A Thank-you Collection

Today's Daily Bread Devotion, through the hymn Count Your Blessings,

reminds us, when we are discouraged we should begin to count our blessings and

'it will surprise us too, what the Lord has done'!

What a visual reminder of photo-captured blessings I enjoyed

on Monday, as I scrolled through a year's worth of photos while (frantically)

creating a few Christmas gifts to take advantage of a pre-Black Friday Sale with a Monday midnight deadline (that I found renewed/extended in my email on Tuesday morning 😒😅)

After that and today's devotions a thank-you hymn begged to be born!

Thank-you for puddles on the lane, for splash-wild laughter as it rings

For good old days that still remain, thanks to gladness in simple things ...

Thank-you for walls that we call 'home'; a haven in a hurried/harried world...

Thank-you for every hymn and psalm by nature's troubadours unfurled...

Thank-you for faithful parents who train up their children by Thy word

Thank-you Heavenly Father, You bless us with patience undeterred

Thank-you for each shiny, new day; grant us wisdom to spend it well

Thank-you for list'ning when we pray and hearing all we have to tell

Thank-you for walls that we call 'home'; a haven in a hurried/harried world

Thank-you for every hymn and psalm by nature's troubadours unfurled

Thank-you for Wonder's my-oh-my to nullify shadows of doubt

For every slice of humble pie I hate but would be vain without

Thank-you for family and friends, whether nearby or far apart

For the sunshine that kindness sends to warm the garden of the heart  

Thank-you for everybody who gives misjudgment, doubt's benefit

And for Your Word, steadfast and true no matter who may challenge it

When care-worn loving takes its toll, Thank-you for strength to help us through

When sorrow's sobbing billows roll, when happiness is feeling blue

Thank-you for promises to cheer the soul with holy fellowship

For Thy counsel to commandeer, For Thy whole armour to equip

...so we may be able to stand against the evil of the hour

Thank-you that You are greater than legions of dark, demonic pow'r

Thank-you for pleasures evermore, waiting beyond Time's hills and vales 

You comfort us as you restore our souls with love that never fails 

Thank-you for hope that You secure; for joy complete in spite of grief 

The wellspring of your Word is pure and sweet as honey to Belief 

Thank-you for little boys and girls to remind us of wants amiss

Thank-you for freckles, dimples, curls, and chubby cheeks to kiss and kiss

Thank-you for puddles on the lane, for splash-wild laughter as it rings

For good old days that still remain thanks to gladness in simple things 

...like cuppa comfort-soup or tea, cookies and milk, or fresh-baked bread

Like quiet good-book company, like no stone pillow for my head 

...like wood to keep the fire fed, like coffeeshops where cronies meet 

Like compliments, not left unsaid, like tasks to safeguard hands and feet

...like the touchdown of feet to floor each morning as we rise and shine

And oft forget to thank You for the gift of feet; 'the world is mine'  

For minds that still retain a thought for more than a moment or two

For ink to spell thrill into jot (also known as Poem for You)

For more than pages can contain or all earth's ledgers can record

For unearned favours You sustain though ofttimes they remain ignored 

...like answered prayers we never prayed, like supplied needs unrecognized

Of catastrophic outcomes stayed, of kind protection never prized 

We thank you Lord, for countless ways You graciously and freely bless

Forgive us when we fail to praise and thank You for your faithfulness

Janet Martin 

 Gratitude for His faithfulness helps us gain momentum for the future.

  Arthur Jackson

Count Your Blessings (Ingrid DuMosch & The London Fox Singers)

Ps.136;1-4&23-26

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever.

2 Oh, give thanks to the God of gods!

For His mercy endures forever.

3 Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords!

For His mercy endures forever:

4 To Him who alone does great wonders,

For His mercy endures forever;

23 Who remembered us in our lowly state,

For His mercy endures forever;

24 And rescued us from our enemies,

For His mercy endures forever;

25 Who gives food to all flesh,

For His mercy endures forever.

26 Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven!

For His mercy endures forever.

A (Long) Thanksgiving Song

Today in Canada, we celebrate Thanksgiving Day

Happy Thanksgiving, today and every day!

For doors that swing wide open, with a beaming 'welcome in'...

Ps.92:1

It is good to give thanks to the LORD, 

And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Give thanks in every circumstance, 

for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 147:1
Hallelujah! How good it is to sing praises to our God, 

how pleasant and lovely to praise Him!

For friends and family, for fellowship’s fond happiness...

(dinner yesterday)

For apple-lunch...

 and carrot crunch, 

For soulful meditations as we witness God, so great

In colour combinations only He can orchestrate...

For front rows seats to Divine Majesty’s Un-commonplace

As mercy, new each morning, ushers from unrivaled ranks

Much unmerited favour, often assumed without thanks

Part 1.

