A Month of Thankfulness: Day Thirty

Its the last day of November already, the last day for sharing our thankful posts through Rebecca at her blog. But its not the last day to be thankful to the One who provides all of these abundant blessings, large and small. Every day is the day for that.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:15-16

My particular praise of thanksgiving to God today is for seeing Emily safely back to school. It has been snowing all afternoon here in Chicagoland and snowed steadily on her drive back to Ann Arbor, MI where she arrived safely just minutes ago. Thank you, Father!

Sunday's Hymn: What e'er My God Ordains is Right

Whate'er my God ordains is right:
Holy his will abideth;
I will be still whate'er he doth;
And follow where he guideth:
He is my God: though dark my road,
He holds me that I shall not fall:
Wherefore to him I leave it all.

Whate'er my God ordains is right:
He never will deceive me;
He leads me by the proper path;
I know he will not leave me:
I take, content, what he hath sent;
His hand can turn my griefs away,
And patiently I wait his day.

Whate'er my God ordains is right:
Though now this cup, in drinking,
May bitter seem to my faint heart,
I take it, all unshrinking:
My God is true; each morn anew
Sweet comfort yet shall fill my heart,
And pain and sorrow shall depart.

Whate'er my God ordains is right:
Here shall my stand be taken;
Though sorrow, need, or death be mine,
Yet am I not forsaken;
My Father's care is round me there;
He holds me that I shall not fall:
And so to him I leave it all.

Samuel Rodigast, 1676
Translated by Catherine Winkworth, 1863
Tune: Gastorius by Severus Gastorius, 1675

A Month of Thankfulness: Day Twenty-Nine

My thoughts today are on our extended family. We do not live geographically near any of them and some are no longer even on this earth but they are still ours. God ordained that Andy and I should be born into the families that we were and He has used these families to grow us and shape us as we mature in Him. And so I thank Him for our fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents. I love them, each and every one!

I also love this habit of consciously cultivating thanksgiving to God! What a way to glorify Him! Won't you join in by sharing your thankful thoughts at Rebecca Writes?

A Month of Thankfulness: Day Twenty-Eight

I've been having such a wonderful Thanksgiving here that I've been only sneaking peaks to visit my blogging friends today so if I haven't stopped by your place, that's why and I'll be there soon. And yes, I'm extending the holiday into today! But it began with a wonderful time of fellowship the minute Kim and Tom, Jake and Sam walked into our home yesterday about 12:30 PM. Our daughter, Emily, was home from school too and she brought the wine and her homemade cranberry sauce to compliment the traditional meal. Kim's contribution was dessert; pumpkin and pecan pies and pumpkin cheesecake! (I do love anything pumpkin!) Its a true blessing to have friends with whom you can just relax and talk and the time just flies. That's how it is with our group. And I thank God for each one of them!

Today, Emily and I have spent the day together taking an elderly friend grocery shopping, enjoying tea with her and her husband, walking Charlie in the warm, 42 degree sunshine and visiting our local thrift shop before returning home for more tea. Emily is in school about five hours away from home so its a real treat when she is home and that is what I am most thankful for today...although my heart is just full of gratitude for so many blessings this evening. Our God is so good!

Rebecca is compiling our thankful posts each day of this month. I've been blessed by reading so many of your posts and realizing just how incredibly good our God really is. Not that I can fully ever know but I love the widening of my thankful horizons. So please go share your thankful thoughts so we can all celebrate His goodness together.

A Month of Thankfulness: Day Twenty-Seven

On this Thanksgiving Day, I am thanking our good and sovereign God for the gift of faith by His grace.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

I also thank Him for the overwhelmingly good gift of that faith to my family, Andy and Emily, as well. What a blessing to be a family of believers!

How are you thankful to God today? Please go share your thankful thoughts with us all at Rebecca Writes. No one should be alone on Thanksgiving...or in thanksgiving.

A Month of Thankfulness: Day Twenty-Six

Others have expressed their thankfulness for their blogging friends and now it is my turn. I've found such good friends through this world of blogging! I've been alternately encouraged and challenged and amused and educated by your posts and comments. And I thank God for each one of you! But I would be terribly remiss if I did not mention one particular friend who spans both my "real" world and my blogging world. She's the one who introduced me to the world of blogging and encouraged me to give it a try. So I am breaking my rule from yesterday and mentioning my dear friend, Kim, as a true blessing in my life.

Another of my blogging friends who has blessed me in so many ways is Rebecca. Uh-oh, I broke my rule twice now! Anyway, Rebecca is gathering our thankful posts each day this month so that we can celebrate the bounteous provisions of our good God together. Please go join in the thanksgiving at her place.

