Thanksgiving X ~

11-17 December:  During the past week, I was thankful to pull up this thought from the "Memories" section - Life is a Gift from God. TODAY & NOW is the time to unwrap & live it for God. Don’t let life pass by while you wait for some imagined ideal moment. Live Now & Make every moment count. Appreciate every moment & take from it everything that you possibly can. Live Now! Love Now! Laugh Now! Life has no rewind button. "This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." - (Psalm 118:24; English Standard Version); I was thankful for the love of "just the right word" that causes me to go to one of two dictionaries or the thesaurus on my shelf (or to GOOGLE!) to find the one I need - see "catarrh"!; thankful for the occasional outcropping of a sense of humor not always evident; thankful every time I read these words from Isaiah 49:25 where they are written: "Surely, thus says the Lord: 'Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children.'" (Revised Standard Version); thankful for rest and sleep - though interrupted by a long wakeful period, retirement allows "sleeping-in" opportunities; unlike some of my family, I was thankful for leftovers - flavors nicely melded by a little wait in the refrigerator; thankful for these words from Isaiah 43:1-3: "But now, thus says the Lord, who created you. . . and He who formed you . . . : 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One . . . your Savior;. . . .'" (New King James Version); thankful for how my heavenly Father has provided all I need and more; thankful for the longsuffering, the patience He has shown in dealing with me; thankful for the passage in Philippians 1:6 that reads: "... I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you." (Amplified Bible, Classic Edition); thankful for a terrific S.I.L. who's nursing skills have given me (and his co-workers, his patients, and others) a huge blessing; thankful for the continuing safety of family and friends coping with winter-y travel on often treacherous roads; thankful for this message from Psalm 91 - a favorite passage of mine - ". . . He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways" (v.11, New King James Version); thankful to see the dawn of a new day rising over our little community; thankful that the shortened days will soon begin rolling back and - if winter comes, can spring be far behind?  I was thankful for our Creator's promise: "While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." (Genesis 8:22; Amplified Bible, Classic Edition); thankful for a new Sabbath and its reminder of a loving Creator/Redeemer who came to show us how to LIVE; thankful for the love that brought Him here to give His life so that I may have a forever life with Him; and thankful for this wonderful message from 2 Corinthians 5:20-21: "Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." Praise God!