Today: Thanksgiving Day
Last night I made a change that shifted my entire morning routine today. I rose slow, prayed, stepped outside in bare feet on the mostly dead grass, then came inside reset the kitchen slowly, making coffee, listening to a book – catching moments that perked my ears and interest.

Then I sat down to write my notes from Jeremiah yesterday and read through todays chapter 14. The people had become so wicked, refusing to listen, following the stubbornness of their own hearts it said in chapter 13. Now, there is wailing, crying, and no water. Dismay and despair cover the people.

Even the doe in the field
    deserts her newborn fawn
    because there is no grass.

Jeremain 14:5

No grass… are we any different – have we stopped up our ears and followed our own way? How long will we walk like this, deserting the things God wants to birth in us? This is much like living life distracted and somewhat like zombies in a barren land. There is no grass there. No sustenance for us.

Have you cried out to God yet like the people in Jeremiah’s day? or are you just waiting for some change to come sweep you into a different place? They called and this is what the Lord had to say:

You are among us, Lord,
    and we bear your name;
    do not forsake us!

This is what the Lord says about this people:
“They greatly love to wander;
    they do not restrain their feet.

Jeremiah 14:9b-10a

These words hit me. I realize how blessed we are to be on this side of the cross. I throw myself on my Bible. Calling out to God. Crying out for help. I land on these simple words of prayer:

Give me this day my daily bread…

No grass…. barren land…

We are starved without Him.

Each year this time of year comes, and the world runs faster and faster. Get the turkey, set up the tree, gather the gifts, parties, go, go, go. There is a “you aren’t doing enough” ring in the air. Somewhere around 2015 I began to reject this running process. Instead, I found a slower pace, a quieter way. Doing only what is necessary. This slower pace pulled me into the quiet in a way that was unsettling and yet needed. All the earth begins to still as the seasons change. The trees let go their leaves and the animals fly away or hibernate. This place with less grass and barren place – reveals the hunger we have. It exposes our deeper places and spaces. I didn’t have a word for it until just a few years ago. It is called wintering. There is less light in winter. Darkness seems to cover everything. It is hard to see… and what we do see with dim lit eyes – doesn’t satisfy.

…. how we just wish we could run like in spring all the time… but God gave seasons.

From my spirit, body hovering over the Word, up comes a quiet whisper:

From this day

a shift forward

find your sustenance in ME.

I am your daily bread

These words like manna to my soul. I’ve been waiting, asking, flailing, needing a touch, a word, a moment with the Lord. And He’s been quiet. I pray for more than morsels or scraps from His table. I beg for sustenance, for a drink of water. In my mind, I see a great table set, a grand feast, and all of us, who are the Kings children, sitting there. I think to myself, “Come to the table and feast on His Goodness.” I sit there for a few moments.

As I begin to move forward with my day. I go to post my Substack, Give Thanks. I had written this yesterday, seemingly in a stupor. I didn’t even remember the topic of the day until I saw it. I burst into tears and praise. I don’t know how the Lord does it, but He connects every dot perfectly without my knowing it and then shows it to me in glorious display.

Today’s 3 things – topic – OF HIS GOODNESS:

1. I am thankful for of His goodness – HOPE – Psalm 31:24 Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord. This life is not for the faint of heart. It bombards us from on all sides. I honestly don’t know how people get through without the Lord Jesus Christ navigating and strengthening us by His Spirit. We are not alone, desolate and without hope. Chin up and watch Him bring you through! Put your hope in God.
2. I am thankful for of His goodness – PEACE – Psalm 34:14 Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. Everyone seems to be looking for that elusive peace but from what I can tell, the way to get it is to depart from evil. Let go of all that is unhealthy and brings harrowing consequence. Do good! This is how you seek peace – we pursue it and find it, bringing it with us.
3. I am thankful for of His goodness – GRACE – Psalm 84:11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. May we turn and turn until we come round right. His grace and glory are for us. It’s for us. Turn to Him.

It’s everything I’ve needed. Today I walk with greater hope, I let go of what was and shift forward to what will now be, bringing me a peace that has been elusive. And grace…

It is His grace that turns us…When God comes blasting through the dark!

IT IS FINISHED!

Thanks for listening,

Starla

Ps: Pray for us. This time last year was the last time that we were all together before my Husbands mothers died. It’s a bittersweet day.