A Month of Thankfulness: Day Twenty-Five

I am ever so thankful for the blessing of friends in my life. I think I am going to skip mentioning any names today lest I forget any particular one. (I do seem to be getting more forgetful in this stage of my life.) But I will say that I have been blessed with some true friends over the years, the kind who will pray for my concerns and listen when I am feeling upset or sad and point me back to our God. Its humbling to have friends like that and I just pray that I have been able to minister to them similarly when needed.

What gift from God are you thanking Him for today? Please share your thankful thoughts at Rebecca's place so we can join together in thanksgiving. That's a blessing to all of us!

A Month of Thankfulness: Day Twenty-Four

I am thankful today for good neighbors. We, at the cottage, have been blessed with some very good neighbors. I've been thinking about that today because this week we are collecting the newspapers and mail for one of those neighbors. But those very same people mowed our lawn...unasked, I might add...the last time we were away for a week.

Our neighbors on the other side have helped me with blowing the snow out of the driveway when Andy has been away during the winter. In exchange, Andy helps with starting their generator for her when her husband is gone during our all too frequent power outages here.

Its a decided blessing to have friendly, helpful neighbors on both sides of us! Thank you, God!

How is He blessing you today? Please stop by Rebecca's and share those blessings so we can all praise the Giver of all good things together.

A Month of Thankfulness: Day Twenty-Three

I am thankful for the Lord's Day each week and our little church where we worship Him corporately and grow in love and truth as we do so.

And now I am off to Rebecca's to see what everyone else is thanking Him for today!

Sunday's Hymn: Now Thank We All Our God

Now thank we all our God
With heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things hath done,
In whom his world rejoices;
Who from our mothers' arms,
Hath blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love,
And still is ours today.

O may this bounteous God
Through all our life be near us
With ever joyful hearts
And blessed peace to cheer us;
And keep us in his grace,
And guide us when perplexed,
And free us from all ills
In this world and the next.

All praise and thanks to God,
The Father, now be given,
The Son, and him who reigns
With them in highest heaven,
The one eternal God
Whom earth and heav'n adore;
For thus it was, is now,
And shall be evermore.

Martin Rinkart, 1636
Tune: Nan Danket attributed to Johann Cruger, 1647. But Catherine Winkworth, who translated the hymn from German to English in 1856, believed that Martin Rinkart composed the tune in 1644.

A Month of Thankfulness: Day Twenty-Two

My thankfulness today is related to the fact that Andy is just about over a particularly nasty cold...and, Lord willing, I've escaped it! This cold was of the totally stuffy, very sore throat, coughing enough to keep one awake at night variety. And lost sleep is not what you want when you feel under the weather! Last night, Andy slept peacefully for the first time in over a week. As for me, several times during the last few days, I was sure I was succumbing to the thing. But today, after a morning headache, I feel just fine. I think its finally leaving the cottage without further ado. Thank you, God!

As Rebecca pointed out yesterday, so many of our thankful thoughts are of what we might call "small mercies" but these things are still important to thank our Sovereign God for. Go read what she wrote and add your mercies, small or large, to the list of things for us all to praise God for.

A Month of Thankfulness: Day Twenty-One

Today has been the coldest day this fall so far. And its breezy too! Charlie and I got our walks in but, despite the sun, they were not so pleasant. I was ever so grateful to come home to our warm and cozy cottage so today I am thanking God for our boiler. What a blessing!

What gift from God are you enjoying today? Rebecca is keeping track each day this month so go share and let's give thanks for them together.

15 Words or Less Poem

The sharp fragrance of summer wood
evokes the warmth of winter.
Seasons out of step.

More 15 Words or Less Poems at Laura Salas Purdies' blog.

A Month of Thankfulness: Day Twenty

I am thankful today for God's prompting to call an elderly friend. She is an independent woman who finds it difficult to allow anyone to help her but it turns out that she and her husband have been been sick for the better part of the last week and they needed a few things at the store. Today was bitterly cold with snow flurries and traffic is always heavy in our part of Chicagoland. I am thankful that God allowed me to be available to take her to the store to get the things they needed...since she wouldn't allow me to just go get those things myself.

To see what others are thankful for and share how God has blessed you today, visit Rebecca. She is posting our thankful thoughts each day of this month and that has been a blessing to me!

