Thanksgiving without the Cliches


With the holiday coming in a couple days, I already expect to see a lot of posts about being thankful.  People on Facebook are posting daily "I'm thankful for___" updates.  I admit that I enjoy the heightened awareness toward gratitude and the noticeable decrease in complaints. At the same time, it bothers me that feelings of 'thanksgiving' are somehow tied to a large meal and beautiful fall pictures.  It feels a bit...hallow.

I love this scripture, especially in this plain English version:
Philippians 4:6 
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

As my family has been walking this heart transplant journey with my grandson, we've come very close to losing him a few times. I can confidently say that he's been sustained by the hand of God! I have spent hours praying and interceding on behalf of this precious child and my heart has been careful to thank God along the way. I worry that I can't thank him enough!  

Remember the ten lepers who were healed and only one came back to thank Jesus? I don't want to be like them. 

Psalm 100: 4 
Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.

My Thanksgiving prayer is that I will properly express gratitude to Him because He's so worthy!  He's so FAITHFUL! I want my heart to be full of THANKS. According to the above Psalm, I can enter His gates when my heart is full of thanksgiving. That means, the key to his house is having a thankful heart!   





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