1. For creeks meandering through pasturelands, rolling and green

For rivers, rushing-rambling, rippling down rocks and between

For lakes that lie like mammoth mirrors, reflecting the sky

For cakes and fresh-baked pies piled high with whipping cream, oh my

2. For thund’ring hues that waltz through autumn woodlands without sound

For harvest hymns, raised heartily from reaping’s holy ground

For friends and family, for fellowship’s fond happiness

For faith’s fine privilege of prayer, braced by God’s promises

3. For apple-lunch and carrot crunch, and colourful cuisine

Of fruit and veg simplicity yet fit for king and queen

For good-book getaways, for phrases like ‘just between us’

For wordsmiths forging sheer delight from ink and genius

4. For hands to fold in prayer or to hold humble tools of trade

For arms to wrap with tender care around a sad comrade

For beautiful feet, gospel-shod, so everywhere they go

They bring good news of one, true God who loves everyone so

5. For steaming cuppa, when we wake or at coffee break time

For surprises of beauty, begging for a twist of rhyme

For soulful meditations as we witness God, so great

In colour combinations only He can orchestrate

6. For laughter, glorious laughter, after sorrow’s vale of death

For oohs and aahs where Nature steals the show and then our breath

For home, sweet home, a haven in a world, too hurried, oft

For Innocence, to challenge and keep hearts gentle and soft

7. For all the lovely people who care enough to be kind

Who view life’s opportunities with others first in mind

Who value precious moments, no spent moment compensates

Who recognize the School of Life, and love fellow-classmates

8. For autumn’s ambience that sets both earth and souls aglow

Where what was good in good old days will always remain so

The thrill of a still morning or sunset bathed eventide

A table set for dinner and a loved one at our side

9. For wind-ghosts, hustling-rustling through a cornfield, brittle-bronze

For work to do, for fallen leaves cartwheeling across lawns

For the best yet to come, for Heaven; hope and faith’s reward

For this and so much more, we raise a hymn of praise, O Lord

10. For comfort for our sorrows from the One who understands

Whose love is etched in utter proof in nail-scarred feet and hands

For He who bids us ‘come’ for rest this world knows nothing of

Who keeps in perfect peace all who are anchored in His love

Part 2.

11. For flow’ry fence-line filigree; milkweed and Queen Ann’s lace

For front rows seats to Divine Majesty’s Un-commonplace

As mercy, new each morning, ushers from unrivaled ranks

Much unmerited favour, often assumed without thanks

12. For so much wonder to behold in every season-frame

Praise God from whom all blessings flow; from Whom all creatures came

To Him be glory evermore, who vexes mortal ken

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. Amen.

13. For He transcends Time’s transient speck we beck to comprehend

His promises no one can check, or nullify or bend

A kind, unfailing Helper through the troubles that befall

For this and so much more we thank You, gracious Lord of all

14. For Today’s smorgasbord, laden with goodness to enjoy

A stroll in the fine company of little girl and boy

Through an October afternoon unraveled leaf by leaf

Overflowing heart-cups with happiness, in spite of grief

15. For loss that tunes us to the gains we would otherwise miss

For eyes to see and ears to hear, for lips to smile and kiss

For poets, born to bravely bare their souls upon a page

To preserve cherished sentiment from fleeting age to age

16. For fields and gardens gleaned; for health and strength for toil’s demands

For confidence in He who clothes the lily-gilded lands

For gasp-glimpses of paradise in this old, broken world

For cognizance, to feast our eyes on Evidence unfurled

17. For holidays as handy as a chair beneath a tree

To revel in and reflect on blissful simplicity

For finding so much to be thankful for in every day

As we weather the brunt of hope-dream-laugh-weep-work and pray

18. For cares to keen awareness to our deep need for each other

For we, part of God’s family, are all sister and brother

For this new day to seek a meeker, awestruck attitude

We thank-you Lord, and raise a hymn of glad, glad gratitude

19. For doors that swing wide open, with a beaming 'welcome in'

For scolding, silenced by the mister with mischievous grin

For Firsts we chart with fervor and for Lasts we cannot know

For cheer to journey onward for tis by God’s grace we go

Part 3.

20. For mom and dad, dear mom and dad who gave their prime of life

To feed and clothe and train us to trust God where fear runs rife

Who did not scrimp and save to lay up much pleasure-in-store

But taught us by example what to treasure/measure and Who for

21. For God’s Word, as a lamp to expose dangerous sink-holes

Where we are all born mortal and all die as deathless souls

The dash between our dates of birth and death, life’s sacred span

Where we will either receive or reject salvation’s plan

22. For God’s word as faith’s counsellor and truest friend indeed

For the wisdom that He imparts if we follow His lead

For boundless riches that only poorness of spirit brings

As He opens the eyes of hearts to behold wondrous things

23. For endless entertainment, courtesy of bird and bee

And butterfly, tot, pup and kitten, cute as cute can be 

For Time's four-season carousel twirling around and 'round

Stunning us with hellos and farewells, as echoes confound

For babies to bounce on our knees before they walk, then run

Then fly away while mothers say ‘Where have those long days gone?’

