Dear Ones,
Today is Party Day here and we will be going to Costco early to get the cake. Later this afternoon we have a retreatant coming who will spend the night and all day tomorrow with us. We pray he will have a special time with the Lord and get refreshed and renewed.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
We are soon to celebrate Thanksgiving Day and it is a time to remember all the ways the Lord has blessed us and to give Him thanks. Too often our hearts neglect to give Him praise and thanks due Him, for all that we are and have comes from Him. I was reading what Mark Roberts from Fuller Seminary wrote as he invites all of us to do something that I think can help us have grateful hearts and make our Thanksgiving rich. He shared from a Psalm 103 that I memorized some time ago and it starts out, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all His benefits.”

Sometimes we need to be intentional about giving attention to all that the Lord has given us, for we sail along in our day taking for granted His many blessings. Our hearts are lightened as we express gratitude and take our minds off of ourselves on the One who is worthy of all praise. Roberts invites all of us to take one hour to write down everything we are thankful for and especially things from the last year. He shares how he starts out naming every family member and the impact on his life. Then he moves on to things like health, work, home, pastor, church, things that happen in the world, and also big things like our salvation, the gift of the Holy Spirit, His grace and mercy.
I plan to accept his invitation and spend an hour before Thanksgiving since we will be traveling to Kansas to our son’s family. But if you choose to also do this, let your mind roam free, thank the Lord for not just for major things, but the small everyday things, and also the hard things He has taken you through and the lessons learned. The Psalm 103, says, “all His benefits” and often we learn more through those struggles than when having smooth sailing. As our hearts give thanks, our Thanksgiving time will take on a deeper meaning and all praise goes to Him.

Challenge for today: Purpose to take an hour to write down all that is in your heart for which you are grateful for and pray Robert’s prayer:

“Gracious God, thank you for the encouragement of Psalm 103. I do want to bless you, not just with part of me, but with ‘all that is within me.’ And I don’t want to forget all of your benefits. Help me Lord to remember…and to be grateful. I’m thankful that you are present with me at all times. But I’m also grateful that you meet me in special times, especially when I can get away from all that distracts me from you. Help me, Lord, to make time the next few days for intensive and extensive gratitude. Help me to remember all of your benefits and to thank you for them. May this truly be in my life a season of thanksgiving for you! Amen.”
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy