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;
Give thanks in every circumstance,
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
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...
