“It's a sign of mediocrity when you demonstrate gratitude with moderation.” ~Roberto Benigni
Philippians 4:4-9:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Thanksgiving. By definition it is a day that should be set aside to reflect and give thanks for the extravagant love of our God. By tradition it is a day of overeating, parades and football. Tradition isn’t always the best way to do something, (just watch “Fiddler on the Roof”!), but there are seasons in our life when we just don’t feel like giving thanks either. So what do we do now?
Romans 12:1 tells us that we are to give our bodies as a living sacrifice. I would like to suggest that we spend Thanksgiving offering up a sacrifice of thanks giving, counting the many blessings we often overlook. We need to be purposeful about this sacrifice, showing our gratitude whether we feel like it or not. If we only offer praise and thankfulness when we feel like it, then it isn’t much of a sacrifice, is it?
I will not spend this Nov. 24 wallowing in my own personal pity party. No good ever comes from that. Rather I will focus on what I do have and remind myself to be thankful for even the things I’m not fond of … like having dishes that will need to be washed after I overeat.
What are some of the blessings you are thankful for?
Philippians 4:4-9:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Thanksgiving. By definition it is a day that should be set aside to reflect and give thanks for the extravagant love of our God. By tradition it is a day of overeating, parades and football. Tradition isn’t always the best way to do something, (just watch “Fiddler on the Roof”!), but there are seasons in our life when we just don’t feel like giving thanks either. So what do we do now?
Romans 12:1 tells us that we are to give our bodies as a living sacrifice. I would like to suggest that we spend Thanksgiving offering up a sacrifice of thanks giving, counting the many blessings we often overlook. We need to be purposeful about this sacrifice, showing our gratitude whether we feel like it or not. If we only offer praise and thankfulness when we feel like it, then it isn’t much of a sacrifice, is it?
I will not spend this Nov. 24 wallowing in my own personal pity party. No good ever comes from that. Rather I will focus on what I do have and remind myself to be thankful for even the things I’m not fond of … like having dishes that will need to be washed after I overeat.
Shelley Brandon, SCwSG Grief and Encouragement Coach Team Leader
2 comments:
Dear Shelley, thank you so much for the post today! We had "Thanksgiving" the first Wednesday of November here in the Netherlands and our Pastor said something similar about being thankful but not feeling thankful because maybe you are in circumstances you don't see it like that. It's always good to thank God for ALL things, even those things, because He will use ALL things for ones best!
Love you!
xxx
Dutch Tulip
Marja
xoxoxoxoxxoxo
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