Quiet Resting Places: Thankful Thursday

Showing posts with label Thankful Thursday. Show all posts

Thursday, October 29, 2009

In All Things Give Thanks

This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
~1 John 5:14-15~

Today is Thankful Thursday. Our son is enduring an enormous challenge at USMC boot camp -- The Crucible. This trial-by-fire recreates battlefield stress including sleep and food deprivation while undergoing physically and mentally challenging tasks. It began at 0200 (2 a.m.) this morning.

At the completion of this exercise, 0800 (8 a.m.) on Saturday, October 31, he and his fellow recruits will be awarded the Eagle, Globe and Anchor and be called Marines for the first time since arriving on Parris Island, for our son 110 days ago.

I am thankful:

That our son has found strength in relying on our heavenly Father.

That he was able to call out to God when he was lonely and God was there for him.

That God gathered our son into His arms when he was 6 years old and, even when our son ignored Him later on, the Lord never loosened His grip.

That the Father's tender care of our son is not dependent on my emotional stability during trying times. He is always faithful to His Word.

That God is wholly righteous and trustworthy.

That His love for our son was proven on Calvary when God gave His Son as the perfect Sacrifice for sin and because our son believes in Jesus as his Savior, he is a child of the King.

Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.
~Colossians 4:2~

Read more about the journey at Coming Full Circle: From Military Daughter to Military Wife to Military Mom.

The Crucible (The official USMC headquarters definition):

The culmination of recruit training is the Crucible, an intense field training exercise designed to build unit cohesion, reinforce core values, and complete the transformation from recruit to Marine. The Crucible is the defining moment of the recruit training experience. As a right of passage, the 45 Concepts and Issues Crucible is a 54-hour ordeal that tests the mettle of every recruit (and DI). The physical and mental challenges are intensified by sleep and food deprivation.

The Crucible focuses on six major field events and is augmented by eleven challenging Warrior Stations. Throughout this rapid paced exercise, emphasis is placed on the importance of teamwork in overcoming adversity and adaptive problem solving. The teams of recruits, under the leadership of their drill instructor, succeed as a team. The experience pushes recruits to their limits and is a poignant culmination to the transformation process.

Lynn is hosting Thankful Thursday on her blog Spiritually Unequal Marriage. Visit her to read more posts on Thankfulness and to post your own.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Power's Back On: IOW-Faith Steps, WFW, & Thankful Thursday

We've had a weather related disaster week! An outdoor faucet got bumped and the pipe broke clean off at the main line underground. Gushing water in the yard directed us to the problem and after hours of digging and mending in the snow/ice/rain mix, we had water coming out of the tap not the ground. Then the snow/ice/rain mix caused the downing of trees which snapped power lines...and we spent a day huddled in the living room around the fireplace. As a result of all these adventures, my posts this week are combined into this one.

My husband and I take spur of the moment mini-vacations all year long. Most of the trips are

just for an afternoon or a single day. Our children got us a Garmin Nuvi for Christmas to make these little trips easier. The Nuvi is a global positioning device that uses signals from satellites to triangulate our location and that of whatever destination we tell it.

The first few days, we input my parents' address (8 miles away), a restaurant's name (15 miles away), and the mall bookstore (25 miles away). We had fun with it and my husband was (and still is) amazed at the technology that could fit in the palm of his hand and has the ability to take us from our home to any destination we told it.

On the Friday after Christmas my husband's aunt died in Akron, Ohio (a five-hour drive away). When we left for the funeral on Monday afternoon, all we took was an overnight bag, our cell phones, the address of the funeral home on a piece of paper, and the Nuvi. We put the address into the Nuvi and set off. We were amazed when, following the turn-by-turn directions, we arrived at the parking lot of the funeral home.

On the way home we encountered the first of several drawbacks to blind faith in technology. As we approached an interstate on-ramp and the Nuvi said, "turn right onto ramp," my husband turned right at the first turn he saw -- a road that ran parallel with the on-ramp. We had gotten accustomed to obeying the Nuvi's directions and momentarily ignored what our own eyes told us. After a trip to Nashville later that week, we finally started keeping our eyes and minds fully engaged in our travels, using the Nuvi as the tool it is meant to be.

