Prayerful Praise

I hope you have been enjoying the blessings of this beautiful fall weather! As I mentioned in my October blog, it’s my favorite season!

Some friends of mine recently returned home to Tennessee from a trip to New Zealand. There they enjoyed a glorious spring! Their pictures showed an earth lush with greenery.

Regardless of what season we are in, the month of November reminds us to give thanks and praise to God for all our blessings, even the unexpected ones!

In Glenys Nellist’s new book Little Mole Gives Thanks, the main character prepares a “fancy forest feast” and invites some very important guests: the local principal, the fire chief, and the mayor. Little Mole puts great effort into preparing delicious dishes and making special seat signs to adorn his festive table. However, as dinner time approaches, Little Mole learns that his important guests can’t make it to his important feast.

While Little Mole is initially disappointed, he soon realizes his family and friends are his most important guests.

In the end Little Mole, his mama, Little Lark, Little Squirrel, and Little Mouse raise their glasses of blackberry juice as they toast the importance of friends and family. They remember to give thanks for each other as “they are the most important” guests.

Laura Sassi’s My Tender Heart Prayer Book (©2023 by Paraclete Press and illustrated by Sandra Eide) reminds us to be thankful as well.  “Thank You for Family” is based on Psalm 133:1:

We talk and listen, laugh and cry.
We love “Hello” and hate “Good-bye.”
The love we share is strong as glue
Just like the love poured down by You!

Sassi’s “Thank You for the Bible Prayer” is based on 2 Timothy 3:16:

Every word is good and true
And meant to grow my heart,
Reminding me that You, dear Lord,
Have loved me from the start.     

Yes! God has poured down his love to us in so many ways! We should rely on the truth of His Word, and like Little Mole, we should be grateful for our unexpected blessings and for those blessings that surround us every day—those blessings we often take for granted.

Little Mole’s story also reminds me of the parable of the wedding banquet in Matthew 22.

In this parable Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a king who prepares a feast to celebrate his son’s wedding. He makes great effort, butchers the fattened cattle, and sends out invitations. However, those who were invited ignore the opportunity and go about their own personal business.

I taught the children’s song “The Wedding Banquet” in Bible school several years ago. The kids had fun changing up the words and being silly with it, but they learned the meaning of the story.

“I cannot come. I cannot come to the banquet. Don’t bother me now. I have married a wife. I have bought me a cow. I have fields and commitments that cost a pretty sum. Don’t trouble me now. I cannot come.”

Christ welcomes us all to His table. Let’s not give Him excuses. Let’s accept His invitation before it’s too late. Let’s give Him thanks!

“When you take all that joy and spread it around, you make this world better! You make it go ‘round!”—from Amy Parker’s This Is the Day

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”—Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Then, heaven, set ope thy everlasting gates, to entertain my vows of thanks and praise!”—William Shakespeare

Psalm 100; Colossians 4:2; 2 Corinthians 9:11; Psalm 106:1; Psalm 69:30