Day by day with God, September-December 2012 - Catherine Butcher

Day by Day with God are Bible reading notes specifically written for women. All the contributors are women and write from a woman's perspective. The entries for each day contain a suggested Bible reading, with the key verse written out in full, a helpful comment that engages heart and mind and a short reflection or prayer.The regular team of contributors are all excellent writers. Whatever your current situation in life, you will be inspired and encouraged by these notes.Published every four months (in January, May and September) and edited by Catherine Butcher.The Editor writes:What a year! 2012 sees us celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics - with the Paralympics still underway until 9 September. And now, with autumn on the way, we are celebrating a much older festival.Harvests have been feted for thousands of years. They are one of the markers in God's calendar: God promises, 'As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease' (Genesis 8:22). God set harvest as a time for two of the three annual festivals that his people were to celebrate: 'the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field' and 'the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field' (Exodus 23:16).Feasting and celebrations marked the beginning and end of harvest. For townies, who have lost touch with the agricultural origins of our food, what's the equivalent? Some churches have a special focus on thanksgiving or an annual Gift Day: for those who are paid a monthly salary, this could be seen as an equivalent to the agricultural harvest thanksgiving. In an era when many of us have felt the impact of redundancies, squeezed pensions and price increases, giving thanks to God for all he provides takes on new significance.When the public mood is marked by grumbling and gloom, gratitude marks Christians out - or should do! And when Christmas comes, with the excessive consumption that seems to mark the season, again Christians can be marked by a different set of values and a spirit of generosity. Take time out during this season to take stock of all that God provides for you, and give thanks to him for his persistent goodness.