The theme for today is: Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving weekend! A long weekend built around thankfulness. A time where we can reflect on countless blessings from God and express our gratitude to Him and to each other.
You can read about the origin of Thanksgiving Day in Canada or the United States. Our friend Google shares some interesting history on that. But it wouldn’t be a bad idea to read a better source about thanksgiving. The Bible. Specifically Paul’s letters. He refers to thanksgiving almost 50 times.
Paul, the great thinker, was also a great thanker. He thanked God. He thanked Jesus. He was thankful for people. He was thankful for their faith in Jesus Christ, love for each other, perseverance in trials and persecution, support, spiritual gifts, talents, and prayers. He was thankful in everything and for everything. Paul. The thanksgiving apostle.
We can learn a lot from Paul about Thanksgiving. He loved to recognize God’s grace in his life and others’ lives with constant thanksgiving. For Paul, thanksgiving was a duty and a calling. Thanksgiving was a responsibility and a commitment. His life modelled thanksgiving. Ours should too.
We need to think thanksgiving. We need to speak thanksgiving. We need to do thanksgiving. We get more blessings than we could ever deserve. This should immediately and continually lead us to thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is invigorating! Thanksgiving is refreshing! Thanksgiving is praying. Constantly. That makes every day Thanksgiving Day. It was for Paul. May it be for Zach, for us, and for you.
Today’s Updates:
Zach has been really enjoying his meals and snacks over the past week, especially since he has been cleared to eat chopped food now. Zach consistently eats all or almost all of his meals. Zach is still re-learning how to chew, so it takes him a long time to eat his food, especially as he needs to eat so much! His care team moved around a couple of his therapy sessions to make sure that he still has enough time to eat all his meals.
Zach has been working very hard in physiotherapy, where they have been working especially on core strength. After a lot of work and strengthening, Zach is now able to hold himself up in a sitting position for about 2-3 minutes at a time while actively reaching for something. Balance while sitting up is still a challenge for Zach. Thank God for this progress in Zach’s strength! Pray that he will continue to grow in endurance and independence in his movement.
Zach got to try out the gaming room in Recreation Therapy on Friday, where they set up an adaptive Xbox controller for him. He tried playing some NHL24, and really enjoyed himself, although he’s still learning that he’s controlling the game and how his controller works. The recreation therapy team is hoping that he will be able to spend more time in the gaming room going forward since he enjoyed it so much.
Speech therapy is still a challenge for Zach, especially as they work on establishing a reliable means of communication for him to express whether he is in pain. Please pray for Zach. Pray that he will have the focus and energy he needs in his speech therapy sessions, and pray that he will be able to communicate more effectively. Pray also that God will restore his ability to speak and use his voice again.
Please pray for peace and patience for Zach when he receives nursing care and throughout the rest of his day. Pray that he will not feel agitated or afraid, but that he will rest in God’s care and feel safe in his environment. Pray also that God will heal his brain and continue to grant him all that he needs. Thank you for your prayers and support.
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
“But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
(2 Thessalonians 2:13-14)
“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.”
(Romans 1:8-10)
