Thankful

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.  1 Thessalonians 5:18

Your loving spouse works hard each and every day, either at work or at home or both.  Do you ever remember to say “thank you?”  What about all of the things big and small that other people do for you  on a daily basis?  Do you remember to thank them as well?

Now think about all that God has done for you and how much He helps you in your daily life.  When we pause for a moment and actually think about it, we begin to see that God is continuously blessing us, providing for us, and protecting us, all of the time.

Giving thanks is away to celebrate both the giver and the gift.  Remember to give thanks today to God for everything!!

Trouble Me

And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose… Romans 8:28

I read something that struck a chord with me just the other day in the excellent book, Jesus Calling by Sarah Young.  Friday’s devotional was about being thankful and praising God even we are facing difficulties.

When we face turmoil, we begin to realize just how much we need God in our lives.  I firmly believe that God allows difficult circumstances to make us realize our dependence on Him.  You see, when things are going  well, we grow idle in our faith and falsely begin to believe that we are self-sufficient in our own minds. Our Father allows these times to shake our foundations so that we are humbled and reach out to Him in need and in love.

We must turn every aspect of our lives over to God-our marriages, our children, our relationships, our jobs, finances, health; anything that we try to manage without dependence on Him is prideful and will not stand the test of time.

Even if it feels strange and foreign to you, praise God even when you are experiencing trouble…it just may all be part of His perfect plan to bring you into a closer relationship with Him!

Gratitude

Bless affectionately, gratefully praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not one of all His benefits.  Psalm 10:3:2

I stopped by a large retailer the first week in November (only days after Halloween) and to my surprise, the Christmas music was already playing in regular rotation over the loudspeakers.  The past few weeks, my inbox has been bombed with various Black Friday sales specials and some of my neighbors already have all of their Christmas decorations out.  Don't get me wrong as  certainly I enjoy Christmas and celebrating the birth of my Savior, but what about Thanksgiving?  It seems to be the forgotten holiday. 

As a child, it was easy to discount Thanksgiving as a day to eat turkey and think about the pilgrims who bravely sailed across the globe to America, but as an adult, Thanksgiving has taken a whole new meaning.

In addition to eating a wonderful spread and of course, the Iron Bowl, Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate and give thanks to God for all of His many blessings.  I have been reflecting on this for several days now and when I begin to think about all that God has blessed me with, it’s hard to keep track of it all.  

It’s easy to get swept up into all of the traditions on Thanksgiving Day, but we cannot allow the activities crowd out the real purpose of the day.  Make a list of all that you are thankful for and express your special thanks to God for all He has blessed you with!