Give Thanks to the Lord

 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever. — Psalm 136: 1, 26

We had a gorgeous weekend.

The sky was blue and the sun was out.

Our time outside was refreshing.

The flowers and plants Kirk tends are growing abundantly.

Our Mexican lime tree is dropping 20-30 limes each week.

And our neighbors shared their lemons and tangerines with us.

We are blessed.

And we give thanks to God.

He is good. 

His love endures forever.

Set Your Mind on Things Above

 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. — Colossians 3:2

Yesterday we hiked up to Potato Chip rock.

Here's my friend Kelly, sitting on the edge.

Abby and Kirk and I hiked up here several years ago.

Then Abby and Kirk hiked it again a few times.

We got some great pictures of them.

God asks us to set our minds on things above instead of on earthly things.

It's much easier to do that when we're outside marveling at God's creation.

Help me to set my mind on You, O Lord.

Let the Message of Christ Dwell Among You

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. — Colossians 3:16

Today we celebrate the first day of Advent.

Our Jewish friends celebrate the festival of Hanukkah.

Both prepare us for the coming of Jesus.

We set up our nativity yesterday.

A fitting reminder of the season.

And of God's gift to us — His Son, our Lord Jesus.

Singing to God with gratitude in our hearts for his precious gift.

I Always Thank My God for You

I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. — 1 Corinthians 1:4

I try to pray throughout the day, thanking God and asking for His wisdom.

I often fail, but it's humbling.

God gives me everything.

He watches over me and comforts me.

He keeps His promises to me.

There is nothing he cannot do.

I always thank my God for you.

He has given us His grace through Christ Jesus.

We are blessed.

Come Before Him With Thanksgiving

 Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. — Psalm 95:2

Yesterday we celebrated Thanksgiving.

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

 I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. — Psalm 69:30

Today we celebrated Thanksgiving.

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!

His Love Endures Forever

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. — Psalm 100:5

God is so good, He's so good to me.

His love endures forever.

He is faithful and just.

Even when I'm unfaithful, He continues to be faithful to me.

In fact, His faithfulness continues through all generations.

To our children and our children's children.

Today we celebrate Carly's birthday.

We'll have a family dinner tomorrow with birthday chocolate pie.

God's love endures forever.

All the days of our lives.