Often our steps of faith are just like that week of learning and relearning we had. We have our ulitimate destination assured, but there are many turns and detours along the way. God expects us to be informed followers - not stepping out blindly - while trusting Him as we go. He gives us guidance through His word and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Because the destination is already secured, it really isn't the point of the trip. Each step (and/or turn) on the journey is the point. Having faith in God and His leading -- trusting His good purpose because we have studied and understood His map (read the Bible and prayed), growing into the person He has called us to be...that is the point of the journey.

Lord, thank You for Your guidance and the trust You never break. Help my faith be strong and steady for the journey on which You have set me. Let me always look to You for the next step and the next. Amen.

Denise is the host of In Other Words this week at her blog "Shortybear's Place."
Amy is the host of Word-filled Wednesday at her blog "The 160-Acre Woods."
Lori is hosting Thankful Thursday this week at her blog "Lori's Reflections."

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Thankful Thursday: In the Presence of the Lord

Iris' TT topic is Possibilities. Visit her at Grace Alone to read more and to link your own.

I'm a collector of study Bibles. I have 4 or 5. Today I was reading the Week 1 devotion in my Women of Faith Study Bible.

It is a great place to start in this new year. I want to share some key points as part of my TT list, because I am very, very thankful for the truths this particular devotion contains.

God's Pursuit of You

Each day in the Garden of Eden is perfect. The soft ground cushions Adam and Eve's bare feet. The dew waters their surroundings to a perfect, lush green. Evenings in the garden are even better--if perfection can be improved on. That's when Adam and Eve walk with God. His presence surpasses the rest of their day and brings them joy and peace.

But this day is different. They hear the "sound of the Lord God" as He walks "in the garden in the cool of the day" (Genesis 3:8). But they don't run to meet Him. They don't feel the way they used to. They hide because they are filled with shame, a new emotion for them.

This is where most of us live, in confusion and even shame. See how the devotion goes on to explain the real definitions of shame:

God is calling you too. Are you running to meet Him--or are you hiding from Him? Shame can prevent an intimate, personal relationship with God. But it's important to differentiate between true shame and false shame.

You feel true shame if you feel guilty for your sin (and all of us sin). You feel false shame if you feel dirty because another person sinned against you...If you have been wounded by someone else's sin, you may feel a sense of shame, but it is not true shame.

I LOVE this part!!

Bring true shame to the cross of Jesus for forgiveness.

Bring false shame into the arms of Jesus for healing.

"He bore our sins in His body on the tree so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed." (1 Peter 2:24 NIV)

Look what Jesus has done for us:

"But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:22-23 NIV)

And now we stand before God in the image of His Son:

"But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved! And God raised us up with Christ and seated us in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:4-7 NIV)

And Jesus intercedes with God on our behalf:

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin.

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:14-16 NIV)

And the closing remarks of the devotion are so important:

If your sin seems too great or horrible to be forgiven, or if your shame seems so overwhelming that it can't be removed, remember, Jesus loves you so much that He has already taken your sin and shame on Himself. He makes you clean from it. Receive His gift and let Him wash your shame away.

So, I am thankful:

That Jesus is there when I fail, to lift me up and put me back on the right track.
That He reminds me that I am His when I remember old hurts ("wounded by someone else's sin").
That I can be forgiving because He forgave me.
That I have the freedom to read my Bible and to share the Word of God with others.

