A Magnolia's Heart Beats

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” ~ Colossians 3:16 (ESV - emphasis Iris')

I have been so blessed through Iris' Thankful Thursday meme. It's a time of the week where I'm reminded to be thankful to God for so many blessings He has given me, and it's a time of reflection on the theme she picks as well.

We are called to thank God many times throughout the Bible. A form of the word thank appears in the NIV version of the Bible 144 times.

In Old Testament times, the Israelites presented Thank Offerings to God.

"'If someone's offering is a fellowship offering, and he offers an animal from the herd, whether male or female, he is to present before the LORD an animal without defect." ~ Leviticus 3:1

I rejoice that we do not have to sacrifice our herds (I don't have a herd!), and that we are free to present our thanks directly to God through prayer and praise, in the name of His Son, Jesus, who is perfect and without defect. Through Him, our praises reach God's ear and I'm so grateful for that!

God has certainly blessed me this week.

I'm thankful for my precious husband. He's a great guy! He loves me and treats me like a princess. (I'm not old enough to be a Queen yet!)

I'm thankful for my uncle's clean test results on his PET and MRI scans, showing no cancer.

I'm thankful that Kristyn's pregnancy is going well and that in less than a month I'll be a grandmother again to baby Liam.

I'm thankful for Nolan, our 13 mo. old grandson, who lights up a room with his smile.

I'm thankful for work. I work outside the home and I'm grateful to be able to earn an income that supports my book-reading habit, my internet connection, and my growing addiction to the Hallmark Channel.

I'm thankful for the health of my earthly father. He had a minor complication from his pacemaker surgery that were found during a check-up, but it should resolve itself on it's own.

I'm thankful for medicine that controls the illnesses of the earthly body I live in.

I'm thankful for all of my Bibles. I love reading the Word of God, and whichever one I am reading from, I feel blessed to have them in my home and to be free to possess one without fear for my life.

I'm thankful for my blogging friends. Ya'll encourage me so much and have spurred me toward a closer walk with God.

I'm thankful for my best friend who let's me whine when my throat is sore without saying, "Put your big girl panties on and deal with it! It's that time of the year, the weather is changing, you know."

Most of all, I'm thankful for God's gift of grace and the hope and assurance of Heaven. As we live our lives in these last days, I'm thankful to be a part of this crazy mixed up world, seeing prophecy come to fulfillment and eagerly await the rapture of His church. (Can you tell I watched Grant Jeffrey tonight, LOL?)

Hop on over to Grace Alone...Iris' place, where you will certainly be blessed by reading her post and the posts of others expressing their hearts full of gratitude to our Savior.