Giving Thanks Throughout The Year

Thanksgiving is coming, and I sincerely hope that everyone has a family to eat with. I think this is a great time nationally. I’ve wondered at times exactly we have holidays. What I mean is, why do we only have one time in the year where people want to be giving, or thankful? Shouldn’t we be this way all year? Over the years I’ve come to view these times not as the one time in the year I will be grateful or giving, but more as a sort of reset. A reminder to re-orient my thinking for the next year. That being said, I want to devote this post exclusively to thankfulness and everything we have to be grateful for. Especially as we’ve just come off the heels of a tumultuous election cycle.

“Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.” – Colossians 4:2

Before you dismiss this as just some fluffy post, I want you to stop for a moment. There is far more to gratitude than you think, there is some hard science that says gratitude is a powerful attitude. When we maintain a state of mental gratitude, our body responds. Our immune systems become stronger (and we’re in the middle of flu season), our hearts become more stable, we are more relaxed, our brains function better, the list of benefits is quite impressive. Simply a change in attitude can dramatically our health. On a deeper level, when we are more grateful, we become better people. We are able to empathize with others more easily, we become less angry and frustrated, making it easier to be around us. In other words, practicing a grateful attitude is a powerful catalyst for our heath, physical and mental.

I’ve made a small list of what we have to be grateful for as a collective;

• For the blessing of food, we give thanks.
• For the blessing of clean water, we give thanks.
• For the blessing of family, and friends, we give thanks.
• For the blessing of being able to live out our faith openly, and without fear of death, we give thanks.
• For the blessing of our homes, we give thanks.
• For the blessing of transportation, we give thanks. (Try walking to the store next time and you’ll agree with me)
  
  

Now I’m going to make a list of things that I am personally grateful for. I hope this is an encouragement for you to do the same thing, either on your social media feed, in the comments below or just write it down privately.

• For the blessing of being alive, I give thanks.
• For the blessing of my relationship with my family, I give thanks.
• For the blessing of praise/worship music, I give thanks.
• For the blessing of my guitar, I give thanks.
• For the blessing of my home still standing after surviving Hurricane’s Debby/Helene, I give thanks.
• For the blessing of my brothers and sisters (too numerous to name here) creating content that encourages and inspires us in our faith, I give thanks.
• For this blessing of this platform and connecting with all of you, I give thanks.
• For the blessing of my health, I give thanks.

“But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” – 2 Corinthians 9:6-8

I could just keep going on. The reality is that even though things are far from perfect, that doesn’t mean that we don’t have things to be grateful and thankful for. And honestly, living in the kind of atmosphere we’re living in, we really do need more gratitude (and by we, I mean me).

As We Have Been Blessed, Do So To Others

Before you go, I want to acknowledge that there are there are many right now who have been devastated by the recent trifecta of hurricanes. Thousands have lost their families and homes. One of the main reasons it is so important that we practice gratitude is so that we’ll remember those who are alone or suffering. If you can, I lead with you to please lend your aid to the relief organizations that are doing their best to help. The time for us all to unite is now. We can quibble over doctrine and theology some other time. Right now, believers have to unite and provide aid as much as we can. Whether it’s volunteering, financial aid, or prayers, it all helps.