Thanksgiving XI ~

2-8 June:  During the past week, I was thankful for the blessing of family with which I am surrounded, the family into which I was born, the one I raised (and all they've added to it!), and those who have been added to my family through grace - what a blessing!   I was thankful to anticipate the company of a son visiting; and I was thankful for this reminder from Proverbs 18:24: "Someone with many so-called friends may end up friendless, but a true friend is closer than a brother" (VOICE); thankful for the huge store of "memory photos" I carry in my head; thankful for the family and dear friends who are remembered in those much loved pictures; thankful for God's promise from Jeremiah 3:14 which uses a frequently applied Biblical metaphor, where God tells His people: ” ... 'Come back, wandering children!'  God’s Decree. 'I, yes I, am your true husband. I’ll pick you out one by one— This one from the city, these two from the country— and bring you [home].'" (Message); thankful for the rest of the past night, and to have wakened to a fresh, new day; thankful for our safe return from the city up north for a tune-up on the little helpers that let me hear again - always glad for a return from travel without dents, bruises, flats, or breakdowns; thankful for this promise, found in 2 Peter 1:4: "By means of these He has bestowed on us His precious and exceedingly great promises, so that through them you may escape [by flight] from the moral decay (rottenness and corruption) that is in the world because of covetousness (lust and greed), and become sharers (partakers) of the divine nature." (Amplified Bible)- what a privilege is ours!   I was thankful for another day of blessings - life, health, and a measure of strength sufficient for the day - that have been given me; thankful for connections with family and friends from far away; thankful for this message from 1 Thessalonians 5:11 where we read: ". . . Speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you’re already doing this; just keep on doing it." (Message); thankful for the Biblical concept of chosenness - as in 1 Peter 2:9 - ". . . You are a chosen [generation]. . . [God’s] own special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (AMPC); in Ephesians 1:4 - " just as [in His love] He chose us in Christ [actually selected us for Himself as His own] before the foundation of the world, so that we would be holy [that is, consecrated, set apart for Him, purpose-driven] and blameless in His sight" (AMP); and for this "chosen" verse from John 15:16 where it is written: "You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed you [I have planted you], that you might go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit may be lasting [that it may remain, abide], so that whatever you ask the Father in My Name [as [a]presenting all that I Am], He may give it to you." (Amplified Bible, Classic Edition); thankful for a night of sound sleep and for the rest it provides; thankful to see the beautiful sunlight coming under the early morning clouds; thankful for the message here in Malachi 3:16-18 where it is written: "Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said. In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and always thought about the honor of his name. 'They will be my people,' says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 'On the day when I act in judgment, they will be my own special treasure. I will spare them as a father spares an obedient child. Then you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.'” (New Life Translation); thankful for another day of sunshine on the hills around me (always thankful for rain because it is so necessary in this place, but sunlight makes my heart glad!); I was thankful for the lush greens in the foliage of the trees in our community - so restful as the days grow warmer and the grassy hills go tawny; I  was thankful for this promise from the Word: "He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken. And it will be said in that day: 'Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.'” (Isaiah 25:8-9; New King James Version).