Heavenly Father, this time of year we set time away to say how thankful we are. In Your word that should be a year-round thing. I am thankful and grateful for Your mercy, grace, and love You have shown me and others. I thank You that I have salvation because of Your Son and that I have the means to enter Your court through the Holy Spirit.
I first come before You asking for forgiveness. I have sinned often and I still continue to seek You. I am the poorest example of a father and husband. I have often stumbled and complained and been selfish. I do love my wife and children within my understanding of love which is so small compared to You. I can only thank You that I even have a wife and children and grandchildren. As this Thanksgiving comes again, I will get to once again get to enjoy all of them for a dinner, and time. I will greatly miss Philip who is home with You. I will greatly miss having Thanksgiving with my Uncle Rob and many of the family. Still, I am thankful I have a family to share Thanksgiving with.
“Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this [the resurrection from the dead v.11], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers [and sisters], I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” In all things, I give praise to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen. [Philippians 2:14&15; Philippians 3:10&11; Philippians 3:12,13&14; Philippians 4:4-7]