Giving Thanks in November/Dictionary Word of the Day

exegesis
\ek-suh-JEE-sis\ , noun;

1.Exposition; explanation; especially, a critical explanation of a text.

I need only read my daily Dictionary Word of the Day to find something for which to be thankful this morning.

As many of you know, I am in the third year of leading a Bible Study in the book of Hebrews.  Three years and still not finished?? you may be thinking.  Yes, that's a long time but it's a complex book and its subject matter illumines both the Old and the New Testaments and develops a detailed picture of the Person and the Work of Christ--in other words, there's a lot there!!

This is not the first time I've studied Hebrews by any means.  I had a very good working understanding of the content and the author's purpose before we began this study, but the difference this time is the addition of the use of commentaries and the benefit we have all gained by the exegetical skills of some remarkable men of God.

Each week, I begin my preparation with my own inductive study of the text, using a Bible study method that I've cobbled together from many different sources and techniques over the years.  (Someday I'll sit down and write a post about how I go about it.)  Then I go to the commentaries--Calvin, Aquinas, Owen, Richard Phillips, Matthew Henry and sometimes Gill, and Stedman.  THAT's where the 'real' exegesis comes in!  No matter how carefully and diligently I have done my own study, I am always amazed at how much more there is to learn from the text!  Each one of those men bring their God-given gifts and their education and knowledge to their work and I, a middle aged woman in Chicagoland living today in America, receive the benefit of all that!

When my friends Carol and Dorothy and I get together to discuss what we've learned in our week's study, we all benefit from each other's preparation.  Dorothy reads John Brown and Carol reads Matthew Poole and another 'dead theologian' whose name I can never remember (Geoffrey Something. . .)

Pooling it all together makes for a lively discussion.  Our commentators don't always agree, so that makes it interesting and even when they do, they often come to the same conclusion through different means.

Exegesis.  It's a good thing.

Pop on over to Rebecca Writes and see what other bloggers are thankful for!

Pop over to Rebecca Writes and see what other bloggers are thankful for

Giving Thanks in November

Today is an Elliott day.  His babysitter's son is sick so he's staying with Grandma all day!  We're having a great time together--we've been chasing around the dining room table.  Elliott never tires of the chase.  Grandma, however, DOES get tired of the chase so every once in a while we stop and read books and look at (and name!) all the pictures on the shelves and all the magnets on the refrigerator.  We find all the bunnies in Grandma's house (he knows where they all are!).  And before you know it, there he is again, running around the dining room table, laughing and squealing and inviting me to the chase!

This morning, he added a new part to the chase; he has to say hi to a picture that was taken of me when I was around four years old.  He is quite attached to that picture today.  He points and smiles and flirts with it.

I'm so thankful for the opportunity to spend some time with my grandson today.  I had some other things planned but I'm not worried; it'll all get done.  For now I'm playing with Elliott. . .

Update on Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 11:46AM by Kim from Hiraeth

Here's another new fascination for Elliott today.  He discovered his reflection in a teapot and he's been walking toward it, then walking backwards away from it watching his reflection get bigger and bigger and then smaller and smaller.  He keeps walking away then going back again as if to see if the teapot will still perform its magic!

Giving Thanks in November

I have 4 loaves of Italian bread cooling on the kitchen counter.  It's been a while since I've baked bread, but the weather is cool now, the house is buttoned up for winter and it seemed like the right time to start baking bread again.

I'm thankful that my new sourdough starter is working and that I had JUST enough flour to get the loaves kneaded and shaped.

Most of all, I'm thankful for my friend, Heidi, who coached me along last year when I first started playing around with sourdough after many sourdough-less years.  Take a look at the beautiful loaves she makes!  She's a true bread baking pro!

Want to see what others are thankful for?  Rebecca is collecting all our thankful posts in one place.  If you're writing thankful posts, be sure to let Rebecca know!

Giving Thanks in November

I didn't sleep well last night so I'm really looking forward to my Sunday afternoon nap this week!  I'm thankful that God, in His wisdom, had given us a day of worship and a day of rest.

Hebrews 4:9  So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

Sunday Hymn:

CHRIST FOR THE WORLD WE SING

Christ for the world we sing;
The world to Christ we bring
With loving zeal;
The poor and them that mourn,
The faint and overborne,
Sin-sick and sorrow-worn,
Whom Christ doth heal.

