8-14 May: During the past week, I have been thankful for memories of my amazing mother who was a true "renaissance woman" - a fifty plus year career in nursing, an accomplished organist and pianist (she was a good singer, too!), an expert at applied physics - AND she could literally build a house from foundation to shingles, do the plumbing and wiring, stucco/plaster, and finish carpentry, as well; I was thankful for those who've made ME a mom (and still speak to me after all the mistakes I made in their growing up years!); thankful as I learn more about my Father in heaven who combines His male strength and power with feminine tenderness and love as Isaiah tells us here: "... The Lord says, 'Can a woman forget her baby? Can she forget the child who came from her body? Even if she can forget her children, I cannot forget you.'" (Isaiah 49:15; English Revised Version); thankful that the white stuff that is coming down from the sky will disappear as soon as it hits the ground (come ON, May weather!!!); I was thankful for the calls, the cards, and other greetings received from my children from friends for Mothers' Day; thankful for this affirmation from Romans 8:1-2 where it is written: "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death." (Revised Standard Version); thankful that there will be more "helping hands" to assist the D.D. and D.S.I.L. who have taken on the responsibility of three elderly parents and a sibling; thankful for the connection with family that fb provides; thankful for this counsel from Matthew 16:15 where it is written: “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back." (New Living Translation); thankful to be awake (more or less, insomnia an occasional issue) and ready for a busy morning with a new helper; thankful for warm sunshine on my shoulder; thankful for this counsel from Ephesians 4:31-32 where it is written: "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor [perpetual animosity, resentment, strife, fault-finding] and slander be put away from you, along with every kind of malice [all spitefulness, verbal abuse, malevolence]. Be kind and helpful to one another, tender-hearted [compassionate, understanding], forgiving one another [readily and freely], just as God in Christ also forgave you." (Amplified Bible); thankful for the blessings our Father provides for me day-by-day - fresh air to breathe and a body that retains most of its functions well (or at least adequately!) for my eighty-plus years; I was thankful for the beauty of the world around me here where I live; thankful as I consider these words from Psalm 90:16-17 where we read: "Let your work be visible to your servants, and your majesty to their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish for us the work of our hands,yes, the work of our hands, establish it." (Lexham English Bible); thankful, so thankful for the blessings of sunshine and rain with the understanding that all good gifts have been given by our heavenly Father; thankful for His Word that explains much of what can be hard to understand by human reckoning; thankful as I peruse this message written in Job 28:28 where we read: "He said to human beings, 'Have respect for the Lord. That will prove you are wise. Avoid evil. That will show you have understanding.'” (New International Reader's Version); thankful for another Sabbath - the day the Creator chose as a weekly memorial of His work forming and filling the planet on which we live today (Genesis 2:2-3, Exodus 20:8-11); thankful for the streaming of services from my home church here at Grangeville (also stored on video) that allows me to attend church even when circumstances do not allow me to be present; and I was thankful for this message in Ezekiel 20:12 that explains the Creator's reason for giving us the Sabbath: "I gave them laws for living, showed them how to live well and obediently before me. I also gave them my weekly holy rest days, my 'Sabbaths', a kind of signpost erected between Me and them to show them that I, God, am in the business of making them holy." (Message).
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