Give Thanks...Again

Today we celebrate Thanksgiving in America. A day to stop and think of what we have and what we are thankful for. So here’s my list.

I’m thankful for my family. Although we are separated by many miles, the bond we share is far greater than words can express.

I’m thankful for America. While it may not be perfect, it is better than most countries in the world.

I’m thankful for my local church, ministry staff, volunteers and others who make up the body of Christ.

I’m thankful for the Church around the world who are willing to sacrifice so much in order to share the Gospel with those seeking salvation.

I’m thankful for you, my blog reader. Without you, my words would simply be floating around in the great big space of the internet.

I’m thankful for the gifts and talents that I use on a daily basis to share God’s message with others.

I’m thankful for God. My Creator, Provision, and Father.

I’m thankful for the Holy Spirit. My Comforter, Counselor, and Guide.

I’m thankful for Jesus. My Redeemer, Savior, and Friend.

Today I stop to thank God for all that He’s provided for me and my family. I’m sure you will do the same today. But let’s not just be thankful on this one day. Let’s live our lives with grateful hearts.

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” (Psalm 100:4-5 – NIV)

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Donna

Give Thanks

Thanksgiving. Just a single word, but holds such meaning.

It stirs up memories for me. Memories of sharing this holiday with family, friends, and loved ones. Memories of the abundance of food. Memoires of laughter. Memories.

It also causes me to stop and realize just how blessed I truly am. And with that realization, I thank God for those blessings. Blessings of family, friends and loved ones. Blessings of abundance of food. Blessings of laughter. Blessings.

I am also reminded of the spiritual blessings I’ve received from God. Grace. Forgiveness. Love. Acceptance. Encouragement. Guidance. Peace. Jesus. I could keep going.

With all of these blessings, it only stands to reason that we must be thankful to God for His rich, abundant blessings. If we miss doing so, we’ve missed a huge element of Thanksgiving.

Max Lucado said, “Gratitude comes from having the right perspective.”[i]

So, what should our perspective of gratitude be?

I believe we must acknowledge where every blessing comes from. Each one is from God. “Every good action and every perfect gift is from God. These good gifts come down from the Creator of the sun, moon, and the stars, who does not change like their shifting shadows.” (James 1:17 – NCV)

As we’ve made this acknowledgement, we then use our thankfulness to enjoy these blessings. We understand the importance of not taking our blessings for granted. We know that without our gracious Father we would be stuck in the quagmire of selfishness.

So let’s look at just a few of the blessings God has lavished upon us and why we should be thankful.

We are to be thankful that His love just keeps going. It never gives up on us. Ever! “Thank the Lord because he is good. His love continues forever.” (Psalm 107:1 – NCV)

We are to be thankful for victory! As we are led to victory in Jesus, God is able to use us for His mighty purpose. “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in victory through Christ. God uses us to spread his knowledge everywhere like a sweet-smelling perfume.” (2 Corinthians 2:14 – NCV)

We are to be thankful for stability in God’s Kingdom. When everything around us may be shifting or even sinking, God’s Kingdom stands firm! “So let us be thankful, because we have a kingdom that cannot be shaken.” (Hebrews 12:28a – NCV)

We are to be thankful for God. Our praise should come from grateful hearts and His Name should always be our lips. “So through Jesus let us always offer to God our sacrifice of praise, coming from lips that speak his name.” (Hebrews 13:15 – NCV)

We are to be thankful all the time. This passage tells us how to do so. “As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, go continue to live in him. Keep your roots deep in him and have your lives built on him. Be strong in the faith, just as you were taught, and always be thankful.” (Colossians 2:6-7 – NCV) We are to continue living in Jesus, keep our roots deep, build our lives on Jesus, and be strong in our faith. This is the path to thankfulness.

We are to be thankful by sharing with others. This passage speaks to singing, but it also shows that we are to encourage one another through instruction. When we are firm in Christ’s teaching, wisdom will flow from us, like little musical notes. “Let the teaching of Christ live in you richly. Use all wisdom to teach and instruct each other by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16 – NCV)

How is your perspective? Is your thankfulness directed toward God for the blessings He has poured out upon you? Are you willing to show your gratitude as mentioned in this post?

I pray that as you continue through this busy week that you’ll take the time to ponder the raised questions and Scripture. Let’s lift joyful voices of thanksgiving to God this week. Then let’s make it a practice for each day of our lives.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Donna

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[i] The Inspirational Study Bible, Max Lucado, Word Publishing, 1995

It's a Schedule

My husband is a systems dispatch operator for a local electric company. His job is to keep the power on for all the customers his company services. His work schedule is on a 5-week rotation where he works 12-hour shifts, both days and nights, including holidays and weekends.

Sometimes his work schedule is inconvenient. Sometimes it works against all things sacred (family and church). Sometimes I don’t like it.

What I do like is that they give him his yearly schedule in advance. As a matter of fact, I have his 2013 schedule in hand right now. So I know exactly what our year will look like in relation to his work schedule.

Schedules are part of life. Whether they are related to work, school, or even an infant, there are schedules to keep and follow. It’s how we cope with them and work through them that matters. But more importantly, it’s what God has to say about keeping schedules that makes the difference.

The writer of Ecclesiastes tells us that “there is a time for everything. A season for everything activity under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 – NIV) He then proceeds to give examples of his understanding of a schedule in verses 2-8. But we also see from this writer that without God, it’s all meaningless (Ecclesiastes 12:8).

Paul encouraged the Ephesian Christians with these words. “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” Paul shared that in day-to-day living (schedules) how important it is to make every moment count. Again, count for God.