A Month of Thankfulness: Day Nineteen

Reading Rebecca's thankful post for yesterday humbled me and made me realize just how much I take for granted the fact that I have my husband still in my life on this earth. So many of the day to day workings of our household are based on his knowledge of areas of living that I don't have a clue about. A very practical example is his knowledge of plumbing, electrical and mechanical things. Its not that we never have anything of that sort done around the house but Andy knows what he can do himself (given that he has a job too) and what we should hire done. Also he knows what is reasonable when a contractor tells us what he plans to do and how much it will cost. So I am very thankful today for a very capable husband. But I also know, as Rebecca is quick to point out, that our ultimate protection is in our heavenly Father, the One who gave me that husband.

This month, Rebecca is focusing on the theme of Thanksgiving. Each day, she invites us to share our thankful thoughts so we can celebrate the gifts that God has given us together. Join in the celebration at Rebecca Writes.

A Month of Thankfulness: Day Eighteen

Its cold out today but the sun is shining and there is not a cloud in the sky. Charlie and I just came back from a lovely walk! One of the reasons that I love walking with Charlie is the time that it gives me to think and pray. I do think and pray at home, of course, but there is something about being outside, away from the reminders of chores needing doing, just walking in God's creation that frees my mind. And the thing I was thinking about and thanking God for today is all the opportunities I've had to study His Word and grow in my relationship with Him. For that, I am so very grateful!

Rebecca is rounding up our thanksgiving thoughts each day during this month of November. Go share your thankful thoughts and see what others are thanking Him for today at Rebecca Writes. You'll be glad you did!

A Month of Thankfulness: Day Seventeen

This afternoon, I am so very thankful for a nap! I haven't slept very well the last couple of nights plus we've been pushing pretty hard to get the leaves finished in light of the weather so it was a wonderful thing to get in a nap to "take the edge off." Speaking of those leaves, I am also quite thankful to have them finished! Yes, there are a handful or so still left in the trees but we are declaring an end to leaf raking here at the cottage.

What is it you are thankful for today? Stop by Rebecca Writes and tell her about it so we can all join in giving thanks to God together.

Its Here!

We've had a few flurries before now but this is the first actual dusting of snow for the season. I took this picture out the back door tonight.

A Month of Thankfulness: Day Sixteen

I have a friend who works at our public library. Actually, I have three friends who work at the library but my friend, Julie, has worked in circulation for several years now and she lets me know when the library acquires a new item that she thinks we might like. For that, I am very grateful! Her latest pick for us is a television series called Due South that ran for four years somewhere. We don't have cable and are not TV watchers but I don't believe this was an American television show. Maybe its Canadian. Anyway, the premise involves a Canadian Mounty who ends up assigned to his country's embassy in Chicago and "unofficially" solves crimes with a Chicago city detective. Its funny and inoffensive. A hard combination to find these days, it seems. I've got the first season on DVD from the library and we've been enjoying it in the evenings, Andy and I, with our cups of tea. So today, I am thankful for Julie and her thoughtfulness and I am thankful for an entertaining show that we can enjoy together at the end of the day.

Rebecca has been collecting our thankful posts each day this month and its been fun to share what I am grateful for. I have so many blessings from God! Its been fun to read about everyone else's blessings too. To share your thankful thoughts today or see what others are thanking God for, visit Rebecca here.

Sunday's Hymn: The Church's One Foundation

The church's one Foundation
Is Jesus Christ her Lord;
She is his new creation
By water and the Word:
From heav'n he came and sought her
To be his holy bride;
With his own blood he bought her,
And for her life he died.

Elect from ev'ry nation,
Yet one o'er all the earth,
Her charter of salvation
One Lord, one faith, one birth;
One holy Name she blesses,
Partakes one holy food.
And to one hope she presses,
With ev'ry grace endued.

Though with a scornful wonder
Men see her sore oppressed,
By schisms rent asunder,
By heresies distressed,
Yet saints their watch are keeping,
Their cry goes up, "How long?"
And soon the night of weeping
Shall be the morn of song.

The church shall never perish!
Her dear Lord to defend,
To guide, sustain and cherish
Is with her to the end;
Though there be those that hate her,
And false sons in her pale,
Against or foe or traitor
She ever shall prevail.

'Mid toil and tribulation,
And tumult of her war,
She waits the consummation
Of peace for evermore;
Till with the vision glorious
Her longing eyes are blest,
And the great church victorious
Shall be the church at rest.

Yet she on earth hath union
With the God the Three in One,
And mystic sweet communion
With those whose rest is won:
O happy ones and holy!
Lord, give us grace that we,
Like them, the meek and lowly,
On high may dwell with thee.

Samuel J. Stone, 1866
Tune: Aurelia, by Samuel S. Wesley, 1864