14-20 February:  This week, I have been thankful for all the IHD and Idaho County workers who are spending many hours keeping highways and roads plowed and safer for those who MUST be driving; thankful for the ability to "isolate" in a place that is warm and dry (with a prayer in my heart for all who do NOT have such a place!); thankful to read these words of Jesus from John 13:34-35: “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (HCSB); thankful for sleep and rest - and wake-ups to the special things the Father has in store; thankful that the call from an out-of-town health provider was in error - the appointment is a teleconference; thankful for this valentine from 1 John 4:9-10 where it is written: "God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (HCSB); thankful for the warmth inside our dwelling - we're physically isolating, but the care for each other is truly felt; thankful that the pantry and fridge stay full, the vehicles have adequate fuel (and heating fuels stay topped-up regularly); thankful to consider these words from 1 John 3:11 where we read: "The central truth—the one you have heard since the beginning of your faith—is that we must love one another." (VOICE); thankful for the abundance of exercises that can be done without requiring me to get down on the floor; thankful for the wonderful gift of choice - and much aware of the dangers of its misuse; thankful for these words from Romans 8:35,38-39 where they are written: "Can anything separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble, suffering, and hard times, or hunger and nakedness, or danger and death? I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!" (CEV); thankful for the anticipation of the parousia, the "second coming" of our Lord and Savior, Jesus - indications in the world today foretell the event is at hand, nearer than we think; thankful for our mighty God who is "... not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9); thankful as I read these words from Romans 8:38-39 in The Voice where it says: "... I have every confidence that nothing—not death, life, heavenly messengers, dark spirits, the present, the future, spiritual powers, height, depth, nor any created thing—can come between us and the love of God revealed in the Anointed, Jesus our Lord."; thankful for the light flooding through my window as I write; thankful for the praise patterns in the book of Psalms; thankful for this message from 1 John 4:11-12 where it is written: "So, my loved ones, if God loved us so sacrificially, surely we should love one another. No one has ever seen God with human eyes; but if we love one another, God truly lives in us. Consequently God’s love has accomplished its mission among us." (VOICE); thankful to see another Sabbath morning on the day the Creator chose to commemorate His work (Genesis 2:2-3); thankful for faith to see that, above the clouds, the sun is STILL shining in all its glory; and I was thankful to consider this little nugget of truth from Proverbs 17:9 where it is written: "Love forgets mistakes; nagging about them parts the best of friends." (TLB).