does the transporting to the city for medical care when D.D. is out of town; thankful for continuing ability to perform the activities of daily living that allow a degree of independence; thankful as I consider this passage from Isaiah 33:22 where it is written: "... The Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our King. He will save us." (HCSB); thankful I chose an "early-to-bed" time to retire and was wide awake a half hour before my phone would have given me the cheerful "good morning!" message that is my usual wake-up call; thankful to be learning, again, to listen for that still, small voice guiding to God's will and ways when I wander to the right or to the left of His path; thankful as I consider the words of Psalm 149:1,3-4 where we read: "Hallelujah! Sing to God a brand-new song, praise Him in the company of all who love Him. Let them praise His name in dance; strike up the band and make great music! And why? Because God delights in His people, festoons plain folk with salvation garlands!" (MSG); thankful that we have a God who is listening for our cries as we meet difficult situations and need help - He is faithful; thankful that D.D. has returned home safely from a business trip to the other half of the state; thankful for this message, found in Luke 12:6-7 where we read: "... You don’t really need to be afraid of God, because God cares for every little sparrow. How much is a sparrow worth—don’t five of them sell for a few cents? Since you are so much more precious to God than a thousand flocks of sparrows, and since God knows you in every detail—down to the number of hairs on your head at this moment—you can be secure and unafraid ...." (VOICE); thankful to be greeting a fresh Sabbath morning with anticipation of fellowship with other believers in study, praise, and worship - come join us at 10 AM, (any Saturday) 280 Highway 95 North (about 2 miles out of Grangeville);  thankful for the many blessing that come to me week by week - many simply unrecognized 'til later; and thankful for God's persistent wooing of human hearts that calls us to Himself, as in Isaiah 45:21-22 where we read: "... Turn to Me and be helped—saved!—everyone, whoever and wherever you are. I am God, the only God there is, the one and only. I promise in My own name: every word out of my mouth does what it says. I never take back what I say. Everyone is going to end up kneeling before Me. Everyone is going to end up saying of Me, ‘Yes! Salvation and strength are in God!’” (MSG).