November of Thanksgiving 2

You can get this button from Lisa of Lisa Notes.I’m thankful for the nation I live in. I’m thankful for the country I came from, too. Most of the nations of the world score low on the corruption index (HT: Challies.com), but  these two countries (and more, of course) don’t. There are many legitimate reasons for me to complain about my government, but there is also much for me to be thankful for.

I am thankful, for instance, that I’ve lived my whole life protected from violence. I have safe roads to drive on and a bureaucracy that runs fairly smoothly without me paying someone to grease the wheels. I have a say—a vote—in how things go in my country.

I’m thankful to God, who institutes governments for our good, for these two good (but not perfect) nations.

Others thanking God today:

• Diane is thankful for the examples of godly women.
• Holly is thankful for her daughters.
• Elle is thankful for “the opportunity to work alongside like-minded women in the kingdom of God.”
• Trisha is thankful “that with our sovereign God, darkness is light, and we need not fear.”
• Joan is thankful for memories.
• Becky is thankful for “God’s idea of marriage.”
• Lisa is thankful for a prayer labyrinth.
• Kim (The Upward Call) is thankful for home.
• Persis is thankful for the privilege of voting.
• Rosemary is thankful for her car.
• Kim (Hiraeth) is thankful for a new friend.
• Victoria is thankful that God is in control.
• Pam is thankful for her youngest son.
• Leslie is thankful for a life not wasted.
• Elisabeth is thankful to live in “a country where my voice can be heard through peaceful voting.”
• Kevin is thankful that he is able to take the day off—and for books, too.
• Aadel is thankful for the ability to homeschool.

Update 7:00pm PDT:

• Beth is thankful for the ability to vote.
• Dorothy is thankful that “The king’s heart (and the senator’s and the judge’s and the governor’s and the sheriff’s) is in the hand of the Lord.”
• Amy in Peru is thankful for rain.
• Laura is thankful for the prayers of a colleague and more.
• Sandra is thankful for a full clothesline.
• Melissa is thankful that October is over.

That’s it for now. I’ll be back this evening to add any more thanksgiving posts I find. As more people participate, it gets more likely that I’ll make mistakes in my posting, so if I miss your post or mess up a link, please tell me. And remember, if you miss a day or two, you’ll need to give me a heads up on your next thanksgiving post.

Do you want to participate, too? You’ll find instructions here for the ways both bloggers and nonbloggers can join in the thanksgiving.

November of Thanksgiving 1

On this morning of the first day of November, and the first day of this month of daily thanksgiving, I’m thanking God for the birds feeding themselves on the tree outside the window I’m looking through as I write this. The leaves are all gone from the trees; the days are shorter; there’s not enough snow to brighten things up—and the light dusting we got last night will be gone by the end of the day—but still, there is fluttering life out there.

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (Matthew 6:26 ESV)

I’m thankful that God feeds the birds, even in November in the Yukon. I’m thankful that birds feeding on my tree remind me that he takes care of me, too.

More thanksgiving:

• Jennifer is thankful for her five year old son’s involvement in Kids’ Quest Catechism Club.
• Beth is thankful for the gift of time.
• Diane is thankful for the Person of God in all His many attributes.
• Holly is thankful for Martin Luther and more.
• Dorothy lists three of her many thankful thoughts.
• John is thankful for his wife, “who makes our home such a fun and pleasant place to live.”
• Elle is thankful for Monday, for several reasons.
• Amy in Peru is thankful for the opportunity to be thankful.
• Trisha is thankful for God’s grace in parenting.
• Joan is thankful for friendships.
• Becky is thankful for so many things.
• Lisa is thankful for invisible boundaries.
• Laura posts on one way to encourage gratitude in your family.
• Kim is thankful for central heat.
• Persis is thankful for brothers and sisters.
• Rosemary is thankful “that our sorrows find solace in Christ.”
• Kim is thankful for the beautiful autumn she’s had.
• Victoria is thankful that God “is a very present help in time of trouble.”
• Sandra is thankful for Dave.
• Update: Pam is thankful for some of the names of God.

Added 8:30pm PDT:

• Leslie is thankful for her children.
• Elisabeth is thankful for her marriage.
• Maria is thankful for her

  faith in God and His son, Jesus Christ. I have grown in my faith over the last two years and I believe it is no coincidence that my growth has come at the same time that I am experiencing many changes and challenges in my personal life. I went through extensive medical tests to determine if I can donate a kidney for my sister. I have not always felt comfortable with the idea of doing this donation as I went through the testing process. I’ve also gone through some big challenges as my sons have become teenagers and become more independent in their thinking and choices. I have drawn closer to God. He has sustained me in many dark days and anxious ones as well. I have hope because of His promises. I feel His presence when I am anxious, worried, and concerned. I feel His presence in all the joyful times too.

  So, today, I am simply thankful for my faith and a God who is SO big and loves me, despite my humanity and poor choices.

• Miles is thankful for his

  growing family of 2010. Added to my family this year is a daughter-in-law and a son-in-law and a granddaughter. I am sooooo blessed with these wonderful new family members in my life. Being grandpa is a thrill i never realized was going to be as big a deal as it is. Lot’s to learn with new relationships but also greatful for this opportunity to share what is important from my life experiences.

Whew! That’s what I have at this moment. Thank you to all who have participated. I’ll update this post this evening, so if you post your thanksgiving post later today, will you do me a favor and put the link in the comments to this post so my updating is easy?

What I plan to do each day of this month is go through the previous days thanksgiving post to see if there’s yet another thanksgiving post there. So if you miss a day or post only occasionally, you’ll need to keep me up to date by sending me your link on the comments to that day’s post or by email (see contact button under the heading at the top of the page.) But as long as you post every day, you don’t need to send me anything.

The lovely button (above left) was done by Lisa of Lisa Notes. She has generously offered it to anyone who wants to use it.

Sunday's Hymn

What else for today but the “Bat­tle Hymn of the Ref­or­ma­tion”?

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.

—Martin Luther

Other hymns, worship songs, sermons etc. posted today:

• Love Divine, All Loves Excelling at Rosemary at Home
• A Mighty Fortress Is Our God at threegirldad (Same hymn as mine, but with choir and orchestra video.)
• God of Our Fathers and more at Wordwise Hymns
• There Is a Land of Pure Delight at Conjubilant with Song
• Sing to the Lord of Harvest at The Happy Wonderer
• I Am But a Stranger Here, Heav’n Is My Home at Field Stone Cottage
• When Morning Guilds the Sky at Hiraeth
• Lord’s Day 44, 2010 at The Thirsty Theologian
• Your Weekly Dose of Spurgeon: Don’t Bow to Worldly Wisdom at Pyromaniacs
• Heart Aflame - October 31, 2010 at The Upward Call
• Update: Sabbath Keeping at Thistle Cove Farms

Have you posted a hymn (or sermon, sermon notes, prayer, etc.) today and I missed it? Let me know by leaving a link in the comments or by contacting me using the contact form linked above, and I’ll add your post to the list.