…of teddy bears and goodnight prayers, lost mittens, shoes and socks

And simple joys of scattered toys; dollies and building blocks

24. For kitchen sinks filled with parades of dishes washed and dried

(The age-old effect of hearty appetites satisfied)

For detours, because kindness hailed a second mile or two

For children who never outgrow their mother’s ‘I love you’

25. For music of the rain or strains of cherished melodies

‘Sweet Hour of Prayer, Just as I Am, and Precious Memories'

For harvesters a-humming, beneath autumn’s evening star

For so much to be thankful for however old we are

26. For those who take the time to ask if we are doing well

For those who remember to pray for all we do/cannot tell

For those who try to keep the peace and so they bite their tongue

For those whose friendly spirits seem to stay forever young

27. For those who love and do not count the amount of the price 

Knowing the currency of ministry is sacrifice

Who imitate the One who gave Himself entirely

To leave us an ensample of how true love ought to be 

28. For always a tomorrow (if God wills) to try again

To rally round each other rather than blame and condemn

For we are all First-timers, no one gets a trial run

At life to test its fights to see how this or that is won   

29. …for poems that barely begin to skim the surface of 

Reason to praise and thank you, Lord, for Your eternal love

For the confident knowledge that each day You lend fresh chance

To thank you for the many mercies that your goodness grants

30. For so much we do not deserve but still, You give and give

Praise God from whom all blessings flow; through whom all creatures live

To Thee be glory evermore, who vexes mortal ken

For from Thee and through Thee and to Thee are all things. Amen.

Janet Martin

For Innocence, to challenge and keep hearts gentle and soft...

A stroll in the fine company of little girl and boy

Through an October afternoon unraveled leaf by leaf

Overflowing heart-cups with happiness, in spite of grief...

For holidays as handy as a chair beneath a tree...

Thankful (to God For All Eternity)

Heb.13:15

Therefore by Him (Jesus) 

let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, 

that is, the fruit of our lips, [d]

giving thanks to His name.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving Day!

Above all I am thankful for the precious promises

from God for us!

Yesterday morning's Sunday School lesson included these verses

Also included in the links in the poem below

Num.23:19

God is not human, that he should lie,
    not a human being, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
    Does he promise and not fulfill?

1 Cor.1:9

 God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship 

with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

 For chickens scratching in the yard...

For dawn, pretty as a postcard...

For fresh brewed cuppa joe or tea...

For autumn’s awe-evoking hues;...

For gardens, bent with granted spoil...

For health and strength to tend its Toil...

For gourd-shaped miracles we glean...

Then turn into supper cuisine...

For chickens scratching in the yard

For dawn, pretty as a postcard

Perched on earth’s eastward window ledge

Man's witness to God's honored pledge

For glimpses of God through a glass

Darkened (for now) by ‘days of grass’

For ways we are able to cope

Because of one little word, ‘Hope’

For seasons, as they grin and groan

Through carriages of skin and bone

For oceanic undertows

As joy and sorrow ebbs and flows

For fresh brewed cuppa joe or tea

For love of friends and family

For faith’s unrivaled happiness

Because God keeps His promises

For utter grief, because of love

For knowing God is strong enough

To bear a whole world’s weight of woe

He did! On a cross long ago

For truth, from His word that abides

To anchor Hope, lest shifting tides

Of Time should disillusion, oh

By what we see rather than know

For autumn’s awe-evoking hues;

Crimsons, yellows, bronze, greens and blues

Cheering the crooks where petals fell

In summer-long songs of farewell

For book-comrade’s fine company

Acquainting likes of you and me

With fellow-compadres, long gone

Yet, through ink-legacies, live on

For gardens, bent with granted spoil

For health and strength to tend its Toil

For gourd-shaped miracles we glean

And turn into supper cuisine

For so much beauty to behold

(God’s handiwork never grows old)

For wonder’s worship, bona fide

For tots who slow oft hurried stride

For bliss of heartthrob, humbly stirred

By gifts of butterfly-bloom-bird

By treetops tossing glossy manes

Not yet undone by autumn rains 

For heartfelt hugs as love's tears fall

For firm handshakes that say is all 

For peace beyond description's pow'r

God reserves for grief's rawest hour  

For comfort from handwritten art

Notes and verses to cheer the heart

And splash the sunshine of God's smiles

Through people to brighten dark miles 

 

