Thanksgiving VII ~

15-21 March:  During the past week, I was thankful to be anticipating the end of winter (at least on the calendar!); thankful, always, for good news! And I was thankful for these words from the apostle, Peter, a message given after the miraculous healing at the Beautiful Gate (Acts 3:1-8) to the leaders of the community: "Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, `Rulers of the people and leaders of Israel, have you brought us to court today because of the good thing that was done to the lame man? Do you want to find out how he was healed? Well, let it be known by all the people of Israel. This man standing before you is healed by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He has done this. You nailed him to a cross, but God raised him from death. No one else can save us. Of all the people in the world, God chose Him to save us. It is by Him we must be saved.'" (Acts 4:9-10,12; WE); thankful to be celebrating another trip around our star with son, R - may it be filled with joy, with peace, and an ever deepening relationship with God; thankful for ALL my six children and their families; thankful for the counsel in Colossians 3:12-13 where it is written: "Since you are all set apart by God, made holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a holy way of life: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Put up with one another. Forgive. Pardon any offenses against one another, as the Lord has pardoned you, because you should act in kind." (VOICE); thankful for the words of Psalm 91 - especially the phrases about pestilence; thankful that a life without harmful substances being inhaled or ingested will be of much help in staying free from this illness; thankful for this message from Jeremiah 33:6 where it is written: "... I will certainly bring health and healing to it and will indeed heal them. I will let them experience the abundance of true peace. (CSB); thankful for time to study God's Word - for its preservation through the centuries, with little change taking place as it was translated from Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek (see the Dead Sea Scrolls); thankful for the ways it has changed my life as it is read and applied; thankful as I read Romans 15:13 where this is written: "Now may God, the inspiration and fountain of hope, fill you to overflowing with uncontainable joy and perfect peace as you trust in Him. And may the power of the Holy Spirit continually surround your life with His super-abundance until you radiate with hope!" (TPT); thankful for the assurance of these words - "Every promise in The Book is MINE! Every chapter, every verse, every line ...." - from a song I used to sing with my kids; thankful for promises committed to memory (and working on more); thankful for this thought from Psalm 5:11 where it is written: "... Let all who take refuge and put their trust in You rejoice, let them ever sing for joy; because You cover and shelter them, let those who love Your name be joyful and exult in You." (AMP); thankful for the possibilities for on-line worship with my larger church family through the internet or a group phone call (with much thanks to the IT folks!); thankful for the health promoting principles of the NEWSTART program; thankful for this admonition from 1 Peter 2:2-3 where it is written: "Babies who have just been born want milk very much. In the same way, you should want God's word. That is like good milk. It will make you grow up so that you will then be fully saved. You should want God's word if you have already tasted and know that the Lord is good." (WE); thankful to anticipate church at home - not just the usual opportunities via the internet, but our pastor shared his message with all four churches in our district via a conference call; thankful that our Father's hand is covering and protecting from all harm - our forever lives are safe in His hands; and I was thankful to paraphrase this message from Jeremiah 17:7-8 which reads: "But blessed are the ones who trust in Me alone; the Eternal will be their confidence. They are like trees planted by water, sending out its roots beside the stream. It does not fear the heat or even drought. Its leaves stay green and its fruit is dependable, no matter what it faces." (VOICE).