Christ for the world we sing;
The world to Christ we bring
With fervent pray'r;
The wayward and the lost,
By restless passions tossed,
Redeemed at countless cost
From dark despair.

Christ for the world we sing;
The world to Christ we bring
With one accord;
With us the work to share,
With us reproach to dare,
With us the cross to bear,
For Christ our Lord.

Christ for the world we sing;
The world to Christ we bring
With joyful song;
The newborn souls whose days,
Reclaimed from error's ways,
Inspired with hope and praise
To Christ belong.

Trinity Hymnal #371

Quote of the Week: Henry

It is a blessed thing to study the Scriptures.  It is a privilege not only to read the Scriptures for ourselves, but to hear them read by others.  It is not sufficient for our blessedness that we read and hear the Scriptures, but we must obey the things that are written.

Matthew Henry

Giving Thanks in November

I'm SO thankful that my husband's tumble off the ladder yesterday only resulted in a broken, shattered storm window and NOT a broken, shattered husband!  Splittered wood and glass shards flew in all directions but he didn't get a single cut or splinter!

I thought he might be stiff and sore this morning but he's feeling fine!  Praise God!

There's something to be thankful for at all times!  What are you thankful for today?  See what others are thankful for at Rebecca Writes.

Giving Thanks in November

I'm so thankful for my home--our little 'Hobbit hole.'  We've lived in bigger, 'better', newer, fancier homes but there is just something special about this house.  It's full of light on sunny days, it's comfortable and cozy, small enough to clean from floor to ceiling in a day, but large enough to host dinner parties for family and friends.  It retains the charm of all of it's nearly 85 years, but has enough modern conveniences to be comfortable.  We're just a few blocks from downtown and within walking distance of the Metra.

Is this beginning to sound like a description from a  multi-listing?  Maybe, but it's not going up for sale, even though we have been approached several times from strangers who have been interested in buying it!

As much as I love this house, I can honestly say I have loved every house we've ever lived in because it is our HOME.

Check out the rest of the thankful posts that Rebecca is gathering for us!

Giving Thanks in November

The sun is streaming through the windows in my studio.  The pens and brushes are standing at attention in their jars, and the light is glinting off them merrily--a visual invitation to come, sit down and play.

The bed is not made, I haven't had breakfast, I need to sort laundry; so many morning tasks remain.

I think I'll get off the computer and get busy.  The sunshine will have moved on, but it's bright, inviting image will remain, calling me to 'come and play.'

I'm thankful that my work feels like play.

What are you thankful for?  Be sure to stop by Rebecca Writes and see what others are thankful for!

Cross posted at Scriptorium

Harmony

Do you like sacred music? Have I got an album for you! On November 23rd, The Priests will release their second album, Harmony.

‘Harmony’ will include such tracks as the The Lord's Prayer and Amazing Grace and is sure to follow in the footsteps of their successful debut that received a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the ‘Fastest-selling UK debut for a classical act’.

Anyone who loves hymns and sacred music will enjoy this new album. I invite you give it a listen. It's available at Amazon on Nov. 23rd.

Giving Thanks in November

Today is Veterans Day in America. A day to remember the service and the sacrifice of all those men and women who have served our nation in the Armed Forces. Their contribution to this nation cannot be over emphasized; it is through them that we are free and people across the world have been made free.

I'm thankful for the brave and committed Americans from the Revolutionary War to those serving today. I'm thankful to God for them and I am thankful to them.

This is my nephew, Tim, who serves with the Marines today. He is the face of the Armed Forces to me because he is my nephew and I love him, but more than that, he represents for me veterans and those serving now to protect our freedom. Thank you, Tim. Thank your buddies for me.

Have you ever wanted to thank a soldier but weren't sure how to go about it? There's an easy way:

When you see a soldier, you are seeing someone's son, someone's daughter, someone's mother or father, brother or sister or nephew.

Thank a soldier today and pray for them, too!

What are you thankful for today? Check out the rest of the thankful posts at Rebecca Writes.

Giving Thanks in November

I am so thankful for my husband, Tom.  I don't share much about him on my blog in order to preserve his privacy, but it would be unthinkable not to set privacy aside and give thanks to God for my wonderful husband.  He's not perfect and neither am I; but somehow, two imperfect, sinful people can come together and make a nearly perfect marriage!  Only God can bring two sinners together in a way that both are made better because of the other.

