Giving of Thanks

Giving Of Thanks

"Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works! Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore!" (Ps.105:1-4)

Need a new holiday tradition? Sing praises of thanks to God today, Christians! Consider how we're blessed!

"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms." (Jms.5:13)

What a blessing to be able to praise God with our loved ones surrounding us!

I have to brag on my wife -- though our plans changed for this holiday rather quick, she has handled the changes beautifully. We went from going out of town to visit family to staying in town and family coming to us. There has been a great deal of preparation involved and she has made it look easy -- all while wrestling  our little man and our other child (of the canine sort).

Men, if it's not too presumptuous on my part, may I speak for us all and say to the ladies who put forth such an effort to make these times so nice and for getting things in order for holidays, "Thank you! You leave us in awe as men at how well you handle these times!"

God's wisdom continues to shine through as I see my wife in her various roles. Through her actions I see God's plan unfolding right in front of me from the beginning of time in His creation of woman as a companion for man. My wife is truly a helper "meet" or comparable to me; she is the part of me that has been missing throughout life and she is what makes me whole as a man. Life without her would be like having a heart without a beat, like a symphony without the stringed section, like viewing the world without color. My life is incredibly blessed as I consider what the Lord has done, how He has prolonged my life to see His blessings with clarity at this time, how He has provided all I need to navigate this life and just the right people to help me along. Would I be able to serve God if everything was ripped away? Absolutely. But while I have these blessings before me, what kind of fool would I be not to serve Him with these blessings, to lead my loved ones in serving Him, to invite others to join my family and friends in this walk home to heaven that we trod?!!

The Lord has blessed each of our lives in various ways, but sometimes we look at our lives and fail to see anything but the problems before us -- all we see is the rocky path, the climb up the mountain, the miles ahead of us. We get down about what lies ahead because of what lies to our heart. God has promised goodness, He has promised and freely given His love, He has poured out His mercy -- while all we may see now is the hard path we walk, may we lift our eyes yet a little higher and see the Lord walking to the cross, may we hear His voice through His word calling for us to keep following Him, may we consider the path He trod and the glorious resting place to which He leads us.

If you're letting the stress of this holiday season get to you, take a moment to step away from the chaos, take a breath, hit your knees and look up through the eyes of faith to the cross of Jesus Christ. Thank God for everything -- yes, start thanking God for everything you can think of, the struggles as well as the triumphs.

This holiday isn't about gorging ourselves, it's not about football, it's not about shopping -- it's about what we as Christians should be living out daily, it shouldn't be anything new to us - it's when our nation celebrates a day in giving of thanks. Don't let the stress of the moment blind you from seeing the blessings before you.

Can it be stressful? Yes! But even if nothing turns out right as far as the food goes, consider the blessing of being with family and friends enjoy a dry turkey, or burned casserole, or charred biscuits, or flavorless sticky dressing, or bitter pie. Let these times bring a smile to everyone's face -- enjoy the day even if everything 'goes wrong' and consider the blessing of being able to spend it with loved ones.

How we respond to the issues of life will teach a lesson; so what lesson will we be teaching those who observe us this day?

Don't let the preparation for a meal or a gathering overshadow what the moment offers to each one - the opportunity to shine our lights and warm the hearts of each one around us with the light of Jesus Christ.

Life itself is a blessing. If you knew this was your last day, your last time with family or friends surrounding you, the last day you'd ever see them this side of eternity -- if this was it my friends, how might we spend this day?

Consider Christ before the cross, praying and submitting His will to the Father. He truly made the most of every moment in His life - may we do the same this day and every day. Pray. Pray to God the Father, truly give thanks today. View the world about you with spiritual eyes, see the blessings friend. The blessing of trials as well as triumphs. Everything is beautiful, see the beauty in each moment, each memory made.

Be the light today. Give thanks, truly.
May we live out this verse today:

"Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are  noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are  lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you." (Phil.4:4-9)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

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