I am thankful for the silence and stillness of the early morning. I am thankful for the early morning sun beginning to warm this new day. I am thankful for brisk fall nights that make us glad. I am thankful Lord, that You make all things new, and that your Mercies are new each morning. I am thankful that today is a fresh new slate, full of His Promises and fresh opportunities to walk with Him, experience his Grace anew, and in turn share the Mercy and Grace that I have received with others. I am thankful to know that even though my family is spread around the country, and even around the globe, your hand is upon each one. I am so thankful for members of Christ’s body, who so faithfully intercede and pray. I am so thankful that we have a great High Priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses, who is able to help us in time of need.

September 30

I am thankful that when the wind has been knocked out of my sails, and my small boat has been stranded for a brief time, He lifts me up and gets me back on course, once again. I am thankful for cooler fall weather. I am thankful for the precious gift of children, whose needs often bump into my self-appointed agenda, thus reminding me to lay my life down for His Sake and theirs, which I cannot do without depending on Him. I am thankful for a roof over my head, and walls around me that keep the cold winds out. I am thankful for warm covers to sleep under, and a pillow to cushion my head. I am thankful that when I am harassed and harried, tossed to and fro upon a sea of doubt, He remains ever the same, a Solid Rock in the midst of the storm, a Refuge in the turmoil, and an Anchor to the Soul. I am so thankful that when my soul cries out, “Unworthy, unworthy, I am so unworthy”, He gently reminds me that we are all unworthy and that is precisely why He died; that He might scoop us up in His Arms, Redeemed and made New, and with our hand firmly held by His, grow into the glorious purposes He created us for.