Thanksgiving XI ~

5-11 May: During the past week, I was thankful to see the beautiful blossoms on the trees outside my window; I gave thanks for the Master's healing touch in the lives of friends - prayers have been answered; thankful for these words from a favorite passage in Philippians 4:6-7: " Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus" (Common English Bible); thankful to see tulips and daffodils blooming in yards around us (maybe, one day, we will discover how to successfully grow them in our stony soil!); thankful for the D.G.D. and her family who are visiting; thankful to remember these words from James 5:16 where we read: "... Always tell each other the wrong things you have done. Then pray for each other. Do this so that God can heal you. Anyone who lives the way God wants can pray, and great things will happen." (Easy to Read Version);  thankful for the delightful little canine that spends his time with me when D.D.'s away;  thankful that D.G.D.'s quick to pick up directions for her gram's Airos (compression leggings daily treatment); thankful for these words of counsel from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus" (New International Version); thankful for the assurance that our Father is a faithful promise-keeper - as Joshua told the people at his life's end, ". . . 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.  He's still the same, His promises are sure. The answers are not promised in MY time - I may feel His response is delayed, but ". . . the vision is yet for an appointed time; . . . at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry" Habakkuk 2:3. He knows what's ahead and when it will be most needed. We can trust Him, for not one word of those promises will fail!  I was thankful for a day with bright sunshine coming through my window; thankful for the "heavenly sunlight" shining in my heart: especially thankful for these words from Romans 8:1-2: ". . . There is now no condemnation for the ones in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus set you free from the law of sin and death!" (Disciples Literal New Testament); thankful for all the promises, the genuine affirmations that can be found in God's Word; thankful to believe that, as the old song tells me, "Every promise in the Book is mine, every chapter, every verse, and each line . . . .";  thankful for the wise counsel of Jesus found in Matthew 18:15 where it reads “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back: (New Living Translation); thankful to be celebrating another of our Creator's memorials of His work it making this world on which we live; I was thankful for limbs that (along with my chariot!) allow me to get around the house; and I was thankful for this counsel from Ephesians 4:29, 31-32 where we read: "Don’t let even one rotten word seep out of your mouths.... Banish bitterness, rage and anger, shouting and slander, and any and all malicious thoughts—these are poison. Instead, be kind and compassionate. Graciously forgive one another just as God has forgiven you through the Anointed, our Liberating King." (VOICE).