Birth (1)

Sarah Hears and Laughs
by James TissotAnd God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” (Genesis 17:15-17)

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Lord appeared to [Abraham] by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. (Genesis 18:1-3)

 They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.” (Genesis 18:9-15)

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The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised. And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. (Genesis 21:1-3)

It's a Calendar Draw

(click on photo for larger view
or here for back viewNow that the electricity is back on and my internet connection is re-established, I’m ready to draw the name of the participant in November’s exercise in thanksgiving who will receive the 2009 calendar of photos of Yukon scenery by photographer Wayne Towriss. I think it’s an occasion worthy of a live blog, don’t you?

There’s quite a pile of names in my basket—one for every time the participants posts a thanksgiving post—and right now I’m swirling, swirling them to make sure the draw is random. And now I’m going to close my eyes and draw. The winner is…….

Woohoo! It’s Connie of Practical Theology.

As soon as I get a mailing address from Connie I’ll mail that calendar out to her.

Being Thankful on November 30

On this last day of November and the last day of this month of gratefulness, I’m thankful that “God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in my heart to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

• Suzanne ends the month of thankfulness with a picture.
• Connie is thankful for “the coming days filled with opportunities to focus on Christ’s birth!”
• Liz ends the month feeling deeply grateful.
• Dorothy is thankful that Emily is safely back at school.
• Kim of Hiraeth is thankful for this month of thankfulness. Me too.
• Willow is thankful “for the source of all thankfulness, The One Who will be the focus of our thoughts in December, during Advent Season” and more.
• Julana is thankful for the promise of heaven and more.

I’m also thankful for all of you who have participated with me in this month of thanksgiving. Tomorrow I’ll draw a name from my basket full of slips with your names and anounce the winner of the beautiful 2009 calendar by Yukon photographer Wayne Towriss.