November 22, 2018

Be Thankful

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. – Psalm 100:4-5

The day is coming to a close. It has been a day full of food and laughter, memories and shared stories. We have remembered those who have gone home. We rejoice with those who remain. Family. Friends. We all gather together by choice and through love.

Today we remembered to be thankful for all those who share our days, whether it’s those who are part of every day or those who traveled to be with us. We remember all our blessings.

But what about tomorrow? And all the tomorrows that will come? Will we be any less blessed on those days than we are today? Will we remember to be thankful when we are overwhelmed by ordinary life? Will we remember to be thankful on the hard days, the long days, the days of heartbreak? Are we any less blessed on those days than on this day of Thanksgiving?

We like to compartmentalize, don’t we? Today we’ll be thankful. Sunday we’ll attend church and worship God. Monday we’ll work. Tuesday we’ve got a club meeting. Wednesday the kids have something at school. Each and every day is filled with life. But are we thankful?

It’s hard not to compare our lives with the lives of others. There are parents who would give anything for another day with their child. There are people who are fighting hard to live. There are people who pretend all is well when the reality is they are hurting, lonely, desperate. Do we see them? Do we try to understand?

And are we thankful? There are blessings in every day. I won’t lie. Some days it’s hard to find them. It takes effort. It takes doing what we’d rather not do as we wallow in self-pity. It means really looking around and seeing life as it really is. Do you have a home? Do you have food? Did you notice the sunset? Did you hear the birds chirping? And on and on. There are blessings everywhere but do we see them?

God is good. We hear that a lot. It’s true. God is good. But here’s what we don’t always understand: God is good regardless of our circumstances. God is good even when we are sick. God is good when we are hurting. God is good even when we can’t feel His Presence.

I hate it when someone responds to good news with “God is good.” Yes, He is. But God is still good when the news is bad. God is good even when He answers no. God is good when we are dying. God is good all the time.

And we always have reasons to be thankful. Always. Today I am thankful for family. I am thankful for shared memories and laughter. I am thankful for my Mother’s recipes and good food.

What about you? What are you thankful for? Was your day filled with joy or riddled with strife? Was your day spent in a large gathering of family and friends or was it spent alone? Did you take time to praise God? Did you remember to thank Him? It’s amazing how your attitude changes when you fill your heart with gratitude.

God loves us no matter what. God is good no matter what. Worship Him. Praise Him. Give thanks in all circumstances. He loves you and me. That is surely something to be thankful for.

November 21, 2018

Who Dines at Your Table?

Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

– Luke 14:12-14

While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. – Matthew 9:10

I’ve spent the last few days baking and cooking. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and everyone knows it takes days and days to really prepare a big meal. It’s something I enjoy. It’s not the feast, though I will certainly eat more than I should. It’s the people.

Thanksgiving to me is a gathering of friends and family. It’s a celebration with people I don’t always see. It’s a welcoming place where those who are alone feel like part of the family. It’s a day where everyone is included, where everyone has a place to go.

It’s not like that for everyone. Holidays can be hard. Families are filled with strife. Tensions are high, whether it’s politics, football or the petty jealousies that sometimes seem so important. People are lonely, broken, lost. They’ve no grand gathering to attend. There are no invitations to sort through. There are few things as hard as pretending it doesn’t matter when everyone seems to have a place to go but you.

Reach out. Make the phone call. Set another place at the table. Welcome those who didn’t get an invitation. Reach out to those who are alone. Invite them to the celebration.

And let the drama roll off. Refuse to engage in pettiness. Walk away from ugly comments. Is it hard? Oh, yeah. But take a deep breath and love them anyway. Remember that Jesus said it would be hard some days. Jesus told us to love people who wish us harm. Be kind. Rise above the hurt.

Tensions are high. Everyone is in a hurry. We’re stressed with food preparations and travel issues. Kids are tired and cranky. Parents are struggling to juggle it all. And people everywhere are feeling the stress of having a “perfect” holiday. Let it go.

