Thanksgiving VIII ~

17-23 January:  Through the past week, I have been thankful for less discomfort in that sore Achilles tendon - what a blessing the Creator gave us in "self-healing" with rest and good nutrition! I was thankful for 'phone connections with the family near and far (trying to remember the lines go both ways!); thankful for this admonition from Philippians 2:14-15 where it is written: "Do all things without murmuring and disputing, so that you may be faultless and pure, and the children of God without rebuke in the midst of a corrupt and perverse nation – among whom [are those who will] see that you shine as lights in the world" (NMB); thankful for Jesus - perfect example, perfect sacrifice; thankful for the anticipation of sitting at His table with the saved from ALL ages; thankful for this promise from 1 Corinthians 10:13 where it is written: "Any temptation you face will be nothing new. But God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can handle. But He always provides a way of escape so that you will be able to endure and keep moving forward." (VOICE); thankful for our heavenly Father's faithfulness - even when we are not being true to Him, He keeps His promises; thankful for all the ways I am blessed each day - the warmth of this shelter from winter weather, the abundant provision for nutritional needs, the awareness of the Creator God who loves each of us and wants us to be with Him forever; and remembering the words of "wise men" who have said, "Don't do to others what you would not want them to do to you", I was thankful for the positive spin of Jesus' words in Matthew 7:12 where He says: “Treat other people exactly as you would like to be treated by them—this is the essence of all true religion" (PHILLIPS); thankful to have an opportunity to hear again "the rest of the story" from Isaiah 1:16-18; thankful that no matter how awful our sin, our Father is merciful and longs for us to repent so that our sins can be forgiven; thankful for the message in Psalm 51:7-10: "Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me—now let me rejoice. Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me" (NLT); thankful for each new day I can trust my time here into my Father's hands; thankful for the abundant grace provided by the Father to a world in rebellion against His government; thankful for this promise found in 1 John 1:8-9 where we read: "If we refuse to admit that we are sinners, then we live in a world of illusion and truth becomes a stranger to us. But if we freely admit that we have sinned, we find God utterly reliable and straightforward—he forgives our sins and makes us thoroughly clean from all that is evil." (PHILLIPS); thankful for rest and sleep in the night hours; thankful for access to God's Word, which I have found to be active, powerful, and life-giving; thankful for these words Jesus gave about prayer, recorded in Matthew 7:7-8 where we read: "Ask and keep on asking and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking and you will find; knock and keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who keeps on asking receives, and [one] who keeps on seeking finds, and to [those] who [keep] on knocking, it will be opened." (AMP);  thankful for the "exceedingly great and precious promises" that are found in God's Word (2 Peter 1:4); thankful for the truth that I am really a child of my heavenly Father's family (John 1:12); and thankful for this precious promise found in Isaiah 46:4 where it is written: " And when you are old, I will still be there, carrying you. When your limbs grow tired, your eyes are weak, and your hair a silvery gray, I will carry you as I always have. I will carry you and save you." (VOICE).