Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. — Psalm 100:5
A time to give thanks to God for His love and care for us.
Our friends brought a cheese board and homemade bread.
And the flowers our neighbors sent us were beautiful.
It was a perfect day to eat outside.
And when the sun went down and it got cold, Kirk, lit the firepit.
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. — Psalm 95:1-2
And shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Come before God with thanksgiving.
And praise Him with music and with songs of joy.
He is our God, and we will praise Him!
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. — 1 Timothy 2:1-2
Even those who hate us and want war instead of peace.
Thank you, Lord, for each person.
Everyone is valuable and precious in your sight.
We ask for your intercession that wars may cease and conflicts may end.
So your peace will cover the world.
And so all will live in godliness and holiness.
Worshiping you as Lord and King.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. — Philippians 4:6
Here's what our beautiful spread was like last year.
We had a fun time.
Listening to harp music.
Trying various flavors of tea.
Toasting each other with champagne.
And eating finger sandwiches, puff pastries and macarons.
Just spending time together was the best thing.
We are blessed.
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people — for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. — 1 Timothy 2:1-2
We are so blessed to live in a country where we have the opportunity to vote for our elected officials.
What a contrast to the Soviet Union and other countries where dialog and differences are stifled and people are jailed or killed for their beliefs.
Even though our family mailed our ballots in several weeks ago, we'll find out the results this evening.
Most of them, anyway.
Despite the results, God calls us to pray for all those in authority, even when we don't agree with them.
We can still intercede on their behalf so that God's will might be done in their lives and in our country.
God calls us to give thanks for them and their service.
I especially pray for the poll workers, that He will surround them with His protection and peace.
That He will keep them safe and help us thank them for their service.
That we may live peaceful lives in godliness and holiness.
So that everything I do may glorify Him.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. — Psalm 95:2
Today we are thankful for a wonderful time with family, even though we were missing quite a few of them.
Our prayers are with those who couldn't join us.
Lots of prayer requests in our extended family.
And we thank God for the ability to bring our concerns and praises to Him in prayer.
He listens and answers us when we cry to Him.
Abby picked out this centerpiece that matched our tablecloths and napkins perfectly!
We are thanking God for beautiful flowers created by Him!
I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. — Psalm 69:30
We actually started last night with our church service for Thanksgiving eve.
A worshipful time to thank God and praise His name in song.
Today we had our families over for dinner.
Steve made twice-baked potatoes.
Liz made cracker corn, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, and cranberry sauce.
Abby made a chocolate pie for Carly so we could celebrate a day late.
We are grateful to God for giving us a loving family, good food, and great friends.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving. — Colossians 4:2
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| Apple Blossoms |
And this essay is an excerpt adapted from a new book, "The Unbroken Thread: Discovering the Wisdom of Tradition in a Age of Chaos."
I'm lookingforward to reading it.
The essay was a perceptive look at how we've moved away from spending time with God.
Instead, we fill our days with busy-ness.
No wonder we have such high rates of divorce, alcoholism, drug abuse, and dysfunctional families.
We've taken our eyes off the eternal.
Everything passes away except God.
And the Sabbath is a guarantor of our "inner liberty."
While rest-less, Sabbath-less societies could easily descend into tyranny and barbarism.
Hitler and Mao did turned their focus away from God and having a Sabbath rest.
Instead, they turned the focus of their societies onto themselves.
Two examples of societies descending into tyranny and barbarism.
Lord, help us to devote ourselves to prayer, keeping alert in an attitude of thanksgiving to You.
Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving. — Colossians 4:2
I'm better at talking with Him throughout the day.
We decided that these are areas we both need to work on.
I need to spend larger amounts of time alone devoted to prayer.
She needs to remember to pray throughout her day.
Both of us are growing in our prayer lives.
And learning to do His will.
Beginning to devote ourselves to prayer.
Keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.
Help us, Lord, to follow You.
For everything God created is good, and nothing should be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. — 1 Timothy 4:4-5
Tonight at about 5:00 p.m. the weather dropped to about 50 degrees.
Abby and I met for a swim.
It started raining on our way home.
Then it stopped for awhile.
About 8:30 it actually started hailing!
Our front courtyard was covered in white.
Hopefully our plants will survive.
Everything God created is good.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. — Philippians 4:6
Of course, I don't want to be anxious, but the concerns of the day can be overwhelming.
Instead, I need to focus on God and His plan for my life.
Even when things seem uncertain and worrisome, He has it all in control.
I can't see the big picture, but He can.
When I put my trust in Him, I can sleep well at night.
I can relax and let His will be done in my life.
When I present my requests with Thanksgiving.
When I pray regularly and continually, I no longer need to worry.
In every situation, God asks me to talk to Him rather running various scenarios through my mind.
I am thankful.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. — Philippians 4:6
We have a very fun group of church friends, some of whom live close by.
Since we can't all worship together, it's awesome to have a time of fellowship and conversation each week.
After the appetizers, we take turns reading through the chapters of Philippians, which is what we are going through in our sermon series.
Our pastor suggested we take turns reading the passages and listening to them.
Since God's word is living and active, I hear something new each time it is read.
His Holy Spirit works in us to help us understand God's Word.
