Thanksgiving VII ~

26 April-2 May:  This past week, I have been thankful for the packet of seeds from Territorial Seeds that came in the mail - love those kaleidoscopic carrot colors!  I was thankful for our Father's stated desire that we enter into a covenant relationship with Him (Ezekiel 16:62); thankful for this affirmation from Hebrews 7:24-25 where it is written: "... Jesus holds His priesthood permanently because He lives His resurrected life forever. From such a vantage, He is able to save those who approach God through Him for all time because He will forever live to be their advocate in the presence of God." (VOICE); thankful to see all my avian friends, the Goldfinches, flocking to the feeders in the tree outside my window - an occasional House Finch pair will come, but the Goldfinches are a definite majority; thankful for all the stories in God's Word that give evidence to His providential workings; thankful for this message from Jesus found in Luke 19:10 where it is written: "The Son of Man has come to seek out and to give life to those who are lost.” (TPT); thankful for the songs my heart remembers - from the songs of childhood ("Jesus Loves Me") and youth through yesterday's melodies; thankful for those who compose the music and write the songs for us to enjoy; thankful for this musical passage from Scripture; "“The Lord your God is in your midst, a Warrior who saves. He will rejoice over you with joy; He will be quiet in His love [making no mention of your past sins], He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.” (Zephaniah 3:17;AMP); thankful for my tree full of avian wildlife (and for the squirrel that is attempting access to their feeders!); thankful for weather that is often warm enough to go walking sans even a sweater;  thankful for this affirmation from Job 19:25-26 where it is written: “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God." (NASB); thankful to still be seeing a plethora of Goldfinches, House Finches, and miscellaneous other birds from my window; thankful that a weather forecast of rain does not necessarily mean continuous water from the sky; thankful for this counsel from Ephesians 4:14-15 where it is written: "... No longer be children, tossed [like ships] to and fro between chance gusts of teaching and wavering with every changing wind of doctrine, [the prey of] the cunning and cleverness of unscrupulous men, [gamblers engaged] in every shifting form of trickery in inventing errors to mislead. Rather, let our lives lovingly express truth [in all things, speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly]. Enfolded in love, let us grow up in every way and in all things into Him Who is the Head, [even] Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)." (AMPC); thankful for the Preparation Day, the only day other than the Sabbath that had a name in the days when Jesus walked on the earth; thankful for sunlight in the early morning; thankful for the message from the book of Hebrews that tells us: "... Without faith living within us it would be impossible to please God. For we come to God in faith knowing that He is real and that He rewards the faith of those who give all their passion and strength into seeking Him." (Hebrews 11:6; TPT); thankful for another Sabbath - a day, even now, for time with the Creator and the beauty around us, with family, and with friends; thankful for the sunlight shining through my window; and I was thankful for this affirmation from 1 John 5:14-15 where it is written: "We live in the bold confidence that God hears our voices when we ask for things that fit His plan. And if we have no doubt that He hears our voices, we can be assured that He moves in response to our call." (VOICE).