Thankfulness All Year
Here is a list of things housewives are most thankful for:
For automatic dishwashers because they make it possible for us to get out of the kitchen before the family comes back in for their after-dinner snacks.
For husbands who attack small repair jobs around the house because they usually make them big enough to call in the professionals.
For children who put away their things & clean up after themselves. They're such a joy that you hate to see them go home to their own parents.
For teenagers because they give parents an opportunity to learn a second language.
For Smoke alarms because they let you know when the turkey's done.
While Thanksgiving is always the fourth Thursday of November, we as Christians are called to live a life of thanks 365 days a year. Paul says, “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Eph. 5:20 NIV). But how do we do that? I would like to suggest 3 ways we can always give thanks all year around.
Have a thanksgiving journal.
If you are anything like me, sometimes my devotional prayers can go something like this, “Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for another day. Thank you for all the blessings you give me. Now I ask…” and I go into a litany of prayer requests that are very specific. When was the last time that you thanked God specifically for those blessings that He has given you. I think we are all familiar with the hymn, Count Your Blessings. The refrain is: Count your blessings, name them one by one,Count your blessings, see what God has done!” One of the way that we can count our blessings and thank God for them is by writing them down. This does two things. One it cements them in our minds and two it allows us to look back in those times of difficult to see truly how God has poured His blessings out to you. It can be a simple notebook that you just use as your “Thanksgiving Journal”. Try it for a few weeks. See if your awareness of God’s blessings grows as you every day write down what He continues to do in your life.
Be thankful for the small things.
You know we are funny as humans. We tell ourselves not to sweat the small stuff but we also tend to not be thankful for the small stuff. I mean when was the last time we thanked God for giving us breath, giving us a new fresh day,, for giving us food on the table, a house to live in. I could go down the list. So often we thank God for the big things; miracles wrought,, circumstances changed, but do we thank God for small stuff? Let’s be thankful all year around for the small and big things God does.
Express gratitude to others.
I was taught as a child to always say “Thank you” when someone does something for you; hold the door open at the convenience store, make a nice meal or give you something that you have been wanting. But thinking about it, saying “thank you” has become less and less common. However, one of the most tangible ways of living a life of thankfulness all year around is telling others “thank you”. Now obviously, we can tell people “thank you”, but when was the last time you wrote a thank you note? I know handwritten notes are so 20th century. However, one of the ladies who works in our office was so blown away when she did something for my 10 year old son and the next day I gave her a written thank you note from him. You would have thought I gave her a million dollars. People still value you taking time and sitting down and writing a thank you note. However you choose to do it, live a life of thanksgiving all year around by telling others “thank you”.
I firmly believe that if we change our attitude of Thanksgiving being only one time a year but a daily practice, our hearts and others hearts will indeed be blessed. May God’s richest blessings be on you as you are thankful all year around.
Conversation:
What are some ways that you give thanks?
How can you continue to make sure you are living a thankful life?
Adapted from the The Texas Conference Flame, Fall, 2015 by the author.