Thanksgiving X ~

 27 November-3 December:  In the past week, I have been thankful for the spirit of gratitude and praise we've celebrated on the holiday just past - oh that we could cease our murmuring and complaining and give thanks always (1 Thessalonians 5:18); I was thankful for the blessing I've received from every-day journaling of these reasons to be thankful; thankful for all those who care for the creature-members of our family; thankful to be a daughter of the Most High God (John 1:12), Creator of the heavens and earth; thankful for the Gospel's "Good News" of a crucified and risen Savior who is coming soon to gather His children and take them to the place He's prepared for them; thankful as I recall this message from 1 Chronicles 16:8-11 where it is written: "Thank God! Call out his Name! Tell the whole world who he is and what he’s done! Sing to him! Play songs for him! Broadcast all his wonders! Revel in his holy Name, God-seekers, be jubilant! Study God and his strength, seek his presence day and night." (Message); thankful - always! - for Jesus' promise of a place prepared for us in His forever kingdom (John 14:1-2); thankful for the assurance He will come again to take us home with Him (verse 3; Revelation 22:12);  thankful for the confidence I can have in His promises - as Joshua said, ". . . not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you, not one word of them has failed" (Joshua 23:14; Amplified Bible, Classic Edition); thankful for the beautiful snowy coat laid over the ground outside - a reminder of Isaiah's message in Isaiah 1:18 "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool"; thankful for the cozy house that is keeping me warm and dry; thankful for this message of warning given to us in 2 Peter 3:10-11: "But the day when the Lord comes again will surprise everyone like the coming of a thief. The sky will disappear with a loud noise. Everything in the sky will be destroyed with fire. And the earth and everything in it will be burned up. Everything will be destroyed in this way. So what kind of people should you be? Your lives should be holy and devoted to God" (English Revised Version); thankful for the reminder in God's Word to be cautious in our planning for the future - not to say "I'll be doing . . . ." , but "if the Lord wills, I'll be . . . ." - we have no guarantees on how long our lives will last; thankful for the blessings of "enough" because, as it is written in Hebrews 13:5, our Father has promised His care: "Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] Himself has said, 'I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!].'" (Amplified Bible, Classic Edition); thankful for the weekly opportunity to "redd-up" for the Sabbath we celebrate the next day; thankful for the shiny machines that take care of washing and drying laundry - I remember what it was like to hang clothes on a clothes line in freezing winter weather!  I was thankful to read God's affirmation of the gospel as written in Hebrews 1:1-2: "In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom also He made the universe." (New International Version); thankful for the missive received from a dear niece who is also offering a beautiful sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise for the past year's prayers for her father, now on respite from cancer treatment; I was thankful to be enjoying another Sabbath our Creator set aside as a perpetual reminder of His work of forming and filling the earth with beauty and sustenance (Genesis 2:2-3; Exodus 20:11; Mark 2:27); and thankful as I considered this precious "I AM" passage from John 6:35- 37 where it is written: "Jesus said, 'I am the Bread of Life. The person who aligns with me hungers no more and thirsts no more, ever. I have told you this explicitly because even though you have seen me in action, you don’t really believe me. Every person the Father gives me eventually comes running to me. And once that person is with me, I hold on and don’t let go.'" (MESSAGE).