Thanksgiving XI ~

26 November-2 December:  In the past week, I have been thankful for all the little daily blessings in my life - the things that work smoothly as buttons are pressed or switches activated; thankful for the big blessings of a roof over my head, the family that shares it with me, comestibles in the pantry and fridge, running water in the pipes - and SO much more; thankful for the words of Jesus telling us HOW believers lives are to develop, as found in John 17:17: "Make them holy—consecrated—with the truth; Your Word is consecrating truth" (Message); thankful for phone and video connections with family and friends;  thankful for the years of blessings that have been mine as I've watched my children grow and mature into the individuals they are today; thankful for this message from Colossians 3:16 where it is written: "Let the word of the Anointed One richly inhabit your lives. With all wisdom teach, counsel, and instruct one another. Sing the psalms, compose hymns and songs inspired by the Spirit, and keep on singing—sing to God from hearts full and spilling over with thankfulness." (VOICE); thankful - always! - for Jesus' promise of a place prepared for us in His forever kingdom (John 14:1-2); thankful for the assurance that He will come again to take us home with Him (John 14:3; 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); thankful for each new day of life and the measure of health that I still enjoy - far beyond the "three-score years and ten" promised in Psalm 90:10; I was thankful for the pneumatic stockings that I tried for the first time at home - all working as they are supposed to; thankful for these beautiful expressions of praise found in Psalm 136:1,26: "O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: for His mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever." (King James Version); thankful when a spirit of forgiveness overcomes intemperate words or actions; thankful that the others who share this abode are willing and able workers in many areas of life; thankful for this message from 2 Peter 3:10-11 where we read: "...The day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives [we] should live," (New Living Translation); thankful for my friends near and far - ALL are important to my heart; I was thankful for the continuing love of my children and their families; thankful for this beautiful message - one of my favorites - from the Gospel of John 1:1-2: "Before the world began, the Word was there. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was there with God in the beginning" (Easy to Read Version); thankful for the Sabbath and the promise of many good things for the day (in spite of staying at home so as to avoid sharing my head cold with other folk); thankful for those who watch over me; and I was thankful for the message from Hebrews 1:1-2 where we read: "God, having spoken to the fathers long ago in [the voices and writings of] the prophets in many separate revelations [each of which set forth a portion of the truth], and in many ways, has [now] spoken [with finality] to us in [the person of One who is by His character and nature] His Son [namely Jesus], whom He appointed heir and lawful owner of all things, through whom also He created the universe [that is, the universe as a space-time-matter continuum]." (Amplified Bible).