It’s not about the decorations. It’s not even about the food. It’s about the people. It’s about loving and including those God has put into your life.

May 23, 2018

Let Thanksgiving Fill You Up

For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. – 1 Timothy 4:4-5

The Facebook post was almost comical. Rain was ruining her family vacation and she wanted everyone to pray that it would stop. Yes, indeed, I thought. Let our parched land refrain from receiving rain so that she won’t have to deal with rain on her parade. (cliché intended)

I get it. I do. We welcome necessary rain until it interferes with our plans. Then we just want it to go away. Our plans are more important than the needs of anyone else. No. We don’t see it that way as we gaze out from our self-centered view but it’s what our hearts are crying out.

I’ll also admit my own selfishness in this. The pastures were dying because of the heat and lack of rain. The cows need grass. I am grateful for the rain because it makes the grass grow.

I also look around at the fields. Rain is necessary to make the crops grow. We live in a farming region. People depend on the right amount of rain to earn their living. It’s not about fun. It’s about income.

How we view situations has so much to do with attitude. The first winter I put out hay I kept telling myself I would be so glad when spring came. No more large hay rings to move. No more 50-pound grain sacks to unload.

Then came spring. I can now joke that I won’t get caught up on the bush hogging until winter comes. There’s always something to do on a farm. The work never ends. And that’s okay. Because I am blessed to be able to work, to tend cows, to drive a tractor.

It’s all about perspective. We spend so much of our lives complaining about today that we often miss the blessings God has given to us. We sound like the Israelites in the desert, don’t we? No matter how much God does for us, we complain about what God hasn’t done. I can’t even imagine how exasperated He gets.

Gratitude changes your attitude. Thankfulness focuses on blessings. Have you ever made a gratitude list? You really should. It clears everything up rather quickly. It focuses our minds back to the blessings and away from a tomorrow we can neither predict nor control.

My sweet friend, who truly is a Godly woman, soon changed her complaint to thanksgiving. The rain remained but she decided to adjust her attitude and have fun anyway. What a blessing! She is surrounded by family in a wonderful place. That’s what is important.

Yesterday a large limb came down, blocking the driveway. I am thankful for saws, and the ability to use those saws, so that I could handle the situation on my own. And I thankful that had I needed help, I could have placed a phone call and gotten help right away. Friendships abound and I am so very grateful for the people God has placed in my life.

I am grateful for the nosy cows who came to check out the hysterical dogs and the racoon that was having a really bad day. I love watching the geese and wild ducks and all the birds that come our way. They remind me of my parents, and that brings both a smile and a tear.

Life goes on until, one day, it doesn’t. How are you going to live it? Are you going to fill your days with thanksgiving, welcoming the challenges and blessings as equal gifts from God? Or are you going to grumble all the way home? The choice belongs to you.

November 27, 2014

Give Thanks Always

 

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

-- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Today is Thanksgiving in the United States. We celebrate that first Thanksgiving, when Pilgrims and Indians came together to share a bountiful harvest. That was in 1621. Thanksgiving wasn't made a federal holiday until 1863, during the Civil War. I note all of this because when viewed in terms of world history, of Biblical history, it's a rather new holiday.

In this country, Thanksgiving is a time to gather together, to eat, to watch football and, increasingly, to shop. A few weeks ago I heard a sermon about the importance of slowing down during the holidays. We should take time to actually talk to one another. There was great concern that Thanksgiving was getting lost in the midst of our hurry toward Christmas and all its material gifts. All good points. There is certainly truth there.

Except that why should Thanksgiving -- a holiday created by man -- be the only day we concern ourselves with being grateful for all God does for us every day of the year? For that matter, why not talk and visit with family and friends other times as well? Why wait?

