It is Good and so is He

Today is Thanksgiving, a day to be grateful, to be thankful for our blessings. My blessings are myriad. They include my wonderful husband, my sharp-witted, kind sons, and my lovely, safe, warm home. I sit here, surrounded by blessings. My bathrobe, nightgown, and slippers are all specific choices of items I acquired because they please me. Actually, the bathrobe was a gift from John, who knows my fondness for a specific type of robe. I'm rocking in a rocker with love. Looking around the room, there is little older than fifteen years. The wicker basket the cat's sleep in is older, as are the afghans from John's grandmother. Everything else is newer: the furniture, the Galileo thermometer, the Thomas Kincaid print, the floor lamp, and , of course, my journals.

I, too, am new. I am a new creation and I am constantly being renewed by my faith in Jesus. My mind, my heart, my spirit, are continuously rejuvenated by Jesus.

These physical objects in my life---such as the Kincaid---bring me pleasure. But they are also expressions of me, what I am, what I think or breathe or eat, or even who I want to be. The walls of this room are composed of windows to let in light. I sit here writing of the Light of the World, Jesus. I rock the n my chair, a motion I am capable of because of how God designed my body to work. It also explains my ability to hold this book and write in it. I am surrounded by blessing upon blessing: the luster of the wood, the softness of the cushions, the warm weight of a lonely gray cat.

This is my favorite room, a room that will never contain a computer of television. It is a room of peace, of beauty, of things satisfying to my spirit. I sit here and I sigh in contentment. All these things around me are good.

I know they are the results of the gifts given by the giverof every good gift. My rocking chair is wooden. Without the earth to grow trees in, combined with the rain and sun, this chair could not exist. The cushions, stitched by the design of humans, who are given the gifts of thought and creativity, would not exist without Him who made us how we are. Every item, every skill, every feeling, and every moment are infused with His love for me in letting me be called His child. Called by His holy name I am more than a conqueror, but can do all things through His strength. He is with me always, and I know who He is, at least in part. He is the one who conquered sin and vanquished death. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He is the Son of God, the Son of Man, and He is Emmanuel, which means "God with us." I know that He, my redeemer, lives. He lives deep inside me and He is faithful and true.

He will never leave nor forsake me. He has brought me to His banquet hall and His banner over me is love. He is the Good Shepherd, the Lamb of God, and the Lion of Judah.

Isaiah writes of a day when the lion will lie down with the lamb(note: the verse actually states that the wolf will lie down with the lamb). While that day has not arrived, we can see it already in Jesus. He is both the Lamb of God and the Liion of Judah. In Him are met gentleness and strength. He is the ruler over the nations and the humble servant. In Him is authority and humility. He is all these things and more. He is my Lord and my God and I love Him. But only because He loved me first.