Grateful, Thankful, and Blessed

It is the time of the year where we should be reflecting on all of God's graciousness, but some how it becomes the beginning of Christmas chaos. It is so unfortunate that Halloween is celebrated to the max and Thanksgiving is skipped over to get to Christmas. Why does that happen? The world's commercialization of the holidays always seems to overpower the traditional meanings of the holidays. It is all about the bottom line on the financial spreadsheet. All three holidays focus on what is in it for you. Who can have the best costume, who can cook the best turkey, and who can give the best gift? But Thanksgiving is all about Him!

Unfortunately, Halloween has become a pagan celebration, very commercialized and focused on darkness. In reality, the word hallow represents an Old English word meaning saint or holy. During the Middle Ages, the holiday was called All Hallow Day, a Christian day set aside to honor all the saints who are in Heaven. The day was often celebrated before All Saints Day. Activities included family games, food, fun, and fellowship. Many churches continue to hold Fall Festivals to demonstrate a time when families come together to celebrate the fall harvest with others, a day of sharing not scaring.

As soon as Halloween passes, the world starts to prepare for Christmas! However, the holiday in the middle of those two celebrations is much more important than either. Thanksgiving is celebrated once a year, but the message of thanksgiving should celebrated daily. The original Thanksgiving was a three day feast where the pilgrims celebrated with their new friends, the Indians. And all were thankful to God for His grace, mercy, and abundant provision.

In Leviticus, there are several mandatory festivals that the people celebrated to honor God for His provisions, each usually celebrated after a bountiful harvest. Each celebration was held at the Lord's appointed time and the people were given specific instructions about how to demonstrate their gratefulness for the harvests. In James 1:17, it says that God is the abundant giver of every good and perfect gift. In 1 Thessalonians, it says to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks; for this if the will of God for you.

So what are you thankful for? Maybe you have had a difficult year with many sorrows or troubles, but you can still thank God for something. Thanking God gives you a whole different perspective of love and gratitude, providing you with the wisdom of knowing that God is for you and not against you.

Let's think about some things that you should be grateful for every day and these are not in any particular order:

• Thank you God that you created me for a purpose, to do Your will and love others like you love me.

• Thank you God for parents who often scarified their life and money to make sure that I was loved, taken care of, and they provided all the things that I needed. Thank you for helping me realize that needs and wants are very different things.

• Thank you God for grandparents who worked so hard to begin a legacy that can live on through me and my children. Thank you for their vast wisdom, that when listened to, protects me from bad choices.

• Thank you God for my children, who might not always listen and do as I say, but they love me anyway. Thank you for walking with them every day and keeping them safe.

• Thank you God for my job. A job is often just a means to an end, but thank you for the good people that I work with every day. Thank you for giving me the knowledge to do my job and for the peace in knowing that my job is a mission field where you placed me to be a witness of your unconditional love.

• Thank you for the clothes that I wear, the bed that I sleep in, and the house that I can stay in. It may not be fancy, but it provides shelter and warmth. Thank you for the shoes on my feet as some do not have the luxury of having more than one pair of shoes.

• Thank you God for my health and the ability to think clearly. Some day will come that my mind may falter and my body may fail, but You Lord, will walk with me daily.

• Thank you God for allowing me to walk daily on your beautiful earth with so many reminders of your love and beauty. Thank you God for making me notice the sunrises and sunsets, the birds, the moon and the stars, the squirrels gathering food, the cats playfully chasing each other, and the flutter of a butterfly with wings of grace.

• Thank you God for blessing me with a spouse who loves me, even with all my quirks. Thank you God for being able to share life with my soulmate.

• Thank you God for a way to travel, whether by car, truck, bicycle, bus, plane, or train.

• Thank you God for the rustle of the leaves because it means there is a sweet breeze in the heat of the day.

• Thank you God for being able to smell the good food on the table, which You also provided.

• Thank you God for the tough times, when I don't understand the why. Thank you for guiding me through situations that I do not have the strength to navigate, but You do. Thank you for letting all the stumbles that I make teach me to trust in You as each struggle makes me stronger and wiser.

My goodness, I could go on and on, and never be able to thank God for His unending provision, endless grace, and undeserving mercy. Most importantly, I thank God for Him saving my soul and allowing me to have a close and genuine relationship with Him for He will never fail me and always love me unconditionally. Praises be unto God for I am so grateful, very thankful, and truly blessed. Happy Thanksgiving, a way of giving thanks, every day!