As Karen's Korner readers know, I have (as many of you do) a perpetual flip calendar by Sarah Young titled "Jesus Calling:  Enjoying Peace in His Presence", written as if Jesus is talking directly to us and taken from various Bible verses.

I'd like to impress you that I always read it every day; not so. Sometimes I get 'backed up' on what I have read. And sometimes I skip a few days readings to 'catch up' to the right date.

A number of her writings at the end of November are about 'being thankful', as she has no idea where Thanksgiving might land on any given year.

Today's 'korner' is for November 24. As someone who has a number of 'adversities' in my life, I know from experience that what she has written is true:

"Thankfulness takes the sting out of adversity. That is why I have instructed you to 'give thanks for everything'. There is an element of mystery in this transaction. You give Me thanks (regardless of your feelings) and I give you Joy (regardless of your circumstances). This is a spiritual act of obedience--at times, blind obedience. To people who don't know Me intimately, it can seem irrational and even impossible to thank Me for heartrending hardships. Nonetheless, those who obey Me in this way are invariably blessed, even though difficulties may remain.

"Thankfulness opens your heart to My Presence and your mind to My thoughts. You may still be in the same place, with the same set of circumstances, but it is as if a light has been switched on, enabling you to see from My perspective. It is this 'Light of My Presence' that removes the sting from adversity."

~ Taken from Ephesians 5:20; Psalm 118:1; Psalm 89:15

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