Be Thankful

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, His love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods, His love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of Lords, His love endures forever. -Psalm 136:1-3

"The trumpeters and singers joined in unison,
and with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets,
cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang: 'He is good; His love endures forever.' Then the temple of theLORD was filled with a cloud." -2 Chronicles 5:13

"I will give thanks to the LORD because of His
righteousness and will sing praise to the
name of the LORD Most High." -Psalm 7:17

"The LORD is my strength and my shield;

my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped.

My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song."

-Psalm 28:7

"I will give You thanks in the great assembly;
among throngs of people I will praise you." Psalm 35:18

"I will praise God's name in song and glorify
Him with thanksgiving." -Psalm 69:30

"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving
and His courts with praise; give thanks to
Him and praise His name." -Psalm 100:4

"Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name;
make known among the nations what He has done.
Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts.
Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek
the LORD rejoice. Look to the LORD and His strength;
seek His face always. Remember the wonders He has done,
His miracles, and the judgments He pronounced."

-Psalm 105:1-5

"Let them give thanks to the LORD for His unfailing
love and His wonderful deeds for men." -Psalm 107:8

"I will give You thanks, for You answered me;
You have become my salvation." -Psalm 118:21

"You are my God, and I will give you thanks;
You are my God, and I will exalt You." -Psalm 118:28

"At midnight I rise to give You thanks
for Your righteous laws." -Psalm 119:62

"From them will come songs of thanksgiving
and the sound of rejoicing. I will add to their
numbers, and they will not be decreased;
I will bring them honor, and
they will not be disdained." -Jeremiah 30:19

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed,
do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving
thanks to God the Father through Him."
-Colossians 3:17

"And the twenty-four elders, who were seated
on their thrones before God, fell on their faces
and worshipped God, saying: We give thanks to You,
Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was,
because You have taken Your great power
and have begun to reign." -Revelation 11:16-17

*This is taken from our Church Newsletter but I wanted to share it with you because these are such great scriptures to reflect on this week

Painting Lesson

Thursday I was able to have my first painting lesson with Jim Richards. Boy do I feel blessed to have such an opportunity. Blessed that Jim is willing to teach and that my husband Darin was so willing to pay for the lessons for my Christmas present. I have SO much to learn but it is so fun to have the opportunity to learn from someone who God has gifted. Now my Christmas wish list is growing because I want paints so that I can practice over and over what I am being taught. God's creation is so beautiful to me. I laid outside for a long while yesterday just staring at the sky, trees and all the nature around our yard, looking for the things I was taught.

Did you know that shadows are usually cool colors, while the objects that are lit by the sun are usually warm colors? I painted a beach scene in my lesson, and there is a light pattern on the sand, while the rest of the sand was in shadow. In the photograph, the light was a peach color, while the shadow was a blue. But at first I only saw whites and grays. I really had to stare and stare and squint my eyes before I started seeing the truth that the colors were indeed blue and peach. My mind kept telling me that sand isn't peach or blue, but white so it tried to influence what my eyes were seeing.

I think I get like that with spiritual things. In stead of simply trusting God and listening to what He says, I "see" things my own way and refuse to allow God to show me what is real. Boy if I could only start seeing things through God's eyes I would learn so much and be so much freer.
There is a song by Amy Grant that voices my lifelong prayer. I hope, at the end of my life, that I will have learned to have eyes like our Father.