“Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanks-giving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.” (Psalm 100:3-4)
Yes, you read the title correctly. I love turkey sandwiches with mayonnaise, sliced turkey (white), lettuce, salt and pepper. I love Lays Ruffle potato chips with dip, Diet Dr. Pepper, followed by a small (?) slice of one of the pies made for the day.
Thanksgiving is just around the corner and it has always been and continues to be one of my favorite holidays.
Thanksgiving is a time we are supposed to relax with family and friends, share a sumptuous meal together, laugh and tell stories some of which find their way to be repeated every few years or so. There might be a little yard football or basketball game on the driveway, all of this followed by watching a favorite movie together.
Thanksgiving should invite each of us to take a look at our lives and see just how much the Lord has blessed us with … how gracious He has been in our lives … and figure out how grateful we ought to be!
The familiar song says, “Count your many blessings name them one by one; Count your many blessings see what God has done.”
Living in a culture of excessive entitlement, selfishness, and looking at life from the perspective of “what’s best for me “…may I encourage you to ask yourself the following questions?
- Is there a simple blessing that you have been taking for granted and need to be more grateful/thankful for?
- Did the Lord and His precious word help you through some difficult time lately?
- Is there someone who has done something for your benefit during the past year that has prompted you to be more grateful? Did you tell them thanks?
- Have you demonstrated gratitude in your life with regard to your family, friends, and brethren? Do you find opportunities to tell them regularly?
- Being aware of the need for more gratitude, how can you do a better job of expressing thankfulness/gratitude to others …to the Lord?
Each of us can probably come up with other questions to consider along these lines, but may I make one suggestion for each of us to try this Thanksgiving Day: Why not ask each one sitting around the beautifully decorated table to answer just briefly (because it’s time to eat … right?) several of these questions and talk about them. It is a day to be thankful is it not.
We have all experienced bountiful blessings from the Father’s hand … let us strive to express and demonstrate our gratitude in a better way starting right now.
Gratitude exclaims, very properly, ‘How good of God to give me this.’ C. S. Lewis
Bill Fairchild, Jr.
Mr. Fairchild,
It was so nice meeting you this week – you’ll remember we talked about the song “It is Well.” Love your writing. Thank you for giving me the web site information. May God continue to bless you and your family.