Special Gratitude Edition

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is He Who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.” – Psalm 100

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“To increase in happiness in Christ’s service, labor every year to be more thankful.” – J.C. Ryle

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“When I think of all the things I have to be thankful for - next to my relationship with Jesus - I would say I’m most grateful for my legacy of faith.

I am thankful to have been raised in a family of faith. Our legacy of faith goes back to my great-grandparents who immigrated from Sweden and Germany. My grandparents loved and served Jesus as did my parents. I learned how to pray and wait patiently for God to respond from my parents, but mostly from my mom. She recently shared with me that when my sister and I were in high school and college and either of us would leave for the evening, she would sit in our living room and pray for us and our friends until she saw headlights turn the corner. She prays for all the members of our ever growing family before she gets out of bed in the morning, and she can often be found in ‘her chair’ by the kitchen window reading her Bible. I have witnessed my dad ask a repairman who was in our home, ‘Do you know Jesus?’ They have set a great example of how to love others well by allowing their love for Jesus to guide their every move.

I am thankful they made Jesus a priority in our home as I was growing up. I am reminded of the verse in Proverbs that says: ‘Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he won’t depart from it.’ (verse 22:6)” – Lisa B.

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“All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, ‘Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!’” – Revelation 7:11-12

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“The brave who focus on all things good and all things beautiful and all things true, even in the small, who give thanks for it and discover joy even in the here and now, they are the change agents who bring fullest Light to all the world.” – Ann Voskamp

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My young friend Alex underwent a second major knee operation in July of this year. Her first surgery was only a year prior. It’s been a difficult recovery, but she’s been counting her blessings. Here are a few of them…

- praising the Lord for a work-from-home job

- legs that work according to His wonderful design

- a body that is resilient in healing

- a mind that is renewed by the Spirit day by day

- friends who see and love me where I am – friends who are creative and take initiative

- good doctors, nurses, and PT’s who are blessed with wisdom from the Lord

- modern medicine and science the Lord has lovingly provided us with

- the best husband who never gives up. – Alex R.

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Father, as we enter Your gates with thanksgiving and Your courts with praise, our hands hold a long list of blessings. Thank You for families who have led lives of faithfulness going back generations, and thank You for believers whose decisions to put their faith in Jesus are the start of their own family legacies. Thank You for glimpses into the heavenly realms where we will one day find ourselves worshiping with angels. Thank You for a right focus that helps us to see Your good in all things. Thank You for sustaining us through trials and for showering us with Your gifts to help us know that we’re never alone. John 21:24 speaks the truth of our hearts: “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” We are swimming in an ocean of grace and thanking You in the beautiful Name of Jesus. Amen.