And why get upset when we are inundated with Christmas advertisements and all that goes with it? Shouldn't the real upset come from the materialization of the birth of Jesus Christ? It's not our birthday or so the saying goes. But we act as though it is. We all do.

I understood what the pastor meant. I did. My early childhood memories are filled with Thanksgiving Days spent at my grandparents' house, surrounded by aunts and uncles and cousins and the occasionally friends and extended family. For some folks, that still exists but for many it is a time of rush, rush, rush. There is no time to enjoy, to savor, to make new memories.

That's how life is now and it's just so sad. We should make time each and every day to give thanks to God for who He is and all He does. For His Presence. For His love. For His grace and mercy. Thanksgiving should be every single day.

November 26, 2014

Be Kind

 

Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

-- Matthew 5:7

Thanksgiving Eve makes us think of turkey and dressing and family gatherings. For many of us, that's what Thanksgiving means. But not for everyone.

What do you remember about Thanksgiving? The real one. With pilgrims and Indians and a feast. The Indians were merciful. They paid for it later, in ways they could never imagine. But they showed mercy on people who truly didn't have a clue.

Do we? Do we show mercy? During your Thanksgiving feast do you invite those beyond your family? Do you include the lost and forgotten, those without family, those without anywhere else to go? Are you merciful? Are you kind? Compassionate? Or so focused on your own holiday that you forget that others face a lonely holiday?

We're all in an uproar over shopping on this man-made holiday. Who cares? It's not about us. It's not about eating or shopping or watching football. It's about giving thanks -- and passing it on.

We don't need a holiday to be thankful. We shouldn't need anything other than the blessing of this day to give thanks to God for all He does for us. And yet we do. Somehow, we do. We get busy. We forget. We get so caught up in ourselves that we ignore the hurting, the lonely, the unlovely, among us. We forget to be merciful.

Today is a day of celebration. However you do that, remember that the first Thanksgiving happened because native Americans showed mercy and kindness. Do likewise.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Take Time To Be Thankful

You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you.

-- Psalm 118:28

What are you thankful for today? Family, friends, home, health, job. The list likely could go on and on. Most of us today will eat too much. We may watch a little football. We’ll likely share a few laughs. And maybe, just maybe, we’ll take a few moments to thank God for all He’s given us.

It’s a lot different from that first Thanksgiving back in 1621. The Pilgrims, as they’ve come to be called, were thankful for health and food. They’d come over the year before and endured a harsh winter. Only half of the Mayflower’s passengers and crew lived to see that first spring.

But some wonderful people from the Wampanoag tribe took pity on the settlers and taught them how to plant and grow crops, how to fish, how to thrive in the new land. And the two groups celebrated a fine harvest that November.

The Pilgrims had traveled to this land for different reasons. Some sought the opportunity to freely practice their faith. Others sought prosperity. Some wanted the chance to own land. Whatever their dreams, they no doubt were filled with gratitude that first Thanksgiving.

Sometimes I wonder if we know what heartfelt gratitude really means. We’re so busy looking forward to what we want in the future, that we don’t always take time to look around and see what we have today. We never let ourselves be content with where we are. We never seem to let that peace settle over us.

So what are you thankful for today? I’m grateful that we live in a country where Bibles are plentiful and we can worship wherever we choose. I’m grateful that we can freely express our opinions without fear of prison. I’m grateful that I have plenty of food to eat in a world, in a country, where people go hungry every day. I’m thankful for overall good health. I’m thankful for the eyeglasses that help me see. I’m thankful for clean drinking water. I could go on and on. When I start naming my blessings, I can’t seem to stop. God has been so very good to me. I am grateful for my blessings.

This Thanksgiving I’ll probably eat too much. And I’ll laze around and plot my Christmas shopping strategy. But I also want to take time to thank God, really thank Him, for the blessings He has bestowed on me. I am so grateful that He calls me His. I am thankful that one day I’ll be celebrating in God’s Presence. I have quite a bit to be thankful for. How about you?