Song: "Thank You Lord for Your Blessings on Me."

Good morning and welcome to my 'running late' edition for today, Tuesday, November 24, 2020.  Back in the day when I worked in downtown Houston, we had two metropolitan newspapers, the early paper was the Houston Post and the afternoon was the Houston Chronicle. When someone happened to come in late, someone would invariably ask if they brought the Chronicle with them to work. I didn't bring a newspaper with me but I was busy working on a plumbing project with our eldest son here at our house. Our Chris is our go-to fix-it man and he is off from work this week and we had this corroded pipe that connected to our hot water heater, therefore, he came over and swapped it out for a new connecting pipe. We are heads-down working on getting ready to get ready for our Thanksgiving gathering. I heard a news report that said 1 out of 3 families surveyed said they saw a family getting together as being something worth the risk even in the midst of the COVID situation. We aren't taking the threat lightly and we will be doing what we can to reduce the exposure risks, but, we still so look forward to those who plan to be with us, somewhere around 15 total including us. I hope I haven't shared a flashback of a flashback, but, anything is possible. Thanks to those who checked to see if I was still upright this morning. I appreciate it and as always, I need all the help I can get. 

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009

The Basis for True Thankfulness!

I bid you greetings on a very foggy morning with very low visibility around our area. However, we can with clarity anticipate this as Thanksgiving week and I am thankful for the opportunity to use this means of communication to express my thankfulness on this Monday, November 23, 2009. Our local family is planning a huge get together for Thursday and I am an easy mark when it comes to being sentimental about this time of year. There are so many memories that flood my soul, and yes, many of them are so very precious to me. This week I want to occupy this space with some of my thoughts on the subject of having a thankful heart. Today I want to start with the basis of true thankfulness and that relates to me knowing God and Him knowing me. Sounds simple enough but to know God as Father and for Him to know me as His very own child brings forth praise and thanksgiving because there is no privilege or prize greater than this. Therefore, I am thankful that I recognize God as being Who He has revealed Himself to be, I have responded to Him by accepting the payment made for my sins by His Son, My Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, and I live and breathe with His abiding presence as He through His Holy Spirit lives within me.

I love the story about the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving Day celebration here in our country as well as the next fellow, and I will get to many other blessings as this week progresses, but for today I want to bask in the privilege of being a child of God. The Good News is that all who respond to God's provision through His Son can be saved, can be made whole, and can be thankful for God's grace, mercy, and His great love. Some of my favorite verses that come to mind when I think about what it means to know God and be known by Him are found in Jeremiah. In the 9th Chapter we read these words: 23) Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; 24) But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the LORD.

The Prophet puts forth the foundation for true thankfulness and I join Jeremiah in reminding us all that to know and recognize God in a personal way transcends all that we might experience in this life. Therefore, I start this week where we all will be thinking about so many thoughts and ideas about thanksgiving with an encouragement that we envelop them all with God Himself as the basis of our thankful hearts. The writer of Hebrews said those who would please God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Read Chapter 11.) May we all focus in on our diligence this week in our seeking to honor Him with hearts overflowing with praise, worship, adoration, and thankfulness. When our thankfulness reflects the reality of Him in our lives then the rest of the details will find their rightful place. May God help each of us to honor Him by observing Him in His rightful first place in all things including our thankfulness! Amen. .....More later.