Thanksgiving X ~

 9-15 April:  During the past week, I have been thankful for sleep and the mental defragmentation that occurs in those hours; thankful to see the buds on the trees around me visibly expanding as they are warmed by the sun; thankful to know, and trust the One who cares about each of His children, and longs to see us all in His kingdom - "This is the One who—imprinted with God’s image, shimmering with His glory—sustains all that exists through the power of His word. He was seated at the right hand of God once He Himself had made the offering that purified us from all our sins." (Hebrews 1:3; VOICE); thankful that, while there was a week of unsettled weather in the forecast, snow - with the springtime temps - is melting almost as soon as it falls; thankful for the patches of blue, the sunshine intervals mixing in with the overcast most days; thankful for the affirmation provided in Romans 5:6-8 where we read: "When the time was right, the Anointed One died for all of us who were far from God, powerless, and weak. Now it is rare to find someone willing to die for an upright person, although it’s possible that someone may give up his life for one who is truly good. But think about this: while we were wasting our lives in sin, God revealed His powerful love to us in a tangible display—the Anointed One died for us." (VOICE); thankful for the gifts our Father pours out for me day after day - life, health, the measure of strength that remains, and SO much more;  I was thankful for the gift of the Spirit and His work in my life; thankful for the greatest gift God gave us, His Son, who " ... carried our sins in His body on the cross so that we would be dead to sin and live for righteousness. Our instant healing flowed from His wounding." (1 Peter 2:24; The Passion Translation); thankful for the love and mercy with which our Father covers us day by day; thankful for the assurances of protection as He keeps us in His care - we may "sleep" for a moment, but the "forever" life He's promised is secure; thankful for these words from John 3:35-36: “The One that God sent speaks God’s words. And don’t think He rations out the Spirit in bits and pieces. The Father loves the Son extravagantly. He turned everything over to Him so He could give it away—a lavish distribution of gifts. That is why whoever accepts and trusts the Son gets in on everything, life complete and forever! And that is also why the person who avoids and distrusts the Son is in the dark and doesn’t see life. . . ." (Message); thankful for my sister, beginning a new trip around our star - Happy Birthday, Evie!; I was thankful for the concept of April showers bringing May flowers (and for seeing all the blooms showing along the Clearwater River north of us - such a lovely sight to behold!); thankful for the assurance that one can experience a fresh start by being "born again" - "You have been reborn—not from seed that eventually dies but from seed that is eternal—through the word of God that lives and endures forever." (1 Peter 1:23; VOICE. See also 2 Corinthians 5:17); thankful for all the beauty our Creator has saved through the winter to give reason to rejoice when buds and blooms appear in the springtime; thankful for Jesus, our Day-star, Son of Righteousness - Light of the world; and I was thankful to read these words from Romans 3:23-24: "You see, all have sinned, and all their futile attempts to reach God in His glory fail. Yet they are now saved and set right by His free gift of grace through the redemption available only in Jesus the Anointed." (VOICE).