Thanksgiving VIII ~

 27June-3July:  During the past week, I have been thankful for beautiful mornings - sunshine washing the hills around me with promises that summer is here; thankful for the repeated assurances that our prayers are heard (1 Kings 9:3; Proverbs 15:29; Acts 10:31; and John 5:14 - among many); thankful for these words from Jeremiah 24:6-7: "... I will watch over them. I will look out for their good. ... I will give them a new, intense desire to know Me because I am the Eternal One. They will be My people, and I will be their God because they will return to Me completely." (VOICE); thankful for fresh water from taps in the kitchen, the bathroom, and outdoors around the house - so much of this world has to carry water from a distant source to meet their culinary and sanitation needs; thankful for heated water at the turn of a handle - what a blessing!  I was thankful for this promise from John 4:13-14 where it is written: "Jesus answered, 'Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks from the water that I will give will never be thirsty again. The water that I give will become in those who drink it a spring of water that bubbles up into eternal life.'” (CEB); thankful to have seen D.D. and her helper busy doing yard-work in the coolest part of the day - it was much warmer in the last evening when someone was using the mower with headlamps alight! I was thankful for a forecast of gradual moderating of temps to a more "seasonal" norm; thankful for this observation from Proverbs 26:1 where it is written: "Honor is no more associated with fools than snow with summer or rain with harvest." (NLT). May we all be wise and choose His ways! I happily anticipated the possibility of cooling showers - and temps closer to our seasonal norms; I was thankful for a D.D. who collected a few outfits sized to fit a nearly three-year old and brought them home so another D.D. and I could choose the ones WE wanted as to give as gifts to the littlest family member at a joint celebration in the city; thankful for this admonition from Romans 12:2-3 where it is written: "Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. For through the grace given me, I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think—but to use sound judgment, as God has assigned to each person a measure of faith." (TLV); thankful that - in spite of my imperfections - I still can be used by the Creator to bless someone else; thankful to know that when things begin to close in, I can follow Jesus' example - to slip away and find a quiet place to pray; thankful for the cautionary message of Jeremiah 17:9-10: “Nothing can hide its evil as well as the human mind. It can be very sick, and no one really understands it. But I am the Lord, and I can look into a person’s heart. I can test a person’s mind and decide what each one should have. I can give each person the right payment for what they do." (ERV); thankful for another Sabbath day, gathering with my church family for worship and praise, for study and fellowship on the day the Creator has chosen (Genesis 2:2-3; Mark 2:28); thankful for cool nights that allow me to sleep with the window open; and I was thankful for this promise from Malachi 3:10 where it is written: ".. Feel free to test Me now in this. See whether or not I, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, will open the windows of heaven to you and pour a blessing down upon you until all needs are satisfied." (VOICE).