Thanksgiving IX ~

 16-22 October:  During the past week, I have been thankful for the"measure of faith" that's been given to me; thankful for the all sufficient ministry of Jesus in my behalf; thankful to have these words from Psalm 19:14 in memory: "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer." (King James Version); thankful to be a child of the Most High God; thankful to know He has promised to strengthen and help me live in the way that honors Him;  thankful for this message from Colossians 3:16-17: "Let the word of Christ be dwelling in you richly, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing each other with psalms, hymns, spiritual songs; with gratitude singing with your hearts to God. And everything, whatever thing you may do in word or in deed, do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving-thanks to God the Father through Him" (Disciples Literal New Testament); thankful for absolute confidence that comes as we put our trust in our loving Father; thankful that He knows our every trial and its solution as we give our cares to Him; thankful for the precious words written by the prophet, Jeremiah: "'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the Eternal, 'plans for peace, not evil, to give you a future and hope.'" (Jeremiah 29:11; VOICE); thankful for the love that surrounds me in this place where I live; thankful for my Father's love which is lavished on me from above; thankful for the words of the three young men, captives in Babylon, recorded in Daniel 3:17 where we read: "... Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us ...." - and He is still able to deliver. Perhaps we might be "collateral damage" when others make bad choices, but our Father is able to preserve us for His kingdom if we continue to trust Him. (read the whole story in Daniel 3:1-28); thankful for breakfast - my delicious porridge of whole grains and red lentils with fresh blueberries, adding to that a couple of little Mandarin oranges, and an apple - yummy!   I was thankful for the recipe I found to use other grains in a SAVORY dish based on oatmeal; thankful for the blessing promised in Isaiah 63:7, where we read: "I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord, the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord has granted us, and the great goodness . . . that He has granted them according to His compassion, according to the abundance of His steadfast love" (English Standard Version); thankful for the absolute confidence that comes as we put our trust in our loving Father; thankful that He knows our every trial and its solution as we give our cares to Him; thankful when I recall these precious words written by the prophet, Jeremiah, as I first learned them: "'For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,' saith the Lord, 'thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon Me, and ye shall go and pray unto Me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart'" (Jeremiah 29:11-13; King James Version); thankful to celebrate another of the days our Creator chose as a memorial of His work in forming and filling our planet (Genesis 2:2-3); I'm thankful to see the various skills that have been shown in the lives of my six very different offspring; and I am thankful for the advice and affirmation that is shared in Proverbs 15:22-23 where we read: "Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. A person finds joy in giving an apt reply—and how good is a timely word!" (New International Version).