Monthly Archives: November 2013
Thankful 30: Day 29–Readers
I have joined Emily’s* 30 Day Challenge:
I’m challenging myself to post a picture every day during the month of November (30 Days To Be Thankful For) and to add a caption as to why I am thankful. — Emily
Day 29: I’m thankful for you readers who visit this blog.
I appreciate your kind and encouraging words.
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
I Thessalonians 5:11
For those of you who have enjoyed and commented on the photos of sunrise and sunset, this is how the morning and evening sky was painted today.
Skies are blazing with his splendor,
his praises sounding through the earth, Habakkuk 3:3
See Thankful 30 page for every day’s entry.
* name changed
Thankful 30: Day 28–Family
I have joined Emily’s* 30 Day Challenge:
I’m challenging myself to post a picture every day during the month of November (30 Days To Be Thankful For) and to add a caption as to why I am thankful. — Emily
Day 28: I’m thankful for family.
Tie up, slip on, and velcro-fastened,
black and white, lavender, little blue heels,
long feet, narrow ones, tiny toddler toes
This Thanksgiving day my house is blessed with family
and their beautiful feet that brought them to my door.
How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
“Your God reigns! Isaiah 52:7
I am grateful for people to love and people who love me–family.
See Thankful 30 page for every day’s entry.
* name changed
Thankful 30: Day 27–Sunset
I have joined Emily’s* 30 Day Challenge:
I’m challenging myself to post a picture every day during the month of November (30 Days To Be Thankful For) and to add a caption as to why I am thankful. — Emily
Day 27: I’m grateful for sunsets.
The rosy glow of the setting sun painted the dining room, as phantom chair and lamp shadows glided up the walls.
The pastels shades of the evening light invited me outside to watch the sky being transformed by sunset.
The delicate colors in the sky were backdrop to milkweed and common grasses.
As the shadows deepened, the colors intensified.
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light.
For those who lived in a land of deep shadows—
light! sunbursts of light!Isaiah 9:2 The Message
The horizon began to burn with gold and rose-tinted fire.
God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. I Timothy 6:15,16 NIV
All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful. 2 Corinthians 4:5,6 The Message
An explosion of color, of glory!
Everything was created through him;
nothing—not one thing!—
came into being without him.
What came into existence was Life,
and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
the darkness couldn’t put it out.John 1:3-5 The Message
See Thankful 30 page for every day’s entry.
* name changed
Thankful 30: Day 26–Clenched Fists or Open Hands?
I have joined Emily’s* 30 Day Challenge:
I’m challenging myself to post a picture every day during the month of November (30 Days To Be Thankful For) and to add a caption as to why I am thankful. — Emily
Day 26: I’m thankful for my friend, Julie, and her artistry.
The photos below are of a triptych done in pastel.
“Attitudes of the Heart: 1 Closed” by Julie Saugstad
For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them. Matthew 13:15 NIV
“Attitudes of the Heart: 2 Reviving” by Julie Saugstad
For this is what the high and exalted One says—
he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
“I live in a high and holy place,
but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.”Isaiah 57:13 NIV
“Attitudes of the Heart: 3 Alive” by Julie Saugstad
“Attitudes of the Heart: 3 Alive” by Julie Saugstad
What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ’s sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us. From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God. That’s what Jesus did. Romans 6:8-11 The Message
“Attitudes of the Heart: 1 Closed, 2 Reviving, 3 Alive” by Julie Saugstad
He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. Ephesians 2:5 The Message
See Thankful 30 page for every day’s entry.
* name changed
Thankful 30: Day 25–Cranberries and Snakes (correction)
If you received or read an “in process” version of today’s post (Cranberries and Snakes),
please accept my apologies. I accidentally posted a rough draft.
Click here for the corrected post.
Mistakes happen.
Thankful 30: Day 25–Cranberries and Snakes
If you received or read an “in process” version of today’s post, please, accept my apologies. I accidentally posted a rough draft.
* * * * *
I have joined Emily’s* 30 Day Challenge:
I’m challenging myself to post a picture every day during the month of November (30 Days To Be Thankful For) and to add a caption as to why I am thankful. — Emily
Day 25: I’m thankful for cranberries.
Thanksgiving dinner will be at my house, Thursday at noon, and I’m expecting about a dozen people, my daughter among them.
She asked if we would have the cranberry sauce that she likes. Of course! What mom wouldn’t be happy to fulfill such a request, especially one that’s so easy.
Here’s the recipe:
- Bring 1 cup orange juice and 1 cup sugar to a boil
- Add 12 oz. fresh cranberries and return to a boil
- Boil gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Pour into a bowl, let cool at room temperature, then refrigerate.
I am happy to prepare this cranberry sauce, just as the heavenly Father is pleased to give us good things when we ask. My daughter is very allergic to peanuts, so I would never serve those to her. Who would want a stone when you were hungry or a poisonous snake when you were expecting a roast fish?
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Matthew 7:7-11 NIV
See Thankful 30 page for every day’s entry.
* name changed
Thankful 30: Day 24–Praying
I have joined Emily’s* 30 Day Challenge:
I’m challenging myself to post a picture every day during the month of November (30 Days To Be Thankful For) and to add a caption as to why I am thankful. — Emily
Day 24
I am grateful for the women in my prayer group. These are their hands.
