Being Thankful on November 21

Have you noticed that so many of the items listed on our thankful lists this month are what we might call “small mercies?” We call them small mercies, I think, because they are so commonplace that they don’t seem like a big deal. We go through our lives not taking much notice of them because we are surrounded by gifts like these day in and day out, every single minute.

But there is no substantial difference, you know, between the small mercies and the big miracles. They all come from the same place and by the same means—from the plan of God and by the power of God.

God’s powerful word “calls into existence the things that do not exist (Romans 4).” These are the sort of things we think of as the big miracles—the impossible things that are possible for God, like giving a biological son to Abraham and Sarah in their their old age.

But it is also God’s powerful word that “upholds the universe (Hebrews 1).” Everything that exists continues to exist only by God’s power. Day by day, minute by minute, he holds our everyday world together for us. We receive our small mercies by what we think of as ordinary means, but those ordinary means are the result of God’s decision and God’s energy just like the big miracles are. Our small mercies are a big deal.

What do we have that we did not receive? The right answer is nothing. Every single thing we have, whether it comes to us by way of big miracle or small mercy, comes to us from the mind and hand of our good God. And we are obligated to thank God for all of it.

So today I’m thankful for small mercies—all the works of God that are right now flying under my radar.

• Kim of Hiraeth is thankful for a big mercy.
• Julana, who runs a blog of many colours, is thankful for many things, including coffee shops.
• Dawn is thankful for her children.
• Liz is thankful for fuzzy slipper and more.
• Dorothy is thankful for the boiler.
• Connie it thankful for the company of friends.
• Becky is thankful for Awana.
• Kim of The Upward Call is thankful for Titus 2 ladies, both in real life and online.

What are you thankful for?

• Tulipgirl is thankful for God’s amazing mercy and more.
  

I’m celebrating good gifts from God during the month of November and hoping you’ll be thankful for your good gifts, too. Here’s how you can join in the thanksgiving and even, perhaps, get something material from it. If you’ve posted something you’ve posted something you’ve expected me to include and you don’t see it on the list, please let me know. I do miss things sometimes.

Being Thankful on November 20

I’m thankful for everyone who has participated by writing posts of thanksgiving this month. There’s a lot of thankfulness going around and that’s a good thing.

• Christy is thankful for “the great men and women who have lived before me, who have demonstrated amazing faith and wisdom, and have struggled through deep truths.”
• Susie is thankful for God’s provision in life.
• Kim of Hiraeth is thankful for “God’s great mercy and His loving-kindness and the peace that surpasses all understanding.”
• Dawn is thankful for blogland friends.
• Tulipgirl is thankful for long distance phone calls and more.
• Liz is thankful for glass sculptures and more.
• Dorothy is thankful that God prompted her today.

Updates

• Connie is thankful for “the anticipation of special time with family this evening.”

What are you thankful for?

I’m celebrating good gifts from God during the month of November and hoping you’ll be thankful for your good gifts, too. Here’s how you can join in the thanksgiving and even, perhaps, get something material from it. If you’ve posted something you’ve posted something you’ve expected me to include and you don’t see it on the list, please let me know. It’s a lot to keep track of and I do miss things sometimes.

Being Thankful on November 19

I’m thankful for God’s protection as I drive and travel and as my kids drive and travel. He has kept us all safe from harm over the years.

• Sandra Peoples is thankful for thirteen things.
• Sally Apokedak does a thanksgiving meme and list several things she’s thankful for.
• Becky is thankful for gluten-free recipes on gluten-free blogs and her visitors.
• Julana is thankful for her husband’s job and more.
• Ann is thankful for faithful ministry.
• Kim of Hiraeth says, “As a member of a very young start-up church, I’m so grateful for the Session and congregation of our over-seeing church.”
• Liz is thankful for her family’s thankful list tradition. Check it out and see what it is.
• Dorothy is thankful for her very capable husband.
• Connie is thankful for ” a dear friend who always offers me her ‘pass alongs’!”

Updates

• Tulipgirl has a list that includes good neighbors and more.

What are you thankful for?

I’m celebrating good gifts from God during the month of November and hoping you’ll be thankful for your good gifts, too. Here’s how you can join in the thanksgiving and even, perhaps, get something material from it. If you’ve posted something you’ve posted something you’ve expected me to include and you don’t see it on the list, please let me know. It’s a lot to keep track of and I do miss things sometimes.