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Posts Tagged ‘giving thanks to god’

Thanksgiving…All the Time!

Posted in God, Prayer, Priorities, tagged , , , , , on November 23, 2023| Leave a Comment »

It started in the garage.  I was tired of the mess and disorganized clutter, so I began moving things around.  Five days later garages are clean and organized, the shop is straightened and orderly, and I’ve begun on the master closet.  As I finished yesterday’s work I looked with a sense of satisfaction, but also a question, “Why didn’t I do this sooner?”

This morning I awoke at 3:40 am.  I’ve gotten into this strange habit of waking up in the middle of the night and as consciousness breaks through, I think to myself, “I bet it is almost…4” and then I look at my watch or clock.  Actually, the strangest part is that it doesn’t bother me anymore.  I take it as an opportunity to pray and meditate on all God has done or shown me.  A lot of times scripture comes to mind, and I just sit in that.

This morning was particularly rich.  Immediately, I was aware it was Thanksgiving Day, and I could not contain my thankfulness to the LORD for the life He has blessed me with.  Jesus’ words recorded by the apostle John came to mind,

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” John 10:10

I have experienced that.  My prayer and meditation then moved onto the people in my life and how thankful I am for them.  From my beloved Lisa to our youngest grandchild Liam and all the family in between.  As I thought of each person, I could not help but see how much richer my life is because of them.  As I thought of our daughter-in-law, Jordan, the words “Godsend” came to mind, and I was filled praise and thanksgiving to the Father for her in our life.

Interestingly, for a number of the people that came to mind, the pictures that I remembered were in the midst of difficulty.  For Rhiannon, the picture came when Lisa shattered her leg and Rhiannon took an immediate leave at work and rushed to be with her Mom and I during that first difficult week.  She dropped everything to serve and love on her Mom.

Every member of our family and extended family came to mind and I had mental pictures of each person and I was thankful.  But the Lord has blessed beyond that.  Forrest and Emily and their family who have been serving in another country came to mind.  My thanksgiving for them was mixed with a prayer for them to find “people of peace” who would be open to the Gospel.  I am thankful for persons who respond to God’s call and do the vital work I cannot physically do, but that I can partner with in seeing this full life shared others.

And then there is you, the one reading this blog.  I am thankful for you.  I felt prompted by the LORD to share my journey through cancer.  I’ve blogged in the past, but not much in the past three years.  Now that I am writing again, I feel inspired and engaged.  While my heart’s desire is that these words encourage you, I can assure you, your comments encourage me.  For the second time in less than 24 hours I wonder, “Why didn’t I do this sooner?”

One other thought came to me as I finished focusing a healthy portion of my “spare time” to cleaning and organizing was that this was nice and satisfying in an anal-retentive way, but NOT fulfilling. 

This morning, as I mentally went through the faces of family and friends and I thought of the blessing each person is, I couldn’t contain the joy it brought.  Thankfulness flowed into joy which morphed into repeated praise to the One who has brought these people into my life.  It was a cycle that went like this – thinking of a specific person, being thankful for them, giving thanks to the LORD, sensing joy rise a little more, thinking of the next person, being thankful for them, giving thanks to the LORD and having the joy tank filled a little more and… well you get the picture.  I may have at the very beginning given thanks for the home we have (and the good food we are going to be eating later today), but that was ONLY the prelude.  The blessing and the ever-increasing joy came as I thought of the people God has placed in my life.  When Jesus gives us life to the full, it is predominantly the relationships He places in our lives, beginning with our relationship with Him, that make it full. 

My friend, take time today to rest with a thankful heart.  Being thankful is a good thing.  Expressing thanks to others is an even better thing.  Living in a state of gratitude to the One who loves us with an enduring, everlasting love and who gives us life to the full is the best thing. 

BTW, if we do the best thing, we can’t help but do the good and better thing.

Be blessed and be a blessing!

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Thankful Heart

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on March 27, 2012| 1 Comment »

A thankful heart is a shield, an antidote, and a bridge. Psalm 138 begins, “I give You thanks O God with my whole heart.” It is our right response.  God is the giver of all good gifts and He is worthy of all praise and thanksgiving.  And within this dynamic world He has made, thanksgiving freely offered releases God’s power in marvelous ways.

A thankful heart is a shield.  Bad things happen in life.  Some we can see coming while others we cannot.  Our response to difficulties shapes us more than anything if we let it.  During difficulty it is easy to lose sight of the things most helpful… that God loves us, that He is with us, that God truly cares for us.  These truths, and they are fundamental truths that remain even when all hell breaks loose against us, are a bulwark against fear, doubt, despair, and the host of other negatives that accompany pain and loss.  When we focus our eyes upon Jesus and give Him thanks for what He has provided, a wall against the secondary effects of difficulties is set in place to protect our heart.  Pain, suffering, and grief are not removed.  They are natural and right responses which will eventually diminish.  However despair, hatred, revenge and other attitudes are not God’s best for us.  Thanksgiving sets a barrier against the intentional acts of the enemy to keep us down.

A thankful heart is an antidote.  Giving thanks to God, not only in the midst of a bad thing, but for the bad thing, requires an act of faith.  When we do our faith is enlarged and the load we carry becomes a bit lighter.  But thankfulness should also spring forth when things are going fine.  Complacency is one of the most subtle and effective of satan’s tactics.  When we are complacent and satisfied we are prone to believe that we are fine and we have everything under control.  Thankfulness at this point is essential to propel us toward the vibrant faith and action to which God has called us.  Perhaps the most obvious area where thankfulness serves as an antidote is when things are going great.  At the point of receiving good news it is right to open our hearts and mouth in immediate thanksgiving and praise to God.  Pride is a real challenge for the persons who have much.  True thanksgiving springs from a humble heart.  It is based upon the recognition that there is One greater who has provided the gift and verbalizes this reality.

A thankful heart is a bridge.  One of the most powerful acts a person can give is forgiveness.  Jesus exhorts us to forgive one another as the Father has forgiven us.  Our natural tendency is to hold on to our anger until we achieve justice (or more precisely justice as we see it).  The Lord knows that grudges only do damage.  And they generally do much more damage to the person holding the grudge than to the one who is the focal point of the grudge.  How do you find forgiveness when you have a legitimate complaint against another?  I have found that when I consider God’s legitimate complaint against me for ignoring His standard for living, for breaking His law, for treating His overwhelming love and grace with low regard and yet He died on a cross for me, I am thankful.  And from that place of thankfulness I can extend forgiveness toward another.  In this way a thankful heart begins building the bridge.

We have so much to be thankful for – we can begin with the things of beauty God has placed in our lives.  I saw a beautiful sunset last night that was worthy of a “thank You, Lord”.  The people who God has placed in our lives.  My son-in-law called last night and we had a great chat.  “Thanks for calling Jeff, and thank You Lord for another son in my later years.”  My wife who makes me laugh… a lot.  “Thank you Lisa for the sparkle and spice you bring to my life, and thank You Lord for the blessing of a soul mate whom I love and who loves me.”  Now I am giving examples from the last hour or so of my evening and I could name many more.  Yet just that little bit has me so encouraged and thankful to our Father that I am ready for the day.  That makes me think of one more benefit of a thankful heart – it is a motivator.

Lord give us eyes to see Your hand at work in our lives today.  Then give us thankful hearts to express the gratitude that You most assuredly deserve. 

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