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What does this day mean to us? A time of family gatherings! Turkey! With Stuffing! And, pumpkin pie! Yum!
In many countries of the world a special day is marked as a national holiday set aside for thanksgiving. Those official Thanksgiving days provide us a time to pause and consider all that we enjoy.
Thanksgiving Day is a day we can use to express thanks to those around us. And, it is a day we can use to reflect on the truth that it is Almighty God Who has provided us with our lives and all of our bounty. It is to God that we owe the greatest of thanks. He is the Source.
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
All Peoples of the earth who live in lands God has blessed can affirm a long list: “I am thankful for….”
For life, for health, for friends and family, for a sense of belonging, for gorgeous skies and landscapes, for an abundance of varied kinds of food, for safety, for entertainment, for laughter, for puppies and kittens, sights and sounds, colors and textures, for the kindness and charity of others, including those people we hold in memory who played a part in providing what we enjoy today, whether by simple generosity or great sacrifice, perhaps on a field of battle; for law and order and all the things that make for a secure peace; for the ability to get wealth and enjoy a sense of success, for big things and little ones, for things past, present, and future, and on and on and on….
Rejoice, and make thanksgiving a season of the heart!
Thanksgiving Day is a day to rejoice and savor our blessings with a greater joy than usual. It is a day to anticipate life filled with even more blessings.
And, it is also a good day to prepare our own list of things for which we are thankful – so we can recount them more often. All people can benefit by taking the time to recount every one.
Thanksgiving can become a continual season of our heart as we practice the giving of thanks and add to our lists day by day.
Developing an attitude of gratitude!
We frequently take for granted many circumstances where we can develop an even greater attitude of gratitude.
Some of us do not recognize a blessing until it is gone – disappeared.
Let us shake off any dullness, and warm up any cold spots in our hearts. Let us ask God for the eyes to see and feel and respond in gratitude.
We can improve or expand a true spirit of thanksgiving by simply being alert and seeing life as the great gift from God that it is.
Ponder just how we got our bodies made in God’s own image. Who granted us the opportunity to be born with a “will?” Who gave us our intelligence? Who gives us hope and faith?
Why not give some time and attention to the perfection and the beauty of a newborn baby’s face and the love and loyalty of a faithful mate? And, what about the energy and drive to work hard and feel the pleasure of success and achievement, a job well done?
The ability to enjoy our blessings and be thankful is a gift from God in itself. In the Bible, we read of this gift.
Ecclesiastes 3:12 I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, 13 and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.
For thanksgiving to be real, it needs to be expressed. Give it a voice with a hearty thank you OUT LOUD to those who deserve it!
Another very special way to express thanksgiving is to generously provide blessings to others so they might be thankful also.
You may also want to expand the spirit of thanksgiving by encouraging others to give as well.
On this special day set aside for thanksgiving, let us especially remember the greatest Giver of all. God has out-given us all and always will.
John 3: 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. So, let’s do it, individually, as a family, as a community, as a nation. Let us give thanks! Sing! Rejoice! Celebrate God’s goodness, His love, and His mercy to us all!
A Psalm of Thanksgiving.
Psalm 100: 1 Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! 2 Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. 3 Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 5 For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.
If you would like encouragement and further details on giving God thanks, please contact us.