And on a more everyday note:

I'm thankful for a good heat source in my house.
I'm thankful for enough warm clothes.
I'm thankful for my husband and son who see that our wood pile stays replenished.
I'm thankful God is healing my husband's sore back.
I'm thankful for the microwave *wink* so I can zap my coffee one more time. (I need a self-heating coffee mug!)
I'm thankful for the ability to make a hot supper for my family on this very cold day.
I'm thankful for the snow...it makes the cold a bit more bearable.
Somewhere, way down deep, I think I'm thankful for the extreme cold...not sure about that, I'll get back to you when the outside chores are done.
I'm thankful that Iris came up with this weekly reminder to be still and count my blessings.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Thankful Thursday: Favorite Love Scriptures

I love that Iris picked God's word as the theme for today's TT. You can visit her at Grace Alone to read more posts and to leave a link to your own.

I'm jumping ahead of February in focusing my favorite Love verses.

I think it's important to remember as we start this new year that we are strongly grounded in the faith that God loves us and we must share that love with others.

First, proof that God loves us:

But God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. - Romans 5:8 [NKJV]

In this the love of God is manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His son to be the propitiation for our sins. - 1 John 4:9-10 [NKJV]

Then, God expects, commands, us to love others:

For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. - 1 John 3:11 [NKJV]

And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. - 1 John 3:23 [NKJV]

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. - 1 John 4:11 [NKJV]

Next, we must show our love:

We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death - 1 John 3:14 [HCSB]

Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. - 1 John 4:7 [HCSB]

Our love for God is shown to the degree we show love to others:

If anyone boasts, "I love God," and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won't love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can't see? - 1 John 4:20 [The Message]

Our love must be active, an act of the will:

But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? - 1 John 3:17 [NKJV]

Our love is in direct response to God's love for us:

We love Him because He first loved us. - 1 John 4:19 [NKJV]

And this love causes us to respond in love to others:

The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You've got to love both. - 1 John 4:21 [The Message]

Love is the best we have to offer to God and others:

We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!
But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. AND THE BEST OF THE THREE IS LOVE. - 1 Corinthians 13:12-13 [The Message]

Happy Thankful Thursday!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Thankful Thursday: Random

This video is about as random as it gets. I'm so very thankful that our family makes a point to avoid turning the holidays into this:

Visit Iris at Grace Alone for more Thankful Thursday posts.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Thankful Thursday: Celebrating Together with Him

Psalm 100

A Thanksgiving Psalm
1-2 On your feet now—applaud God! Bring a gift of laughter,
sing yourselves into his presence.

3 Know this: God is God, and God, God.
He made us; we didn't make him.
We're his people, his well-tended sheep.

4 Enter with the password: "Thank you!"
Make yourselves at home, talking praise.
Thank him. Worship him.

5 For God is sheer beauty,
all-generous in love,
loyal always and ever.

Sometimes I just love to read contemporary translations. This week I've been reading Psalm 100 and while it is beautiful in any version of the Bible, in The Message it sounds like a contemporary praise and worship song. It's just where I was headed this Thankful Thursday.

My Thankful List is right out Psalm 100:

I'm thankful that I can be active in my worship of God. I don't have to always be constrained by convention. I can laugh and clap in His presence.
I'm thankful that GOD is the only God. All His words are trustworthy. He made me for His purpose and He takes care of me as I seek to know that purpose.
I'm thankful that His presence is HOME. A place where I can be myself completely--no pretenses or putting on a church-y face. He loves me as I am, while He molds me into His vessel.
I'm thankful that I can understand and appreciate true beauty because I can look to Him to see in Jesus the definition of beauty.
I'm thankful that Jesus loves me and stands up for me when I pray as my true advocate with the Father.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Thankful Thursday: Life

From the very beginning life was a gift from God, coming from His very own breath.

"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being." --Genesis 2:7

The divine spark is in every person. That amazing touch left all persons throughout history craving more of Him who gives life.

"Seek the LORD while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. --Isaiah 55:6

Those who seek diligently are rewarded with finding God face to face.

"Seek, and you will find." Matthew 7:7b

Even when we get distracted, He seeks us and brings us to His side.

"For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:10

And when we focus on Him:

"When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory." --Colossians 3:3

The gift of life we have can be lived abundantly and the Lord gave us a handbook to guide us to that abundant living.

I am thankful we can live:

In reasonable independence
"She shops around for the best yarns and cottons, and enjoys knitting and sewing. She's like a trading ship that sails to faraway places and brings back exotic surprises. She's up before dawn, preparing breakfast for her family and organizing her day. She looks over a field and buys it, then, with money she's put aside, plants a garden." --Proverbs 31:13-16 [The Message]
In trust worthiness
"Her husband trusts her without reserve, and never has reason to regret it. Never spiteful, she treats him generously all her life long." --Proverbs 31:11-12 [The Message]
With the ability to take responsibility for our own livelihood
"And willingly works with her hands." Proverbs 31:13b
With the ability to work under rules and authority
"Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct." --Hebrews 13:7
In tolerance of others
"And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." --Ephesians 4:32
With the ability to show friendliness and love
"A friend loves at all times." --Proverbs 17:17a
With a sense of humor
"A merry heart does good, like medicine." --Proverbs 17:22a
With the capacity to give and take
"A time to cast away...and a time to gather." --Ecclesiastes 3:5a
And, with a devotion beyond self
"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." --1 John 4:10-11

"I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." --John 10:10b

You can read a previous post I have on the importance each moment we are given in this life here: A Life of Moments.

Visit Iris at Grace Alone to read more Thankful Thursday posts and to post a link to your own.

(All scripture quoted is from the NKJV unless otherwise noted.)

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Thankful Thursday: Prayers That Avail Much

"The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." --James 5:16b

My Word-Filled Wednesday was written in response to a situation I was told about Tuesday evening that immediately caused me to jump on the emotion roller coaster (btw, I do NOT ride roller coasters voluntarily, real or emotional!). In early morning I went back and added a request for prayer...then I had to go into town to pick up my grandson. As I was heading there, my heart started to settle. By the time I got to our daughters' house, I had a strategy for addressing the situation. When I got home, I was calm and peaceful about everything. And...when I logged on to my blog I saw that my blogosphere friends were praying for me.

"...always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God." --Colossians 4:12

I was also blessed to see that God had prepared the WFW posts to affirm my trust in him. At least 2 others that I went to had used God as a strong tower for their pictures/verses. (Lisa @ Pockets of Time & Christy @ Critty Joy) Isn't it a wonderful God we serve that can take believers from all over and give them a spiritual like-mindedness?

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding." --Proverbs 3:5

I have time today to finish going through the WFW posts and to read today's TT posts as the Dynamo and I are both laying around drinking juice and inhaling medicated air from the vaporizer. He has a cold...and I'm not sure if I caught mine from him (he gives wonderful, sloppy kisses right on the mouth--even if he has to hold your head between his two little hands--no turning a cheek to him) or because I kept visiting Laurie Ann's blog while she was sick. ;->

"I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus." --1 Corinthians 1:4

My Thankful Thursday list includes, but is not limited to:

An awsome God who always hears prayers and never lets me down.
Friends who pray. I can't express how much I appreciate you.
Wisdom and comfort straight from the Word of God.
Sloppy toddler kisses.
A husband who serves his sick wife in the best ways he can think: bringing me drinks and supper; starting a fire in the wood stove; and, giving the best hand massages!!
My son who isn't afraid to jump in and throw a pot of chili together for supper, asking only for only a few instructions (another up and coming fly-by-the-seat of his pants cook).
My daughters who trust me to jump in where needed, to give advice when asked, to be a mom who is there for them, and who will show up with chocolate and hugs when I need them.
My mother who sat with a busy toddler in the waiting room for an hour and a half while I had a test done, choosing to do that rather than watch him at her house in case I didn't feel like driving myself home.

"But he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him." --Psalm 32:10b

Thank you...friends who prayed. The comfort came as promised. Please keep this unspoken situation on your prayer list. It may take some time to resolve. I am confident of this: however the resolution comes, God is faithful and, as He has proven in the past, He protects my loved ones. I can trust Him.

"Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness." --Psalm 37:3

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Just a PostScript: On the theme of Joy

From The Practice of Godliness by Jerry Bridges:

So the choice is ours. We can be joyless Christians, or we can be joyful Christians. We can go through life bored, glum and complaining, or we can rejoice in the Lord, in our names being written in heaven, in the hope of an eternal inheritance. It is both our privilege and our duty to be joyful. To be joyless is to dishonor God and to deny His love and His control over our lives. It is practical atheism. To be joyful is to experience the power of the Holy Spirit within us, and to say to a watching world, "Our God reigns."

Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. It is a result of His work, but it is also something we must do. We must, by His power, rejoice. This is part of the practice of godliness.

Thankful Thursday: God's Love Letters

I was awakened in the early hours this morning. Unable to fall back to sleep, I realized my wakefulness was from the Lord. I began praying for my dear ones, those sleeping here in our home and those sleeping in their own home.

After a time, I grew restless to have my Bible in my hands so I could seek the Lord's direction to pray and I rose from the bed.

Soon the spiritual struggle of one of my dearest ones came to my mind. I sought words from the Scriptures specifically for this dear one's situation. I'm so thankful God has given us His Love Letters when we need to hear from Him.

First, from 1 Timothy 1:19 --

Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.

Next, from 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1 --

Don't team up with those who are unbelievers.

How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness?

How can light live with darkness?

What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil?

How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?

And what union can there be between God's temple and idols?

For we are the temple of the living God. As God said:

"I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD. Don't touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you.

And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty."

Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.

And, from Proverbs 18:10 --

The name of the LORD is a strong fortress; the godly run to Him and are safe.

Finally, beloved, from Exodus 14:13-14 --

Don't be afraid. Just stand still and watch the LORD rescue you today. The LORD Himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.

Thank You, Father:

that you are faithful and true,
that joy in You gives us strength,
that Your word guides and comforts,
that the believer can stand steadfast on Your word.

Amen, Lord!!

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Thankful Thursday: Sweet Aroma

"I will give You thanks in the great assembly; I will praise You among many people."~~Psalm 35:18

I bake bread for my family regularly and for me there is great pleasure in this basic task. Everything about it from measuring the ingredients to forming the loaves to tasting that first bite fresh out of the oven is sensory bliss for me. And the bonus is that I am doing something truly good and healthful for those that mean the most to me.

Similarly, one of my favorite things about communicating with other believers through this blog medium is that I get to enjoy their offerings to the Lord through the gift of writing He has given to them. Such a simple thing, sharing an experience that means much to one in a way that another is blessed.

I discovered something wonderful during my Bible reading...simple offerings such as these are a sweet aroma to the Father as well. Let me share a passage from my study Bible concerning a beautiful offering the Hebrews practiced:

Minhah. The Hebrew name for the grain or cereal offering simply means "gift." This offering expressed the worshiper's spontaneous gratitude to God. No specific requirements regarding its time and frequency were given. The gift involved the product of a woman's daily activity in the home: flour or baked cakes. Dedication of life expresses itself in the simplicity of everyday activity. This offering also produced a "sweet aroma" to the Lord. ~~The Woman's Study Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers

Done with a servant's heart, every action becomes an offering of gratitude to God. It is not really something one can plan. It is an overflow of the abundant grace the Father has given us through His Son, Jesus. In this way He uses us to bless others.

"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing." ~~2 Corinthians 2:14-15

I am so very thankful for

all my friends who blog about the Lord.
the opportunity to serve the Lord through serving my family.
His patience as I, stumbling along, learn to have a servant's heart.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Thankful Thursday Additions

<---Been there today!

>I'm thankful we live only 1/4 mile from the high school.
>I'm thankful I only bought 6 bags worth of groceries.
>I'm thankful I had left the reusable, environmentally friendly shopping bags in the van.
>I'm thankful all 6 full bags fit inside the 3 above-named bags.
>I'm thankful my grandson just thought it was a grand outing.
>I'm thankful the neighbors don't mind us cutting through their front yards so we could get away from the highway shoulder.
>I'm thankful I remembered to grab my keys from the van.
>I'm thankful for a glass of sweet iced tea to cool down with.
>Mostly, I'm thankful the above-described outing burned enough calories that I could eat, without guilt, that giant piece of vanilla pound cake (covered thickly in chocolate glaze) to help me recover from the long hike home.