I believe from these two passages we can see that schedules are part of life. But if we leave God out of our daily schedules, we are whipping up a recipe for disaster.

As we rely on God, we are able to utilize His power, His strength, His wisdom, and His protection (just to name a few). Why wouldn’t we desire His assistance with our schedules?

I have Mason’s 2013 work schedule. However, it could change. If someone should happen to quit, this schedule is thrown out because another shift must be covered. Sometimes that can get a little aggravating.

[I must add this to all of my complaining. My husband has a job. My husband has employment that is not threatened. I am able to do what I do because of the career my husband has chosen. That is something that I don’t take lightly. I appreciate and love all the work he does for me and our family.]

I pray your schedule today allows for some valuable family time or perhaps some personal time, but most important for an incredible connection with God. Time spent with God is time well spent. Don’t overlook Him with your busy schedule. The time you spend with God will be the best part of your day!

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Donna

No Good Thing

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching. Since I live cross country from my family, I miss the family gatherings during this special season of the year. Remembering get-togethers of years past with grandparents, even great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and any other extended family who could join us brings joy to my heart. And I would be remiss not to mention the good friends that were invited to join my loving family.

Of course, there was always food. The best food around. I come from a long line of excellent cooks on both sides of my family and thinking of the platters and bowls filled to overflowing reminds me of just how thankful we were as we sat around those tables. I even recall specific foods that were always served in specific bowls or dishes.

I came across a verse of Scripture in my study time that I have remembered throughout the week. “I said to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.’” (Psalm 16:2 – NIV)

For my family, on both sides of my family, God was always in our midst. I was raised by Christian parents who were raised by Christian parents who were raised by Christian parents. It is part of my heritage. So you see, when I saw this verse of Scripture my mind immediately went to the good that I have and recognize that it is good because I am a follower of Christ.

“Apart from you (God) I have no good thing.”

Obviously, this concept goes beyond family. All of my possessions. All of my serving. All of my studying. All of my writing. All of my heart. Without God, it isn’t good. He provides the goodness in my life.

I pray that you feel the same way. I pray that you can see God’s goodness flowing in and out of your life. I pray that you too have come to the understanding that without God, you have nothing.

I know that for some, family has brought heartache and pain. I pray that you’ll find peace and comfort in God this Thanksgiving. I pray that as you gather around a table on that day that you’ll be able to say that God has provided goodness in your life. That you will be able to join me in saying, “Apart from You I have no good thing.”

Yes, I miss being with my family, especially at Thanksgiving. But last year my Mom gave me a gift. She joined us in Colorado for Thanksgiving. She will be joining us again this year and I will once again know how blessed I truly am.

I have other family with me, too. My husband, my daughters, my son-in-law, my grandchildren. And a whole slew of friends who make me feel like family. So, even as I am 1,200 miles away from the rest of my beloved family, I am well loved and that love reduces the miles to mere inches.

Happy Thanksgiving (a little early)!

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Donna

Gobble, Gobble

Thanksgiving will be here before we know it. But I think I may be a little tired of turkey and the fixings before we even get to that day.

The 50+ and Better ministry at church offer get-togethers for this age group. They offer a monthly lunch for the oldest group and dinner for those who feel up to getting out in the evenings. Yesterday was the lunch and they had turkey available for my SE Asia team to enjoy before our presentation last evening. It was delicious!

Next Friday I will be preparing a turkey feast for the evening gathering of this group.

Then a week later, yet another turkey dinner for my family.

Don’t get me wrong, I love turkey. I love preparing all that reminds me of my childhood Thanksgivings, but it seems like this year I may be partaking of too much of a good thing.

However, the one thing I will never grow tired of is the thanksgiving part. Giving thanks for what God has blessed me with allows for my appreciation and joy to flow. I’m able to thank God for the material provisions, and also the spiritual.

There are plenty of passages in Scripture that we can use to offer this thanks to God.

Psalm 100 (NIV) is only five verses, but it is packed with so many thoughts. As you read through these five verses, you’ll recognize phrases from some of our worship songs.

Phrases like, “Worship the Lord with gladness” or “It is he who made us, and we are his; we are the people, the sheep of his pasture.” Yes, you’ve heard those phrases before.

Verses 4 and 5 are where I’d like to land today. They are about thanksgiving. Again, you’ll recognize them as ones you’ve sung.

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” (Psalm 100:4-5 – NIV)

After reading that we should praise God and why we should praise God, it stands to reason that the Psalmist would then point us to thanksgiving.

We have the opportunity to thank God regardless of what our situation might be. I know in the midst of pain, sorrow and suffering it is difficult to see one thing to be thankful for, but it is possible. And even more so, when all is well, we must acknowledge Him who provided that wellness.

The material blessings are a comfort to us and we are to thank God for those, but more importantly we are to thank Him for our spiritual blessings. Without His great love for us, we would be lost. If He hadn’t sent Jesus to be our ultimate sacrifice, we would still be wandering around in our spiritual rubble. For that, I am especially thankful.

This chapter ends with yet one more thing to be thankful for. God’s faithfulness. You see, He continues to be faithful to us, even when we are unfaithful to Him. It’s just the way He is.

Have you thanked God today for all of His provisions? For His faithfulness? For the spiritual blessings you’ve received through Him? Have you shared your praise and adoration for Him today? If not, why not take the time to give honor to God for what He has done in your life?

Thanksgiving is celebrated once a year, but as a follower of Christ, I must be thankful on a daily basis. Oh, I may be tired of turkey this year, but I certainly will never grow weary of praising and thanking my God and Savior. I pray that you feel the same way.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Donna