thank you notes

our thanksgiving guests win the
‘most gracious’ award, hands down.
an apartment full of cheerful friends,
laughing, story-telling and enjoying the holiday
together was a lovely way to spend the day.
it was icing on the cake when four thank you notes
arrived within mere days of the event and
more came as the week progressed.
it was encouraging to hear their take on the day we
enjoyed together. thank you, friends.

prompt, handwritten and simple,
a thank you note can go a long way (this is not
rocket science):

dear ted and diane,
thank you for the delicious scones you
treated us with on saturday morning. we
enjoyed our time with your family and always
appreciate your warm hospitality.
with our love,
cory and kari jo

and from the papyrus website:
“A thank you note or letter should be handwritten
and express gratitude for a gift or favor.
Thank you notes should be sent in a timely manner,
generally a few days after receiving the gift or service.

• Mention the gift or favor.
• Note the intended use or special quality of the item.
• Use a cheerful and upbeat tone.”

prompt mailing:
usps will send the stamps of your
choice directly to your mailbox, thus alleviating the
postal store line. (but 2 times recently i ran into friends
waiting in the same line and it was a sweet way to grab
10 minutes of catch up conversation) usps.com

dashing man

cory, my mcdreamy, looks so handsome in that
charcoal cashmere sweater sitting there reading
his atlantic monthly…
we went to back-to-back movies last night,
‘dreamgirls’ & ‘blood diamond’ and
spent the night in a hotel in midtown;
a sweet christmas gift from mom & dad cates.

an invigorating walk home from the hotel this morning,
crisp and clear, a thousand (more?) tourists
along our route…

“God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.”
-wm. cowper, 1774

john newton, ‘the utterance of the heart’

…we begin at length to learn
that we are nothing,
have nothing,
can do nothing but sin.

And thus we are gradually prepared
to live more out of ourselves,
and to derive all our sufficiency of
every kind from Jesus,
the fountain of grace.

alien righteousness

our righteousness is an ‘alien righteousness,’
a righteousness that comes from outside of us (extra nos).

d. bonhoeffer, life together

whew.
whew!

s. hunt, ‘heirs of the covenant’

“Here is the essence of the covenant of grace–
God came,
He called,
He clothed.

God comes to us while we are dead in our trespasses
and sins (eph 2:1-9).

He calls us into a relationship with Himself (acts 2:8-9).

And He covers our guilt with the perfect righteousness of
Christ so that we can once again live in His presence (isaiah 61:10)–
glorious, sovereign grace from beginning to end.”

susan hunt, heirs of the covenant 

these words are our life.