Thanksgiving IX ~

19-25 December:  During this week, I was thankful for only two days 'til the time when the days will begin to grow longer - HURRAH for the winter solstice!; I was thankful for all the stories that tell of our Father's care for His people of all times; thankful to be part of those who praise God with the apostle, Paul, who wrote in Ephesians 1:3-10: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption to Himself as [His children] through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth" (ESV); thankful for the privilege of living in a family setting with loved ones - not all have that blessing; thankful for the workers, paid and volunteers, who are busy on a morning with snow-plows, blades, and shovels making streets and sidewalks safer for passage; thankful for "enough" of all I need, and more to share; thankful for the blessing of family and helpers who come to assist with care for the "elders" in this residence; thankful to be reminded of the "old,old story" with these words from Luke 2:11-14: "'The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize Him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.' Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.'”(NLT); thankful as I consider this affirmation from Galatians 4:3-5 where it is written: "It is like that with us; there was a time when we were like children held under the elemental powers of this world. When the right time arrived, God sent His Son into this world (born of a woman, subject to the law) to free those who, just like Him, were subject to the law. Ultimately He wanted us all to be adopted as sons and daughters." (VOICE); thankful for the portable space heater that's warming the room so I can shower in comfort while we wait for the electrician to replace the one that is installed; thankful to find a way to enclose an oddly shaped gift so it can go to a far-away G.G.D.; thankful for insight into the "manger" in Luke 2, reported to be the place where lambs, perfect, unblemished lambs for the temple sacrifices, were swaddled and deposited to prevent accidental damage that would make them unfit for that act of worship representing the sacrifice of the perfect Lamb of God who gave HIS life for salvation of all who accept Him: "While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. Then she gave birth to her firstborn Son, and she wrapped Him snugly in cloth and laid Him in a feeding trough [manger]—because there was no room for them at the lodging place." (Luke 2:6-7; HCSB); thankful to see another day of mostly sunshine in the forecast; thankful that Christmas is coming early for this family because a D.G.D is here for a couple of days for a visit; thankful for this part of the Christmas story recorded in Luke 2:8-11 where we read: "... Shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David.'" (HCSB); thankful for "enough" of all I need, and more to share; thankful for the blessing of family and helpers who come to assist with care for the "elders" in this residence; thankful to be reminded of the "old,old story" with these words from Luke 2:11-14: "'The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize Him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.' Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.'”(NLT); thankful for another Preparation Day, one of the two days that are named in the Bible - all other days are designated by their ordinal numbers; thankful to be able to reallocate resources for the increase in grocery prices reported by my D.D.; thankful for the response of the shepherds to the good news brought by the angels, as recorded in Luke 2:15-20: "As soon as the heavenly messengers disappeared into heaven, the shepherds were buzzing with conversation. So they ran into town, and eventually they found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in the feeding trough. After they saw the baby, they spread the story of what they had experienced and what had been said to them about this child. Everyone who heard their story couldn’t stop thinking about its meaning. Mary, too, pondered all of these events, treasuring each memory in her heart. The shepherds returned to their flocks, praising God for all they had seen and heard, and they glorified God for the way the experience had unfolded just as the heavenly messenger had predicted." (VOICE); thankful for the GIFT sent to us from our Father out of His great love - Christmas is all about THAT gift; I was thankful for this S.I.L. who has graciously made me a part of his family with no grumbles or complaints; and thankful as I read the ancient prophecy written by Isaiah that foretold His birth and eventual reign: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6; KJV).