Thanksgiving VI ~

13-19 October:  During the past week, I was thankful for the persistant wooing of God's Spirit within our hearts calling us closer to Him; thankful to have a friend coming to join me for breakfast Sunday morning; thankful for this promise from Jeremiah 29:11-12 where it is written: "... 'I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call on Me and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear [your voice] and I will listen to you.'" (AMP); thankful that the miseries I was dealing with as Sunday evening wore on have lessened after good sleep; thankful for the restoration provided as I spend time in God's Word; thankful for this counsel from the apostle, Paul, who said: "... Make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]" (Romans 12:1-2; AMPC); thankful for a warm place in which I can shower without any chilliness; thankful for "the exceding great and precious promises" to be found in God's Word; thankful to relect these words of praise from 2 Samuel 7:21-22 where we read: "Because of Your promise and as Your own heart dictates, You have done all these astounding things to make [us] know and understand. Therefore You are great, O Lord God; for none is like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all [You have made] our ears to hear." (AMPC); thankful for the Father's steadfast love - may I learn to share that love effectively; thankful for the example Jesus provided in living an "others centered" life - let that life be seen in me!  I was thankful for this beautiful prayer from Psalm 19:14 where it is written: "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer." (KJV);  thankful for the Bible, God's Word shared by prophets and apostles, and preserved by His grace through many attempts to destroy it; thankful for the restoration in His Word and how the Holy Spirit applies it in our lives; thankful for this message from Psalm 25:14-15 where it is written: "The Lord is a friend to those who fear Him. He teaches them His covenant. My eyes are always on the Lord, for He rescues me from the traps of my enemies." (NLT); thankful that when sleep departed in the night for nearly five hours, our Father provided rest enough - awake at the usual time without the jingle of the phone; thankful for the plans being made for a trip and an indoor picnic with family at D.S.'s new house; thankful for the assurance from Jeremiah 31:3 where it is written: "The Lord appeared to us in the past. He said, 'I have loved you with a love that lasts forever. I have kept on loving you with a kindness that never fails.'" (NIRV); thankful for the gift of another Sabbath, the day God chose as His own - "the Sabbath of the Lord" - and the day I choose, as well. How about you?  I was thankful for the plans of the day, enjoying some of the colors of autumn as a family, along with D.S.I.L.'s parents; and I was thankful for this counsel (and thankful for how "heart's desires" CHANGE as WE change!) from Psalm 37:4-5 where we read: "Find your delight in the Lord who will give you your heart’s desire. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will act." (NABRE).