Thanksgiing X ~

17-23 September:  During the past week, I have been thankful for courtesy shown among the members of our household; thankful for the insights into my life - the reproof and correction the Bible offers; thankful for these words from Psalm78:4,7: "We will not hide them from [our] children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done. That they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments." (King James Version); thankful for the delight of learning - exploring a program called "The Joy of Mathematics" on DVD this month (it will surely require several trips through these lessons before they "stick", but that's okay!); thankful for the memory of a song sung with my kids many years ago, "Jesus and Others and You - what a wonderful way to feel JOY . . . ."; thankful for these words: ". . . The joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10; New King James Version); thankful to be able to breathe, breathe deeply without any effort, any obstruction - with prayers for the many who aren't able to do this; I was thankful to be able to walk around this house with my walker for support; thankful to remember these words: ". . . I am the Lord who heals you" (Exodus 15:26; Amplified Bible); thankful for this electronic messenger that takes my thoughts to the screens in front of family and friends faster than I can enter them on my keyboard - what a wonder!  I was thankful to know about the Savior and His great love for us - taking upon Himself all the sins of everyone who has lived or will live. "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21); thankful for the beautiful promise in Isaiah 43:2-3 - for all who are experiencing hard times - "When you pass through deep waters, I will be with you; your troubles will not overwhelm you. When you pass through fire, you will not be burned; the hard trials that come will not hurt you. For I am the Lord your God, the holy God . . . who saves you" (Good News Translation); thankful for the beautiful place our Father has promised to all His faithful children when Jesus returns to gather them from graves and sick-beds and from all labor here on earth to go home together with Him; thankful for words of Scripture to guide and encourage; thankful for the blessing of family and friends; [and I am thankful for this promise found in Proverbs 18:24 where we read: "There are friends who pretend to be friends, but there is a Friend who sticks closer than a brother." ( Revised Standard Version)]; thankful for a new Sabbath day and the many blessings that will come with it; thankful that the invitation of the Savior, "Come, follow Me!" doesn't include the words we too often say to ourselves "when you are GOOD enough"; and I was thankful for the message of Romans 4:3 (c.f. Genesis 15:6): "... What does the Scripture say? 'Abraham believed in (trusted, relied on) God, and it was credited to his account as righteousness (right living, right standing with God).'” (Amplified Bible).