Thanksgiving VII ~

 15-21 November:  During the past week, I have been thankful for the automaticity of natural respiration, I don't need to consider if it's time to breathe again - surely, we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14); thankful to wake with a prayer in my heart - O that it were as automatic as breathing!  I was thankful for this promise from Isaiah 1:25 where it is written: " I will take action against you. I will purify you the way metal is refined, and will remove all your impurity." (GNT); thankful for the message of Jesus - "I WILL come again!" - from John 14:3; thankful for the wonderful prophecies in Daniel and Revelation that make it clear that He will come SOON - and VERY soon; thankful for the messages from these two passages: "Call out to Me, and I will answer you — I will tell you great things, hidden things of which you are unaware.” (Jeremiah 33:3; CJB) and "Open my eyes [to spiritual truth] so that I may behold wonderful things from Your law." (Psalm 119:18; AMP); thankful to be planning an amble on drying sidewalks instead of an indoor circuit; thankful for the thought that heavenly beings are always with us, guiding us to words and deeds that will reflect our Father's love into a hurting world; thankful for this message from the psalmist, David: "Truth’s shining light guides me in my choices and decisions; the revelation of Your Word makes my pathway clear." (Psalm 119:105; TPT); thankful for the gift of recalling verses from God's Word, or finding them in Strong's or on BibleGateway.com when needed for sharing; thankful to be a child of the Most High God; thankful to know the truth of these words from Lamentations 3:22-24 where we read: "How enduring is God’s loyal love; the Eternal has inexhaustible compassion. Here they are, every morning, new! Your faithfulness, God, is as broad as the day.Have courage, for the Eternal is all that I will need. My soul boasts, 'Hope in God; just wait.'” (VOICE); thankful that my new, all-weather coat has arrived - much earlier than I had expected it; thankful for the wonderful drawing power provided in the love of our heavenly Father; thankful explaining that the study of the Word of God is the foundation of a meaningful, prosperous life. Psalm 1:1-2 states this nicely: "God’s blessings follow you and await you at every turn: when you don’t follow the advice of those who delight in wicked schemes, when you avoid sin’s highway, when judgment and sarcasm beckon you, but you refuse. For you, the Eternal’s Word is your happiness. It is your focus—from dusk to dawn. (VOICE); thankful to be one of God's daughters (John 1:12); thankful to see another "preparation day" to get ready for the Lord's Sabbath; thankful as I read Psalm 95, the shortest book in the Bible (only two verses!) "O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise!" (NRSV); thankful in anticipation of meeting with my church family for worship and praise, study and prayer on the day our Lord has chosen for His own (Genesis 2:2-3; Mark 2:27-28); thankful for more days of "walking weather" before winter covers my paths with snow and ice; and thankful for the encouragement in these words from Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:4-5 where we read: "I am continuously thanking my God for you when I think about the grace God has offered you in Jesus the Anointed. In this grace, God is enriching every aspect of your lives by gifting you with ... everything you need to know." (VOICE).