Thanksgiving IX ~

17-23 July:  During the week just past, I have been thankful for sunlight and a breakfast of hot-cakes with many choices of delicious toppings; thankful for the fragrance of fresh cut grass drifting in after D.S.I.L. has mowed the lawn; thankfully agreeing with Paul's declaration from Romans 1:16-17 where it is written: "It’s news I’m most proud to proclaim, this extraordinary Message of God’s powerful plan to rescue everyone who trusts Him, starting with Jews and then right on to everyone else! God’s way of putting people right shows up in the acts of faith, confirming what Scripture has said all along: 'The person in right standing before God by trusting Him really lives.'” (Message); thankful for clear blue skies outside my window and the warmth that summer brings to the Camas Prairie; thankful for the signs, rapidly increasing and intensifying, that tell us that Jesus is coming, and coming SOON! I was thankful as I read the words of the Savior in John 14:2-3: "My Father’s home is designed to accommodate all of you. If there were not room for everyone, I would have told you that. I am going to make arrangements for your arrival. I will be there to greet you personally and welcome you home, where we will be together." (VOICE); thankful for the little machine that measures my B/P (and for replacement batteries for it!); thankful to be aware of the truth in this quote: No Jesus, no peace; KNOW JESUS, KNOW PEACE... ; thankful for this beautiful promise from Isaiah 41:10 where it is written: "Do not fear [anything], for I am with you; Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, be assured I will help you; I will certainly take hold of you with My righteous right hand [a hand of justice, of power, of victory, of salvation]." (Amplified Bible); thankful for another day of life - brain clicking into gear, limbs all responsive to its directions - with prayers for those who've lost these blessings; thankful for the fresh chopped salad in the fridge, a weekly fiber bounty; thankful for the truth found in 1 John1:5-7: "Here, then, is the message which we heard from Him, and now proclaim to you: GOD IS LIGHT and no shadow of darkness can exist in Him. Consequently, if we were to say that we enjoyed fellowship with Him and still went on living in darkness, we should be both telling and living a lie. But if we really are living in the same light in which He eternally exists, then we have true fellowship with each other, and the blood which His Son shed for us keeps us clean from all sin" (Phillips); thankful for all who include MY shopping list when they go out to the little cities north of us (Thanks, Donna and D.D.!); thankful for the way my kids show care for each other when one or another is dealing with difficulties; thankful for this counsel from Matthew 13:22 where it is written: "... [Be not like one] who hears the Word, but the cares of the world and the pleasure and delight and glamour and deceitfulness of riches choke and suffocate the Word, and it yields no fruit." (Amplified Bible, Classic Edition); thankful that Sabbath Preparation Day is very much in progress - breakfast completed, third load of laundry in the washer, shower done - a good start! I was thankful there's good weather forecast for the youngster's camp-out this weekend (last time, they needed a roof over their heads to stay dry); thankful for for this assurance from Revelation 22:12-14 where it is written: “'Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me to give to each one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.' Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city." (Modern English Version); thankful for the blessing of another Sabbath, the day given humanity by the Creator at the beginning (Genesis 2:2-3); I'm thankful for a beautiful day filled with sunlight; and I am thankful for this confirmation in Exodus 20:11 where it is written: "... In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested (ceased) on the seventh day. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy [that is, set it apart for His purposes]." (The Amplified Bible).