Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
For the LORD, He is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.
Psalm 100, NKJV
So, I cooked a turkey this week. I know it's August, the middle of summer, but I've had this turkey in my freezer and on my mind for a while and I decided this week was the week to fix it. It was purely coincidence that I chose to cook my turkey the same week I started blogging through 100 days of thanks again. I had the whole meal planned, complete with cornbread dressing and sweet potato casserole. The only thing lacking would have been pie. I've been so hungry for turkey, possibly because I missed out on the typical indulgence of holiday bird last year.
Every time I opened the door and saw that frozen fowl on the shelf, I was reminded of Thanksgiving, and of giving thanks. There's been hardly a day that went by these last five months that I haven't thought about the 100th Psalm and my first 100 days of thanks. I once mused that perhaps I would just go on blogging my thanks, but alas, I did not. And now I'm starting the exercise again. But something I have discovered. That great hymn of thanksgiving really got down in my heart. I'm still so very thankful for all that God is, all that He has done, and all that He is going to do.
By the way, I said I cooked that turkey this week. What I didn't get to do was eat it. I cooked it one evening, then wrapped it in foil and set it in the refrigerator. One night, I robbed it of its oysters (those tender medallions of juicy dark meat in the middle of the back). Tonight, I wanted some of my special turkey salad (with chopped meat, both white and dark, celery, onion, pecans, miracle whip, salt & pepper), so I carved that turkey up. I'm saving the breasts and legs for Sunday Dinner after church with friends, I've got plenty more white meat for the Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas I'm planning, and I'm boiling the carcass and meaty wings as I type. I'm going to get lots of different meals out of that turkey.
Having that turkey reminds me so much of my many reasons to give thanks. I'm so excited about the turkey, just as we should be excited about the Lord. He gives us so much of Himself and His many wonderful blessings, and it's not all the same stuff over and over and over again. He gives us good stuff, new stuff, fresh stuff. When I'm in need, He reaches into His storehouse of endless supply and provides whatever I need whenever I need it. He is good all the time, and His mercy is forever and ever!
Today, I'm thankful for food in my refrigerator, my pantry, and now in my stomach. Even in hard times, God has never let me be hungry or without.
I'm thankful for my beautiful home that God has allowed me to live in these past five years; I'm thankful for the sale of that same house, and for the neat little apartment I found very close to my church. God has never seen me homeless.
And I'm thankful for all the people who have shared my life, my food, and my home, my friends who have become family. God has never left me alone.
What are you thankful for today?
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