Category: Thanksgiving

Bad Weather Anyone?

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Living in Minne”snow”ta, I expect bad weather.  Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, we had a lot of heavy, wet snow.  I confess that after getting over 50” of snow last February (plus more the rest of the winter), I did not look forward to snow this winter.  So, in order to remember thankfulness this week, I had to do a lot of praying. 

I enjoy having snow on the ground in the winter.  The ground looks prettier – and let’s face it, who doesn’t like a white Christmas?  It is the difficulty of clearing the snow from my driveway that I don’t like.  It can be hard to do. 

When I encounter tasks like snow removal, that cause me difficulties, I spend time in prayer.  I have to admit, clearing my driveway at the end of a hard day can be therapeutic.  I can burn calories and negative emotions in the same shovel swing.

We know in this life there will be things that attack our attitude of gratitude.  We know from the Bible and many life blessings, that God is good.

God is so good.

When You’re Sick of Being Sick

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Health issues can be so heavy they topple us.  Some health issues are a tough inconvenience, while others change the course of our lives.  Being sick challenges our desire to give thanks to God.

While health issues can make it hard to be thankful, God has shown me ways to find gratitude.  I can start with the fact the Jesus Christ died for my sins. His gift of salvation is easy to be thankful for.

2 Corinthians 12:9 gives us help in our weakness.  “But he said to me, ‘My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in me.”

Health issues cause physical weakness.  When we lose what we are used to having, we are more likely to cry out to God for help. Then He shows us so much more to be thankful for.

God is so good.

Why Does Work Require So Much Hard Work

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Work can provide us with an income, a purpose, a ministry, but let’s face it.  Work can be hard.  I am thankful that God has provided jobs for me over the years.  At times those jobs have wonderful and other times I thought they were going to be the end of me.  Our work can be rewarding or painful. 

I have a very good job, but I still have bad days.  When life is tough, I look at reminders that God has given me along the way.

“A day hemmed in prayer is less likely to unravel.”  A good reminder for this year when prayer is what I am writing about.

Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”  When I look at my job as something that I do for Christ, I find it easier to be thankful.

God is so good.

When it is Hard to Be Thankful

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I have made a tradition of posting 5 days of being thankful the week of Thanksgiving.  I want to continue that tradition, but in a little bit different way.  This year, I am going to write about times when I struggle being thankful.  Don’t worry.  This won’t be a negative week.  I will also share what God has taught me about being thankful when it is hard.

Today I want to start with James 1:2 “My brothers and sisters, consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials”.

I definitely struggle counting trials joy.  They hurt; they are uncomfortable; they are not easy to navigate.  I prefer what I know and understand.  Trials are territory that I do not know.  However, God tells us to “consider it nothing but joy”.  How do I go from the struggle to joy?  By looking at what James 1 tells us next.  Verses 3-4 say, “because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything.”  We can’t always see the benefit of the trial while we are going through it.  However, God has promised that our trials will help to perfect us. God always keeps His promises.  Read His word and talk to Him (pray).  You will see God’s faithfulness.

When I struggle with difficulties, I remember what God has said in His word and look back at how He has fulfilled that in my life.  That thinking draws me closer Christ and helps me think about how I can be thankful.

God is so good.

Thankful for Warmth

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At Thanksgiving, I often remember a time I didn’t have a working furnace.  In the fall of 2010, I had 18 inches of sewer water in my basement after a heavy rain storm.  I was told that I should have the furnace checked.  A contractor came by and told me there was a crack in the heat exchange (which risks getting carbon monoxide in the house).  This was the result of an old furnace (not the flooding), but it came at a time when I was dealing with other challenges.  Those were tough days.

The flooding was late September. By the time I worked through what needed to happen, got quotes, picked a contractor and scheduled them to install the furnace – I was looking at a cold Thanksgiving.  The contractor started the Monday before, but didn’t think they would finish until the Monday after.  I was glad heat was coming.  I was working through being patient for the rest of the week, when I found out they would be able to give me heat the day before Thanksgiving.  Hallelujah!  The contractor turned the heat on and turned off the space heaters that I had been running 24 hours a day for the previous few days.  I was blessed by the action. 

God blessed me with friends who were concerned.  Sometimes even the guys acted like mother hens (I know – a horrible illustration for men, but I treasure the memories). 🙂

One other blessing at the time of the flooding that I want to share – I had plans that fall to buy an electric blanket.  Not knowing how much the flooding repairs would cost, I dropped the idea even before I knew I had to replace the furnace.A friend of mine surprised me with the gift of a brand new electric blanket.  That was an extra blessing in the days I was without a working furnace and provides a long term hug.

I am thankful for a working furnace in my house, a good heater in my car, and an electric blanket to keep me warm during the cold months.

Philosophy of Thankfulness

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As I mentioned in my Thanksgiving and Praise post, I have been thinking about a statement of thanksgiving.  This has been on my mind and heart for some time.  I couldn’t write this philosophy because of some life struggles over the past several years.  I wanted to be able to be honest about the difficulties, but I felt pulled to live a Pollyanna type life – only sharing the positives and ignoring the negatives.  However, I was struggling to deal with the negatives; ignoring them to “be thankful” wasn’t helping.  I know that complaining is sin.  I know that there are many things to be thankful for.  Yet I struggled.  So God kept teaching me about prayer. 

As I prayed through the negatives, God gave me peace about the truth.  The truth is that we will face difficult times.  The truth is that the difficult times hurt.  The stronger truth is that God is good.  Always good.  So my Philosophy of Thanksgiving looks at both sides.

My Philosophy of Thanksgiving is as follows:

“I will pray through each day, frequently giving praise and thanks to God.  I will seek opportunities to share my thankfulness with others. 

Because life is filled with challenges, I will be honest about the pain caused by difficulties.  Then I will remind myself of God’s goodness and ask Him to help me to honor Him through honesty and praise.”

I am not a spectacular writer – I won’t be selling any books.  I just want to use writing to express my thoughts and hopefully help someone know more of the truth of God.

God is so good.

Thankful for Freedom

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Most people will look at this and think of the freedom we have in the United States of America.  While it is true that we have freedom of worship, freedom to choose a job, freedom of speech, etc., this isn’t the best freedom.

The freedom that I am the most thankful for is found through knowing Jesus Christ.  The Bible tells us that God created a perfect world and perfect people.  However, those people disobeyed (sinned against) God and broke fellowship with Him.  Read the book of Romans and you will find that any of us would have done the same thing.  Because of sin,  we had a debt that we could not pay.  An eternal debt to God.  Only Jesus could pay the debt.  So He did.  When I placed my trust in Jesus (because He pursued me), I gained the most amazing freedom (read Galatians 5).

I have freedom from the power of sin.  Freedom from my pathetic whims and desires.  Freedom to live in the best way possible – God’s way.  This freedom takes a lifetime to discover and learn.  I am thankful that God gave me this freedom and continues to teach me about it. 

Opportunities to Learn

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I am so thankful that God has given me many opportunities to learn.  I was in good schools that gave me a quality education with a God centered worldview.  My parents sacrificed to pay for tuition.  I had the opportunity to attend a Bible college with professors who lived a God centered worldview.  God has put me in a church with pastors and Sunday School teachers who desire to teach God’s Word as God intends. 

Learning should be life long.  We should never stop.  The apostle Paul never did (Philippians 3:13).  I pray that God continues to instill a hunger for the wisdom in His Word in my life.  I pray that I can encourage others to desire the food of God’s Word.  I will praise Him for the food He gives.