Giving Thanks!

In our nation, we set aside one day a year in late November to give Thanks to our Creator and God. But I do not believe one day is enough to give thanks. I want to cultivate the habit of thankfulness in my life, so I've chosen to give thanks each day in November in my facebook status. At the suggestion of my good friend Irma from Alaska, I am posting these statuses starting with today's post, and working backwards to November 1. Then, each week through the remainder of this month, I'll update with that week's Thankfulness posts. So, here goes!

Day 9 - Lord, thank you for Your Body - for the many dear friends with whom You have blessed me, who are family in Your Spirit; who have walked beside me through the hardest times and who love me with Your love when I am not loveable at all in my humanness and failings. For prayer partners with whom I've served You side by side, as we poured out our hearts in serving You and ministering to young people (and sometimes adults), supporting one another in the trenches and covering each other in battle after battle to advance Your Kingdom. Thank You, Lord, for these dear compadres-in-You, some nearby and others far away in places like Alaska or Rhode Island or Albania, but always near to my heart. Thank You that we do not travel this road alone, but You have given us great companions to share the journey!

 Day 8 - thankful for my parents! For my Dad's unconditional love and support, which the Lord used as an opening to show me His Father Love; for my Mom's consistent instruction and discipline as a child and her loving support of me as an adult; for laying a solid foundation for my faith through a Christian upbringing; and for all the Lord instilled in me through them: character, self-discipline, a good sense of humor, and a love of music (to name a few).

 Day 7 - the Holy Spirit: Helper, Comforter, "Paraclete" (the One who comes alongside of us), our Keeper in Psalm 121. Thank You, Holy Spirit, for making real to us everything of the Father and the Son; thanks to You, we KNOW His/Your love, healing, redemption, forgiveness, joy, comfort, strength...we are never alone, for You are always with us, and You never slumber or sleep!

 Day 6 - His provision and protection! "For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, how blessed is the one who trusts in You!" - Psalm 84: 11-12

He is our Sun - the Source of all light, warmth, life, joy, and all else that we attribute to the sun in the physical world. He is our Shield - our Protector and Defender. No evil or harm can touch our lives without His permission; and even then, the enemy can do no more to us than God will allow and must stop when He says "Stop!"

How blessed are we who trust in the Lord of hosts!

 Day 5 - His strength!!! Ps 84:5 How blessed is the person whose strength is in Thee, in whose heart are the highways to Zion! (6) Passing through the valley of Baca (weeping), they make it a spring...(7)They go from strength to strength, every one of them appears before God in Zion.

O Lord, thank You that when I am at my weakest, You show Your strength in and through me! That You are with me, keeping me on my feet when I cannot go on any longer, and You are right by my side in those valleys of weeping. Thank You that I'm never stuck in the valley, but by Your grace I pass through, and by Your redemptive power You make the "valley of weeping" a spring, an oasis in the desert! And you give us glimpses of Your glory along the way, a foretaste of your beauty which we will behold in full when we join you in heaven forever!

 Day 4 - I'm thankful for God's presence! That through His Holy Spirit within us, He makes His presence known to us and makes real the truth that "I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20b) That He draws us into His dwelling places (Psalm 84:1-4), satisfying our deepest longings and yearnings, and blessing us as we dwell in Him. That in this abiding we find our strength and sustenance (John 15).

 Nov. 3 - thankful for His grace! The unmerited favor of our Lord, His love which we could not earn and cannot lose; His grace is sufficient for me, as He bring His resources into action where I fall short, and by His grace, when I am weak, I am made strong. By His grace we are saved, forgiven, set free, healed, empowered...and loved with an everlasting love!
  
Nov. 2 - I thank God for prayer - that He wants us to share our hears with Him, and if we will be still and listen with our Spiritual ears, He will share HIS heart with us! And through intercession, He chooses us to partner with Him in His work in this world!

November 1 - in this country, at the end of November we've set aside one day, "Thanksgiving Day," to give thanks to our Creator for the many ways He has blessed us. In my opinion, one day is not enough. So during this month, every day will be a "thanksgiving day" for me.

Today I thank God that I belong to Him, that I am His and He is mine! That He called me to Himself when I was young (age 12), and He has drawn me closer and closer to Himself ever since then! That no matter how "alone" I may feel, I am NEVER alone; He is ALWAYS with me, closer than the air I breathe; He is always loving me and taking care of me, even when I can't see that provision.