Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Giving Thanks...

Next Thursday, families all over the United States will be sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner.  A time of food and family that marks the beginning of the holiday season.  A time when we eat more than we should, watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade, NFL football, and that night Christmas movies.  We see family members maybe for the first time all year.  Yep it is a great day right?  A day full of food, fun, and that 3:00 after too much turkey nap.   

I think what gets lost in the shuffle is the giving thanks part.  Although Thanksgiving isn’t a religious holiday, there wasn’t a turkey in the stable, it is still a time when we can give thanks to God for everything we have.  Life goes by pretty fast, we go to church on Sunday, we attend bible studies, Sunday school, and other church functions, but do we actually stop to thank God for everything we have?  Do we really?  Yes, we pray every week in church but does that allow you enough time to thank God for everything you have?  I know that I get caught up in a lot of things when I pray.  I pray for healing for myself and others, to sell my house, to help me with issues and problems, to reveal himself to me, I ask for things when I pray, I ask for forgiveness and love, I ask him to watch over me, and I talk to him about life.

The thing is I don’t think that I really just spend some time in the presence of God and thank him for everything he has given me.  A time to be in deep conversation with my Lord and tell, “Thank you” for my life, that is truly what we need to do.   I want to thank him for the people he has put in my life.  For my friends who are by my side when I need them most.   My youth that provide me with daily smiles, love in my heart, and teach me something new every day.  My job that allows me to do something that I love and get paid to do it.  My co workers who support me and the youth program with loving open arms.  I want to thank him for my mother and father for their love, support, trust, and compassion.  For my brother and sister in law who I don’t get to see much but think of them often.  For all the parents that support our program and watch over each of our youth as if they were their own.

I want to thank God for the abilities he has given me, for the video making skills and the love and passion to use it.  For the awesome ability he gave me to do my job and love every minute of it.  I want to thank him for the roof over my head, the car that gets me from point A to point B.  For the food on my table even though I eat too much sometimes.  I want to thank God for the shoes on my feet and clothes on my back.  I want to thank God for the compassion heart he gave me that makes me cry at the end of movies or after reading a sad or happy story.   I want to thank God for the blank pages of my book, and the ability to fill them with anything that I want too.

There are so many things that I am thankful for, the problem is that I have never sat down and thanked God for it all.  Writing this blog entry I have been able too, but it’s not enough.  I want to encourage you to take the time and energy on Thanksgiving day to show your loving and thankful heart to God.  Take some time to pray and mention even the smallest of things that you are thankful for.  Let him know how much you love him by praising him for what he has given you.  I will eat turkey and watch football.  I will watch the parade and start to think about Christmas, but most of all, I will thank God for his never ending, all encompassing, unbreakable love that he has for me, and I encourage you to do the same because that love he has for me is the same love he has for you. 

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