Psalm 100

A Song of Praise for the Lord's Faithfulness to His People

A Psalm of Thanksgiving

Make a joyful shout to the Lord,

all you lands!

Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

Know that the Lord, He is God;

It is He who has made us,

and not we ourselves;

We are His people

and the sheep of His pasture. 

Enter His gates with thanksgiving,

and into His courts with praise.

Give thanks to Him,

and praise His name.

For the Lord is good;

His mercy is everlasting,

And His truth endures

to all generations.

Amen.

A Lesson from Thanksgiving Leftovers

"So they ate and were filled, 

and they took up seven large baskets

of leftover fragments"

Mark 8:8

Okay, if Thanksgiving dinner is the best meal of the year,

{which I'm not necessarily saying it is... 

every once in awhile you have a steak dinner

 or some ribs with homemade spice rub 

that turn out to be especially memorable...}

... but if, for the sake of argument, we agree that Thanksgiving dinner is the best meal of the year, then leftovers the next day have to be in second place. 

For some people, the highlight is a repeat of what they ate the day before:  turkey, potatoes, stuffing, cranberries, etc.  But for me, it's all about the turkey sandwich.  Turkey, mayo, cheese and pickle on soft bread.  I know; it doesn't sound like much, but it's what I'm hankerin' for on every fourth Friday in November.

So I'm thanking God for something kind of strange today ~ leftovers.  Or to look at it another way:  extras.  By-products.  The things we get from the things He gives, even if they're not the things He gave, ya know?

Like, I prayed to God for a car, several years ago, when mine was breaking down frequently.  And not only did He provide a way for us to buy a new car, I was able to get one in a beautiful color, and with a sunroof.

And I prayed to God for children, and not only did He give me a child, He gave me two.  And they're smart and interesting and thoughtful and loving.  Far more than I thought to pray for.

We pray for things we want or need, but we trust Him to give us what's right for us.  And with that, we get blessings we never anticipated. 

So enjoy!  Thank Him for what He gives you, and then thank Him for what He also gives you.

~ "Every good gift

   and every perfect gift

   is from above,

   and comes down

        from the Father of lights" ~

James 1:17

~

'Twas the Day after Thanksgiving

"a dinner of herbs where love is"

Proverbs 15:17

Thanksgiving is ending as I write this.  We've spent the day hanging out with my folks and a longtime family friend, eating just enough ~ but not too much ~ turkey and stuffing and potatoes and Brussels sprouts, with gravy covering the whole shebang.  I hope it was much the same for you ~ if Thanksgiving is your thing, of course. 

But the fun continues tomorrow.  The Apple of my Eye has the day off, of course, and for him, it's a day of relaxation, sleeping in, maybe getting some things done around the house.

But for the kids and me, it's one of our favorite days of the year:  the day we get out all the Christmas decorations.  We'll turn on some Christmas music while we box up all the Autumn, and pull out all the Winter stuff.  We won't get our tree quite yet, and we probably won't put the lights on the house tomorrow, but by the end of the day, the halls ~ and the rest of the house ~ will be decked.

And we'll have something fun for dinner, and watch a Christmas movie.  And the season will have officially begun.

But you know what will happen the next day?  Nothing.  That will be Saturday and he won't have to go to work, and we won't have to do school.  We'll do some more stuff around the house and we'll watch TV.  And then Sunday will be a repeat, except we won't sleep in, of course.  We'll go to church and then come home and enjoy a restful Sunday.

Four-day weekends are a gift.  A joy.  The change of routine is welcome (although I'll be nearly as glad to get back to the routine come Monday). 

But the best thing about the next few days is how much time we'll get to spend together.  Can I just tell you how much I love hanging out with my family?  Each of us doing our own thing for a bit, and then coming together to eat or watch a movie or get something done.  This is what I'm most grateful for this Thanksgiving ~ that God loved us enough to send His Son to die for our sins, but He didn't stop there.  He chooses to bless us here, in this life, with joys we don't deserve.  He doesn't just love us, He surrounds us with love.

~ "that I may be encouraged together with you

       by the mutual faith both of you and me" ~

Romans 1:12

~

Giving Thanks

"something sweet"

Judges 14:14

I have a sweet tooth.  It must be a genetic thing, 'cuz my father has one, too.  And so does my son.

But of course, a penchant for sweets does not mean loving all things with sugar.  I'm partial to Ghirardelli dark chocolates, and ice cream.  My father likes a few specific kinds of cookies, and Twinkies.  And ice cream.   And my boy's current passion is tapioca pudding.

Oh, and ice cream.

