Tag Archive | thankful

Thankful Thoughts

Nov21

Psalm 107:8 – Let them give thanks to the Lord for His faithful love and His wonderful works for all humanity. (HCSB)

In honor of Thanksgiving Day my friends have issued the challenge to list 15 thankful thoughts. Even though I try not to limit my thanks, I will accept the challenge and attempt to create a manageable list.

  1. I am thankful for God’s love; thankful that He is merciful and forgiving; thankful that He sacrificed His son for me; thankful that He listens to my prayers and to the prayers others pray for my benefit.
  2. I am thankful for my husband and our 40+ years of marriage; thankful for the way he loves God, his family, and others.
  3. I am thankful for our son who shows his love for God and his family every day. I am so proud to be his mom! I am thankful for our daughter that he brought us by marriage.
  4. I am thankful for our two amazing grandchildren. They are both smart, funny, talented, and cute as can be! I love them both a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck.
  5. I am thankful for my extended family. They are a little fudgy – sweet, lots of nuts, and sometimes give me a stomach ache but they are mine and I love them.
  6. I am thankful for my two grandmothers. They both showed such strength and daily lived out the love of God. I understand things as an adult that I took for granted as a child and appreciate more every day the sacrifices they made.
  7. I am thankful for friends. Even though I can’t see them as much as I’d like, I know they are always there. I am thankful for social media sites that allow me to have “old” friends back in my life again.
  8. That clever, witty, and thought provoking Anonymous once said “A grateful heart is one that finds the countless blessings of God in the seemingly mundane everyday life.” I am thankful that I live a safe and seemingly mundane life.
  9. I am thankful for people who have a working knowledge of contractions. “You’re” and “your” are NOT interchangeable!
  10. I am thankful for people who understand the humor in sarcasm. By the way, number 9 is not sarcasm. Seriously, people, contractions are not that difficult.
  11. I am thankful for my church and the relationships being built in my small group. I feel privileged to be a part of such a great family of believers.
  12. I am thankful that I have the means to go to the grocery store. I shop sales, use coupons, and may skip something on my list, but my family never skips a meal or goes to bed hungry.
  13. I am thankful I have a house that is warm in winter, cool in summer. I wish it was not such an avid collector of dust bunnies, but it is a nice house and I am thankful for it. I would be extremely thankful if it were located at the beach!
  14. I am thankful for ocean waves and mountain ranges; sunrises and sunsets, vivid colors and changing colors. I am thankful for the beauty God gave us to enjoy in the world He created.
  15. Joseph B. Wirthlin summed it all up with, “I give thanks to my Creator for this wonderful life where each of us has the opportunity to learn lessons we could not fully comprehend by any other means.” Thank You, Lord, for this wonderful life.
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Thankful Thoughts

Nov24

Psalm 100:4 – Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name. (HCSB)

I have so many things to be thankful for, not just this week with a day named Thanksgiving but every week. I am thankful for God’s love, thankful that He is merciful and forgiving; thankful that He sacrificed His Son for me, and thankful that He listens to my prayers. I am thankful for my Godly husband who encourages me, supports me, and loves me. I am thankful for our hardworking son and thankful for the daughter he brought us by marriage. I am thankful for our two amazing grandchildren who each have a special “Granny suggah spot” and I love them both a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck! I am thankful for my extended family, although they can be a little fudgy – sweet, somewhat nutty, and at times give me a stomachache – they are still mine and I love them. I am thankful for my two grandmothers, both strong women who lived out the love of God. I understand things as an adult that I took for granted as a child, and I appreciate more every day the lives they lived and the sacrifices they made. I am thankful for friends who laugh with me, cry with me, hold my hand, and hug my neck. I am thankful for people who get the humor in sarcasm. I am thankful for social media sites that allow me to have “old” friends in my life again. I am thankful for people who have a working knowledge of contractions (your and you’re are NOT interchangeable). I am thankful for my small group class at church and the way we love and support each other. I am thankful for my church family and feel privileged to be a part of such a great group of people. I am thankful for praying people in my life. I am thankful that I live in the United States of America. I am thankful for the house that is our home. I am thankful for warm temperatures, sandy toes by the ocean, and colorful sunsets. I am thankful that Jesus loves me and that I can freely know His love by reading my Bible and listening to ministers who speak God’s truth. Joseph B. Wirthlin summed it all up with “I give thanks to my Creator for this wonderful life where each of us has the opportunity to learn lessons we could not full comprehend by any other means.”

 

 

I Want More

Apr8

Psalm 116:17 – I will offer You a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of Yahweh. (HCSB)

James 1:17 – Every generous act and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights; with Him there is no variation or shadow cast by turning. (HCSB)

Luke 12: 15 – He then told them, “Watch out and be on guard against all greed because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.” (HCSB)

 

Why is it that we want what we don’t have? We don’t like change because we want things the way they used to be, or at least the way we “remember” the way they used to be. Our memories tend to look at the past with rose-colored glasses. Exodus 16:3 tells us that the Israelites looked back at slavery with longing, losing sight of the lifestyle to focus on the meals! We look with longing at the greener grass in the neighbor’s yard — also at the car, the new deck furniture, and all the other wonderful things they seem to have that we don’t! We would be so happy if only we had ……., each one of us has a personal phrase to complete that sentence. We just want more – more house, more money, more clothes, just more. Satan loves planting seeds of desire for what we don’t have and usually those seeds produce a bumper crop. Genesis 3:2-6 tells us of Eve in the Garden of Eden. She lived in a perfect environment with multiple varieties of abundant and luscious fruit, but with all she had, she wanted more. There was one fruit that she couldn’t have, and she became obsessed with what she was missing. The amazing garden went out of focus, and all she could see was the forbidden fruit. She began to focus on what she didn’t have and lost sight of God’s countless gifts. She became fixated on what was wrong with her life and took steps to right that wrong in her own way. Epictetus said “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” Garth Brooks said, “Happiness isn’t getting what you want, it’s wanting what you get.” I would say that happiness is being thankful for God’s provision. Being thankful makes us focus on all that we have been given instead of on what we think is being withheld. Being thankful stunts the growth of negativity. Gratefulness trumps grumpiness every time! 1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells me that it is God’s will for me to give thanks. Lord, today I give thanks not only with a grateful heart but also with a humble one. You bless me in so many ways. Please help me to turn my eyes to Your gifts and away from my greed.