Thanksgiving

I just read a heart-warming story about a family’s Thanksgiving dinner that I’ll probably never forget. It starts with a text message invite to the wrong person. I encourage you to check it out.

What kind of Thanksgiving traditions do you and your family enjoy? Will this year be any different because of the pandemic? While Thanksgiving often seems to be about food and family, it should be about giving thanks. As our traditions are challenged a bit by the need to avoid spreading COVID-19, it may be a subtle reminder to focus our attention on what the season is really about: thanksgiving.

I’m always challenged by 1 Thessalonians 5:18 where God tells us to give thanks in everything. It says it’s God’s will for us in Christ Jesus. Why is giving thanks God’s will? It seems that God has hardwired a gratitude benefit into our DNA. I’m including comments from a blog I read a couple of years ago in a book I’m currently writing. The blog features thirty-one benefits of gratitude. You’ll find it encouraging.

I mentioned yesterday that we ought to give thanks because it’s God’s will. Another reason is because it’s good for us. I believe one reason God wants us to give thanks is because He loves us so much and wants us to enjoy the benefits of a grateful heart.

What will you do this year to focus on giving thanks? Will you share some ideas in the comments below?

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I’m giving away three books to the winner of a drawing I’ll be doing on Christmas Day, and I’d like to invite you to participate. Every year about this time, I begin working on my plans for personal growth for the upcoming year. Part of my plan always includes a list of the books I want to read. I encourage you to do the same thing. I’m giving these three books away (see picture below) to someone, and it could be you. Click this link to enter. You can enter often by commenting on a blog and visiting my author Facebook page. You may want to save the link. Every time you comment on a blog or visit my Facebook page, you can enter the drawing by clicking the link.