And parenthetically, did you know that tapioca is extracted from the root of the plant manihot esculenta.  Due to a high concentration of cyanide, it is poisonous in its raw form and lethal if prepared improperly.  Tapioca is also indigenous to Brazil as is the cocoa bean, from which we get chocolate, the best pudding.

So let's talk about chocolate pudding.  It's our lesson for the day.

A few weeks ago, our church had an event for kids, and they had some fun snacks on-hand.  And after the event was over, the lady in charge gave me some of the leftovers to take home.  There was an open jar of peanut butter, I think, and maybe some goldfish crackers.

But there was also some chocolate pudding.  A few of those "snack-pack" things.  Which I kinda love.  They're not something we buy on a regular basis.  They're not really cost-effective.  I figure if I'm gonna eat pudding, I should buy the powder and make it myself.  But I don't do that very often either.

So I was excited about the unusual treat in our fridge.  I think I had one, and then the next time I went to have one, a day or so later, they were gone.  Somehow my boy and my hubby had finished them off, and I had only gotten one.  

It wasn't a huge deal, of course, but I did give my sweetie a hard time about it.  Just a little teasing, you know?  But that was the only mention I gave it.

About a week later, I had forgotten about it, when I opened the fridge and saw pudding in there.  Chocolate pudding.  Apparently my husband had picked some up for me while stopping at the store for something.  I didn't know anything about it, but when I saw it, I knew it was for me. 

There are things we need, and things we want.  Things we hope for, and things that surprise us.  But every day there are things in our lives that are just for us.  Provided, prepared, personalized.... by Him.  For me and for you.

This week, in the US, is the week of Thanksgiving.  It's a time for remembering the origins of our country, so special and sacred to us.  But more than that, it's a time for realizing our blessings.  It's a time to remember how much we take for granted, and how much we owe Him.  And while that's something I try to do throughout the year, I'm grateful for the reminder this time every year. 

Wherever you are, however you're blessed... thank Him today for the sweet and beautiful things He has provided for you.

~ "Oh that we would give thanks to the Lord

for His goodness,

and for His wonderful works

to the children of men!" ~

Psalm 107:8

~

Daily Appreciation

"every day alike"

Romans 14:5

It's almost Thanksgiving.  

I love Thanksgiving.  I love that we have a day set aside to appreciate all that God has given us.  And I love that Thanksgiving is a quiet, family sort of holiday.  It has refused to be commercialized, which means, of course, that Christmas ads have already begun... but Thanksgiving is still standing strong.  

We gather with friends and family, enjoying the traditions and the food, maybe sitting around the dining room table for hours; maybe playing board games or touch football on the lawn.   It's a celebration in which "the more, the merrier" can be truly spoken.

Autumn is my favorite time of year, and Thanksgiving, to me, is the high point.  But a few years ago, I almost missed it.  

Well, not that I would have missed it, but it nearly passed me by unnoticed. 

It was 2010, and my life had gotten crazy-busy starting in July.  My sisters and I were planning a surprise party for my folks' 50th wedding anniversary, and as the daughter nearest to them, I took the lead in the party planning.   The party was in mid-August, so the nearer the date came, the busier I got.  Organizing the caterer, the florist, the cake, the rental equipment and a myriad of logistics and did I mention the party was at my parents' house?  Have you ever tried to plan a surprise, semi-formal gathering of 100 at the home of the surprisee?  The planning overtook most of my days for several weeks. 

Now, in addition to this, my sister was planning a wedding in early November.  My mother was making her wedding dress, for which I and my daughter were needed to help.  And I hosted a bridal shower for my sister in October.  So before the anniversary party had even taken place, I had to begin planning for the shower and the wedding.  The wedding was out of town, so there were travel plans to be arranged, and wedding outfits to be bought for myself and my kids.   The Apple of my Eye, who is a graphic designer, was doing the invitations for both the shower and the wedding, and I did all the addressing and mailing.  This, of course, was after we had created, addressed, and mailed all the invitations for the anniversary party. 

By mid-November, the wedding was over, and I was still trying to find my routine after the travel and busyness.  And then one day I turned the page on my page-a-day calendar and realized that November was nearly half over.  And I hadn't been paying a bit of attention.  I had been completely oblivious to one of my favorite times of the year. 

Ever since then, my page-a-day calendar has told me more than the current date.  Every day I look at the date, and pause to get a sense of where we are in year.  I think about what I was doing in my life a year ago on that date.  I am still very aware of appreciating each day for what it has to offer, and I am determined not to let my days fly by.  Each one is too important to take lightly.   

And every morning, when I turn the page on my calendar, I think of Psalm 118:24 ~ "This is the day the Lord has made".  And every day I rejoice and am glad in it.

~ "whatever you do in word or deed, 

do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,

giving thanks to God the Father through Him" ~

Colossians 3:17 

~