The day in between

Yesterday was a typical day in Vienna. No turkey or stuffing -- at least not for me. But all of that is coming tomorrow when we'll join with friends from Vienna; Dresden, Germany; and the U.S. to celebrate the things for which we're thankful and to feast on the traditional fare.

Today, on the day between when those in the U.S. celebrated Thanksgiving and the day I will celebrate here with my co-workers and friends, I wanted to share a prayer of thanks. When our team meets together on Sunday to worship in the German language, we spend a lot of time reading the Scriptures as it's easier to read and understand German than it is to form sentences and express thoughts. We often have a responsive reading of Psalm 136, where we take turns reading the verses and everyone says in unison, "Denn seine Gnade bleibt ewig bestehen" -- or, in the NIV translation, "His love endures forever." I've included a section of this psalm below. I can't think of a better reason to give thanks.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.

to him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.

who by his understanding made the heavens,
His love endures forever.

who spread out the earth upon the waters,
His love endures forever.

who made the great lights—
His love endures forever.

the sun to govern the day,
His love endures forever.

the moon and stars to govern the night;
His love endures forever.

To the One who remembered us in our low estate
His love endures forever.

and freed us from our enemies,
His love endures forever.

and who gives food to every creature.
His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever.

Psalm 136:1-9, 23-26