Thanksgiving

Thank You for the food we eat,


                   Thank You for the world so sweet,


Thank You for the birds that sing,


                    Thank You, God, for everything!

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, 

all the lands!

Serve the Lord with gladness;

come before His presence with singing!

Know that the Lord He is God;

it is He that has made us, and not we ourselves;

we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

and into His courts with praise!

Be thankful unto Him, and bless His name!

For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endures to all generations!

(Psalm 100:1-5)

  

Thank You, God, for so loving the world – so loving me – that You gave Your only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life! (John 3:16)

Thank You, Jesus, that although You are God, You emptied Yourself, taking the form of a bondservant made in the likeness of men, and humbled Yourself by being obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross!  (Phil. 2:6-8)

Thank You, Jesus, that You who knew no sin became sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in You. (2 Cor. 5:21)

Thank You, Jesus, that while we were helpless, at the right time, You died for the ungodly! (Rom. 5:6)

Thank You, Jesus, for purchasing for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation! (Rev. 5:9)

Thank You, Jesus, that You Yourself bore our sins in Your body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by Your wounds we are healed! (1 Peter 2:24)

Thank You, Lord, that You removed our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west! (Psalm 103:12)

Thank You, Jesus, that You were pierced through for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, and punished for our well being, and by Your stripes, we are healed. (Isa. 52:5)

Thank You, Jesus, that in You, we have redemption through Your blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of Your grace! (Eph. 1:7)

Thank You, God, that by Your grace, we have been saved through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is Your gift to us! (Eph. 2:8)

Thank You, Jesus, that You have now gone to prepare a place for us and will come again to receive us unto Yourself, so that where You are, there we may be also. (John 14:3)

                Thanksgiving 2012, may the Lord find us grateful!   

                  

In the uncharacteristic silence of that classroom, I missed the harmonic symphony of children’s voices. Slipping from my chair, I knelt on the plank floor and prayed:

Dear Heavenly Father,

            Thank You for my dear students. Please help them remember the lessons they learned this school year, from both books and life. Thank You, Father God, for helping me overcome the fears and challenges I faced at Shady Grove, and thank You for the lessons You have taught this teacher.¹

¹  Jill Watson Glassco. The Schoolhouse (Peoria, AR: LifeHouse Publishing, 2012), 44.

                   (The Schoolhouse is available in Birmingham, AL, Fort Payne, AL, Jasper, TN, Whitwell, TN, Gatlingburg, TN, 
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