A few years ago, that still, small voice whispered, “You need to pray,” first to one woman in our church, then another, and another–so a small group of women began to meet during the Sunday School hour for prayer. I can’t tell you why the others joined, but I could echo the disciples’ desire in Luke 11:1–“Lord, teach us to pray.”
Hear my prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth. Psalm 54:2 NIV
I call on you, my God, for you will answer me;
turn your ear to me and hear my prayer. Psalm 17:6 NIV
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12 NIV
God is teaching me more about prayer, and I am blessed to be in the loving company of these women as I learn.
Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. I Peter 4:7,8 The Message
See Thankful 30 page for every day’s entry.
* name changed
Thankful 30: Day 23–Needle and Thread
I have joined Emily’s* 30 Day Challenge:
I’m challenging myself to post a picture every day during the month of November (30 Days To Be Thankful For) and to add a caption as to why I am thankful. — Emily
Day 23
I am thankful that I have a sewing machine. I only have to sew by hand if and when I want to.
I can’t imagine the endless hours my great grandmother spent in this sewing rocker, sewing with a needle and thread, because there was no other choice.
Did she sing? Did she pray as she sewed away the days,
making dresses and shirts,
curtains and quilts?
I imagine her sitting by a window
until the shadows grew long
and the light too dim
for the needle and the tiny, measured stitches.
Did her family appreciate her sewing? Did they thank her? I hope so.
Sewing by hand with a needle and thread reminds me of another seamstress from the past–this woman lived in New Testament times in the city of Joppa. Her name was Tabitha (“Dorcas” in Greek), and she was a disciple of Jesus Christ. When she became sick and died, distraught believers brought Peter to their town to pray for her.
Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.
Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. Acts 9:39,40 NIV
There’s a woman whose sewing was appreciated! What an impression she must have made on her community of believers, that they would dare ask for Peter to pray for her to come back from the dead. This is how Dorcas was described:
she was always doing good and helping the poor. Acts 9:36
Whether we sew by hand, as my great grandmother did, or with a sewing machine as I do, we can all follow Dorcas’ example of kindness and generosity.
See Thankful 30 page for every day’s entry.
* name changed
linking with Jennifer Dukes Lee
Thankful 30: Day 22–Jack
I have joined Emily’s* 30 Day Challenge:
I’m challenging myself to post a picture every day during the month of November (30 Days To Be Thankful For) and to add a caption as to why I am thankful. — Emily
Day 22
His friends called him Jack, and he died fifty years ago today.
I’m not referring to John F. Kennedy, but to C.S. Lewis.
Lewis taught English first at Magdalen College, then English literature at Cambridge. Although he published many scholarly essays, C.S. Lewis became well known for Christian apologetic works, such as Mere Christianity. Most know him as the author of The Chronicles of Narnia and the creator of Aslan, the lion.
I encountered Lewis’ work in high school shortly after I became a Christian: Mere Christianity, God In the Dock, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, the fantasy fiction trilogy that began with Out of the Silent Planet. Lewis gave me the reasons to my “whys” about Christianity, reinforcing the intellectual soundness of my decision.
My copies are dog-eared, scribbled on, underlined, and high-lighted. Some are missing–I don’t remember who I gave them to. (“Here, you should read this!”)
So I’m remembering C.S. Lewis’ life and works today. I’m thankful for Lewis’ example as a Christian and for the impact his books had (and have) on my life and the lives of so many others.
Here’s to you, Jack.
‘I am [in your world].’ said Aslan. ‘But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.’
C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia
photos of boxed CD version of Focus on the Family’s Radio Theatre “The Chronicles of Narnia”
See Thankful 30 page for every day’s entry.
* name changed
Thankful 30: Day 21–The Password is “Thank You!”
I have joined Emily’s* 30 Day Challenge:
I’m challenging myself to post a picture every day during the month of November (30 Days To Be Thankful For) and to add a caption as to why I am thankful. — Emily
Day 21
It’s a gray day, barely brighter at noon than it was at breakfast time. The wind drags a cold, damp blanket of clouds behind it, and by supper freezing rain coats the porch railing. Then sleet pellets the windows, until the final change to snow as the temperature drops. “Winter weather advisory” is the phrase the forecasters use today, but the words I need to fight the gloom are from the Bible, a “Thanksgiving Psalm.”
On your feet now—applaud God!
Bring a gift of laughter,
sing yourselves into his presence.Know this: GOD is God, and God, GOD.
He made us; we didn’t make him.
We’re his people, his well-tended sheep.Enter with the password: “Thank you!”
Make yourselves at home, talking praise.
Thank him. Worship him.For God is sheer beauty,
all-generous in love,
loyal always and ever.Psalm 100:1-5 The Message
On gray days I need the antidote of praise. I need to remind myself that God is good, that God is love, and that He is always faithful.
On gray days, I also need the antidote of color. Maybe you do, too, so here are reminders of warmer days.
I am thankful for flowers,
from tiny, wild violets to mammoth sunflowers,
from June’s sweet roses
to October’s chrysanthemums.
See the marvels of God!
He plants flowers and trees all over the earth, Psalm 46:8 The Message
See Thankful 30 page for every day’s entry.
* name changed
Sunflower photo by Barb Briggs
Constance Ann Morrison 