Thanksgiving X ~

8-14 October:  This past week, I was thankful for the privilege of addressing the Master of the Universe in praise and prayer; thankful that He has promised to hear those prayers (Psalm 66:19-20); thankful for this wonderful promise from Isaiah 43:11-12 where we read: "I Myself am the Lord, and there is no other Savior. I AM the one who spoke to you, saved you, and told you those things. It was not some stranger who was with you. You are My witnesses, and I AM God.” (This is what the Lord Himself said.)" (Easy Reading Version); thankful as I peruse the words from 2 Peter 1:4 about all the "exceeding great and precious promises" that we can find in God's Word; thankful that our Father has promised to work in human hearts so that we can choose, can act in ways that show He is living in us (Ezekiel 36:27; Philippians 2:13); thankful for the counsel from Deuteronomy 13:4 where it is written: "You shall walk after the Lord your God and you shall fear [and worship] Him [with awe-filled reverence and profound respect], and you shall keep His commandments and you shall listen to His voice, and you shall serve Him, and cling to Him." (Amplified Bible); thankful for assurances of my heavenly Father's love to be found as I read from His Word, the Holy Bible; thankful for the evidence of that love to be seen in all the beauty of the natural world around me; SO thankful for this love-letter to His people found in Jeremiah 31:3-4: "The Lord appeared to us in the past. He said, 'I have loved you with a love that lasts forever. I have kept on loving you with a kindness that never fails. I will build you up again.... You will go out and dance with joy." (New International Readers Version); thankful for the quiet peace of these mornings alone with the Creator and His Word; thankful for the assurance of being a daughter of the Most High God (John 1:12); thankful for these words from Jude 24 :"Now to Him Who is able to keep you without stumbling or slipping or falling, and to present [you] unblemished (blameless and faultless) before the presence of His glory in triumphant joy and exultation [with unspeakable, ecstatic delight]—" (Amplified Bible); thankful to have found two little prayers to add to those I lift to the Father each morning - "help me to do it NOW" and "help me not to miss Your prompt to act as Your hands"; I was thankful for the attractive magazines from Amazing Facts for sharing the good news - Jesus is coming, SOON!  I was thankful for this promise from Isaiah 49:8: “. . . When the time’s ripe, I answer you. When victory’s due, I help you. I form you and use you to reconnect the people with Me" (Message); thankful for the bright blue October weather; thankful for the frequent prompt (and reasonable ability) to sing praises to the Creator for all the beauty, the blessings in my life; thankful for the praise-filled song of Psalm 104 (especially verses 33-34): "I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. May my meditation be sweet to Him; I will be glad in the Lord." (New King James Version); thankful to be learning to live like a child of the King - new lessons every day; thankful for His faithfulness as fresh blessings are poured out morning by morning; thankful for this message from Romans 12:1-2 where we read: "... I beg you, brothers and sisters, because of the great mercy God has shown us, offer your lives as a living sacrifice to Him—an offering that is only for God and pleasing to Him. Considering what He has done, it is only right that you should worship Him in this way. Don’t change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but let God change you inside with a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to understand and accept what God wants for you. You will be able to know what is good and pleasing to Him and what is perfect." (Easy Reading Version).