Giving Thanks in November

Yesterday got away from me.  I meant to write up a thankful post, but I never did get around to it.

I'm thankful that writing a blog post or not is not an indicator of my thankfulness!

A few of the things I was thankful for yesterday:

The Blue Trinity Hymnal

Boldness to speak up

Forgiveness

The Book of Hebrews

My church family

My kind and thoughtful husband

Cell phone cameras (was sent a snap of Elliott's first sit-in-the-barber's-chair haircut)

Warm weather in November and another beautiful day

My close knit family

Today will be a busy day, so I'll post preemptively--I'm thankful for my carpet cleaner.  I'm not looking forward to dragging it out and moving furniture, but I WILL be glad when my carpets are clean and fresh.

Have you been reading the Thankful Posts that Rebecca is rounding up at Rebecca Writes?  As I read other' thankful posts, it seems I can always find something more to be thankful for myself.

In light of. . .

. . .the passage of the House version of Health Care Reform, yes, another quote from me this morning:

All human situations have their inconveniences. We feel those of the present but neither see nor feel those of the future; and hence we often make troublesome changes without amendment, and frequently for the worse.
  - Benjamin Franklin

Quote of the Week 2: Calvin

This is what we should say: ‘Lord, I am a poor, wretched creature, and am unworthy to look up and to seek anything from you. Nevertheless you continually take me by the hand. Your reach is wide. Although I am far from you, do not withhold your grace from me. Despite all I have done, extend your boundless power even to me, and hear my request.’

John Calvin

Quote of the Week: von Bismark

When a man says he approves of something in principle, it means he hasn't the slightest intention of putting it into practice.

Otto von Bismarck

Sunday Hymn: Hail to the Lord's Annointed

HAIL TO THE LORD'S ANNOINTED

Hail to the Lord's Anointed,
Great David's greater Son!
Hail, in the time appointed,
His reign on earth begun!
He comes to break oppression,
To set the captive free,
To take away transgression,
And rule in equity.

He comes with succor speedy
To those who suffer wrong;
To help the poor and needy,
And bid the weak be strong;
To give them songs for sighing,
Their darkness turn to light,
Whose souls, condemned and dying,
Were precious in his sight,

He shall come down like showers
Upon the fruitful earth;
And love, joy, hope, like flowers,
Spring in his path to birth;
Before him on the mountains
Shall peace, the herald, go;
And righteousness, in fountains,
From hill to valley flow.

O'er ev'ry foe victorious,
He on his throne shall rest,
From age to age more glorious,
All-blessing and all-blessed;
The tide of time shall never
His covenant remove;
His Name shall stand for ever—
That Name to us is Love.

Trinity Hymnal #224

It's a Dog's Life

Elliott

Have I told you lately how adorable my grandson is? 

After dinner tonight, he wanted 'Ga' to chase him around the dining room table and, of course, I did!  I wore out MUCH faster than he did, but I kept going because he was laughing and squealing as only a toddler can!  He joined me in the kitchen while I was cleaning up from dinner and very methodically and systematically handed me, one by one, all the storage containers in the cupboard--and there are a LOT!  I pretended as though I didn't know he wanted to give me one and he'd call out, "Ga!"with every tupperware lid.

He likes Tom to get down on the floor with him so he can climb up in his lap and 'knock him down.'  He must've knocked him down a hundred times! He's at that perfect age to delightedly play the same thing over and over again.  He never tires of the game (whatever it happens to be!) and I never tire of seeing him play.

When it was time to go, he reached out for each one of us in turn and gave us big hugs.  Sigh. . .I love that little boy!!

What a blessing it is to be a Grandma!  And won't it be fun to have TWO to chase before we know it!?

Giving Thanks in November

It's a glorious sunshine-y day and even though the shafts of sunshine streaming into the house are illuminating dusty floors and tabletops, I'm thankful for the bright, joyful feeling sunshine always brings!

We're having a family dinner tonight to celebrate Jake's 25th birthday, so we'll all be gathered around the dining room table--Tom and me, John, Beth, and Elliott, Jake and Sam.  Chicken and Steak Fajitas are on the menu, along with birthday cake, conversation, and Elliott's adorable antics.  Can't wait!

We are truly blessed as a family!