Thanksgiving VIII ~

25 April-1May: During the past week, I have been thankful to live in a place where others around me give thanks for blessings the Creator lavishes on us all; thankful for the health care available right in my backyard; thankful to be one of those who "He wanted ... to know that His plan is very great and wonderful for those who are not Jews. And this plan is that Christ is in you! He is your hope for all the wonderful things that are to come. We tell about Him. We tell everyone to be careful to live in the right way. We teach everyone all he needs to know. We do this so that we can bring everyone before God and he will be grown up in the things of Christ." (Colossians 1:27-28; WE); thankful for the rest given thru' the dark hours even when sleep evades my grasp; thankful for every new day of life and the strength that has been promised (Deuteronomy 33:25); thankful for the rest given thru' the dark hours even when sleep evades my grasp; thankful for every new day of life and the strength that has been promised (Deuteronomy 33:25); thankful as I consider this message from Hebrews 7:24-25 where it is written: "... One, because of His remaining forever, has a permanent priesthood. Hence also, He is able to save completely the ones coming to God through Him, always living so as to intercede for them." (DLNT); 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 Luke19:10 where it is written: "The Son of Man came to look for and to save people who are lost.” (CEV); 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, a psalm form from Scripture: "In other words, adopt the mind-set of Jesus the Anointed. Live with His attitude in your hearts. Remember: Though He was in the form of God, He chose not to cling to equality with God; but He poured Himself out to fill a vessel brand new; a servant in form and a man indeed. The very likeness of humanity, He humbled Himself, obedient to death—a merciless death on the cross!" (Philippians 2:5-8; VOICE); thankful as I watch the burgeoning growth of the leaf-buds on the Horse-chestnut outside my window - real life evidence of resurrection from the natural world outdoors; thankful for sunny weather after rain showers; thankful to affirm these words from Job 19: 25-27 where we read: "Still, I know that God lives—the One who gives me back my life— and eventually He’ll take his stand on earth. And I’ll see Him—even though I get skinned alive!— see God myself, with my very own eyes. Oh, how I long for that day!" (MSG); thankful for God's love and care through all my days; thankful for my children's desire to fill my life with great experiences and wonderful memories; thankful for promises of our heavenly Father's continuing presence as we ". . . take the wings of the morning. . . ." (Psalm 139:9; KJV); thankful for the blessing of the Sabbath - the pause in our busy round of everyday activities that refreshes my spirit and promotes relationship with the eternal; thankful for all the "whosoever" promises of Jesus - they surely include me; and I am thankful for the multitude of everyday blessings that grace my life, as Jeremiah wrote: "The Lord’s acts of mercy indeed do not end, for His compassions do not fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23; NASB).

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