For paths of righteousness to trod

While The Foolish, who deny God

Throng thoroughfares, in vain pursuit

Of this world’s unfulfilling fruit

For the kinship of Common Task

For Heaven’s Helper, if we ask

For food to eat and clothes to wear

And hands to hold/fold in thankful prayer

For blessings too profuse to count

For salvation’s unflagging fount

Over grace and truth’s Bedrock streams

The flood/blood that cleanses and redeems

For feasts, for both body and soul

To fit us where Fight’s billows roll

For the Good Shepherd, glorious

His rod and staff to comfort us

For Thoughts and Ways kindling man’s Why

For God’s extravagant reply

As we trust Him, faith's kind increase

Crowns brokenness with joy and peace

For mercies no mortal deserves

As wisdom weathers learning curves

For all the ‘laugh lines’ that we earn

In the classroom of live-and-learn

Oh Lord, the author of our days

Receive our sacrifice of praise

As faith’s cornucopia brims

With love’s ceaseless thanksgiving hymns

…because Your love, steadfast and sure

Holds Hope’s storm-battered bark secure

Until faith is eclipsed at last

By Sight, no longer darkly glassed

Then face to face we will adore

As all we wondered at before

Dissolves in thankful ecstasy

To God, for all eternity

Because He so loved you and me

© Janet Martin

For bliss of heartthrob, humbly stirred

By gifts of butterfly-bloom-bird...

For comfort from handwritten art

Notes and verses to cheer the heart

And splash the sunshine of God's smiles

Through people to brighten dark miles 

Just a few of a myriad of 'heart art' 💖🙏

(and to think that not so long ago I thought it was 'just a card'!!)

I'm so sorry for all the 'just a card's I never sent!

Promises (Official Music Video) - Matt Boswell & Matt Papa

Everlasting Thanksgiving Feast

Happy Thanksgiving to  my American Friends 🦃💖🙏

and to everyone because with so much to be thankful for,

every day is a good day for giving thanks

Ps.119:89-91

Your word, O LORD, is everlasting;

it is firmly fixed in the heavens.

Your faithfulness continues through all generations;

You established the earth, and it endures.

Your ordinances stand to this day,

for all things are servants to You.

Jer.31:3

The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: 

“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; 

Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.

Ps.90:2

Before the mountains were brought forth, 

Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, 

Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

Today is like a table lowered, lavished with a feast...

(Some feast-fragments' that helped inspire today's poem/hymn)

For laughter, glorious laughter to counter life’s lack with cheer

For friends, for cups of tea while mirth and miseries are shared...

(the tea was what I have dubbed Garden Tea, Dried mint, lavender, fennel and marigold)

For hues that tell the season without calendars and such...

Like a place to call home-sweet-home,

 ...like love of families

Today is like a table lowered, lavished with a feast

Into the fray of circumstance mercy’s buffet is borne/born

Once more God bares His loving heart, for greatest to the least

Faithful and true, His grace imparts the majesty of morn

For love’s un-stoppered boundlessness, thankfulness overflows

For promises unaltered by the course of centuries

For smorgasbords of blessing to brighten world-full-of- woes

Like a place to call home-sweet-home, like love of families

For seasons not yet cast in Past’s Big Book of Moments Spent

For hope and joy and peace, by God’s eternal Word, secured

For joy still set before us until time’s frail veil is rent

And we behold the everlasting glory of the Lord

For laughter, glorious laughter to counter life’s lack with cheer

For friends, for cups of tea while mirth and miseries are shared

For wonder’s sheer delight that only God can commandeer

For elixir of poetry as ink-inklings are snared

For flowerpots, for curious tots with lots of questions why

For Duty’s common ground crowned by heaven-wide masterpiece

For the rare afternoon that hangs a hammock from the sky

And bids us climb aboard before dusk snuffs its glorious lease

For nature’s tapestries that awe the soul and stun our gaze

For tranquil woodland wander-lands free from wordy demands

For tea kettles that sing as if this is the-good-ole-days

For humble testimonies uttered my work-calloused hands

For kitchens heady with aromas, we will soon destroy

As we smack lips and scrape and lick dinner platters and trays

For Christmas-time-a-coming and glad tidings of great joy

For heads that bow and hearts that still and spill in thankful praise

For hues that tell the season without calendars and such

For dues that mortal reason will never quite apprehend/comprehend

For more than we can name or tame with thought’s deficient touch

We gather into worship hymns we pray will never end

Where today, like a table is lowered from He who fed

Thousands, with five loaves and two fish, yet twelve baskets remained

Lord, remind us that it is You who grants our daily bread

Lest we forget, and live as if the feast was self-attained

Behold, today is like a table, love and kindness-graced 

Behold, goodness and mercy flows, for greatest to the least

A smorgasbord of favors and flavors for us to taste  

Like honored guests at an Everlasting, Thanksgiving Feast 

© Janet Martin

So Much To Be Thankful For...Josh Groban