Thanksgiving VII ~

9 December-6 January:  Through these days, I have been thankful to be awake and alert to begin each new day of life; thankful that my strength is returning after my surgery; thankful to read this message from John 15:5;8 where it is written: "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." (KJV); thankful not to have anticipated these past days since my previous entry - evidently, surgery is more challenging for an eighty-year old body; thankful for morning sunlight from my window; in this NW environment, every morning I see it I'm thankful; thankful that, at JUST the right time: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children." (Galatians 4:4-5; NRSV); thankful for Sabbath and it's many blessings; thankful for the Holy Spirit's presence in my life and in the lives of others; thankful for Luke's version of the Christmas story which begins like this: "... The angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women." (Luke 1:26-28; KJV); so VERY thankful to be home again after surgery (easy peasy laparoscopic cholecystectomy) and complications following that required more than two weeks of IV antibiotics - in explanation of the month-long gap for this entry.