Thankful Thursday: I had to show him how to put on eyeliner.

It's Spirit Week at my son's high school. Homecoming is this weekend. My son has been actively participating for the first time. He's never been much on dressing up in anything other than the norm.

Well, today was costume day...He went for a gothic look, not his typical style. He hollered from the bathroom this morning for me to come help him. I tried to show him how to apply black eyeliner. With watering eyes and a grumpy tone, he handed me back the eyeliner pencil and asked me to put it on.

After getting him to sit still and promising not to poke him (He commented, "I think it's better for a person to pull the pencil out of his eye rather than push it into it." -- He was a bit nervous. *grin*), I lined uppper and lower lids. He was satisfied with the look. He was trying to get out the door before he had to let his dad see him with make-up on....Imagine my husband's startled look when he walked in to brush his teeth. LOL

The only person really having fun was me. My son's parting comment was, "I'm never doing this again."

This may seem an odd "Thankful" blog...but it is great to be reassured (especially since I get a big belly laugh about the circumstances) that our children are confident in who they are created to be and feel uncomfortable at stepping out of that role, even if it's only for a little while.

(Nope. He won't let me post a picture. *choking back a snort* ...Yet.)

Thursday, September 25, 2008

A Thankful Spirit

I found a devotion in a study Bible I've had for years. It so well-written and so appropriate for Thankful Thursday that I must share it. My Gratitude list follows.

~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~

GRATITUDE: A Thankful Spirit
(from The Woman's Study Bible [NKJV])

Gratitude begins by acknowledging who God is and what He has done. This heartfelt emotion is not dependent upon the response of another person or upon the nature of what is received as a gift. Ingratitude, on the other hand, begins with a heart that refuses to be satisfied, that rejects the Giver as well as His gift (Romans 1:21).

Life itself is a gracious gift from God. There is no gratitude except what is built on this foundation. A spirit of gratitude must be cultivated, then passed on to others, especially to those in your own household, by example. These are some ways to accomplish this:

Remember that a grateful person is humble and focused on God, while the ungrateful heart is full of pride and focused on self. Ruth beautifully emulated such a spirit of gratitude and humility.
Ruth 2:10 -- "So she fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, 'Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?'"
She responded graciously even to the smallest kindness.
Do not take for granted the small and ordinary daily blessings.
Matthew 6:11 -- "Give us this day our daily bread."
Look for blessings from God, being careful not to overlook the hidden, subtle, indirect gifts from God.
Colossians 4:2 -- "Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving." Recognize that not every gift you desire may be beneficial to you. God is the all-wise Giver. Consider His plan and priorities for your life, being careful not to lose sight of the big picture because of a tragic but small interruption.
Remember to thank God even in the midst of adversity and trials.
Habbakuk 3:17-19 -- "Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls--yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer's feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills."

1 Corinthians 10:31 -- "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

Philippians 1:3 -- "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you."

Philippians 2:14 -- "Do all things without complaining and disputing."

1 Thessalonians 5:18 -- "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
Gratitude to God and others should be expressed not only regularly but also publicly.
Psalm 35:18 -- "I will give You thanks in the great assembly; I will praise You among many people."

John 11:41-42 -- "Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, 'Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.'"
Record your blessings and keep a record of God's faithfulness to you.
Complete the cycle of gratitude by reaching out to give to others in the Spirit of Christ.
2 Corinthians 9:12 -- "For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God."

A grateful spirit and a thankful heart are an integral part of the holy life. The woman who is thankful and has a heart full of praise brings joy to the Father and glory to His name. And attitude of gratitude will bring to your heart a host of blessings and make you a channel of blessings to other.