Thankful Thursday

I will bless the Lord at all times;

His praise shall continually be in my mouth.  

My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;

The humble shall hear it and rejoice.

O magnify the Lord with me,

And let us exalt His name together.

Ps.  34:1-3

For I proclaim the name of the Lord;

Ascribe greatness to our God!

The Rock!  His work is perfect,

For all His ways are just;

A God of faithfulness and without injustice,

Righteous and upright is He.

Deut.  32:3,4

Life can get a little sideways sometimes

It is filled with many twists and turns and unexpected events

sometimes it is easy for me to become distracted by those moments

rather than focusing on my Lord and Savior

like Peter, I begin to stare at the mounting storm

and it starts to take me under

but when I come to my senses, I cry out to Him and He hears my cry

and delivers me out of all my distresses!

I am thankful that I have had work for the past eight weeks

I'm thankful God has provided strength and wisdom in performing the tasks of my job

I'm thankful for the interaction I've been able to enjoy with coworkers

I'm thankful for bosses who have a long-term vision for their company

I'm thankful for their efforts to create a culture of encouragement and support within the company

I'm thankful for the changes that are coming after tomorrow

I'm thankful God remains the same throughout the changes of my life

I'm thankful He knows my needs, and promises to meet my needs as I seek Him and His kingdom first

I've been meditating on the above verses quite a bit over the last week or so

and I've been praying that the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart would be pleasing to God

I've been looking for opportunities to proclaim Him and His goodness

He is the Rock!  I'm thankful I can stand firm on His foundation

He is the author of salvation

He is the lover of my soul

His is the God who delights in reconciling people to Himself

He is abundant in mercy and full of grace

I'm thankful God continues to reach out to me and beckon me to come to His place of forgiveness and rest

I've also been thinking about the verse in James:

"So speak and so act, as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.  For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.  Jame 2:12,13

I'm thankful God's mercy is new every morning

I'm thankful He gives me opportunities to extend mercy to others

I'm thankful for the times when I get it right 

believe me when I say there are too many times when I don't

times when I get impatient and prideful in my responses

I'm thankful God slows me down in those moments, taps me on the shoulder, and reminds me He desires a better way for me

I'm thankful for God's amazing grace that saved a wretch like me!