Blessings Overflow

Since we are now in the month of November - (yikes! I better go turkey diving soon) - I'm wanting to remind us all about thanksgiving. Not just the holiday - but the act.

What is thanksgiving? Well, the Encarta Dictionary on my computer says this:
thanksgiving -
1- a prayer that offers thanks to God
2- an expression or an act of giving thanks
3- a public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness

All three of those definitions talk about an act - doing something. How much do we think about this? And are we in the habit of thanksgiving?

Most of you know that we just returned from a 5000+ mile road-trip. There were lots of chances to get upset, whine, grumble, or complain, (especially when people don't use their blinkers- LOL) - but I tried to remind myself and the kiddos to find the positive. Find the Joy! is our tagline. So, we thanked God for the little angels who cut us off on the interstate, and looked for the positive in all of our adventurous situations. The kids are so good at this, taking a trip is always a pleasant experience. I can't begin to tell you how very blessed I am by my children each and every day. They have learned to laugh right along with me...

A great example of this - I parked under a tree one time to help keep the truck cool. Little did I know, five gazillion birds would decide to flock to that tree while we were inside a restaurant. Needless to say, my truck was not very pretty when we returned to it. Josh was a little grossed out by what was all over his window, but we sure did have a good laugh over it. It's amazing what a positive attitude can do.

So - back to thanksgiving. Are you in the habit of giving thanks? Do you only think about it on the holiday? Do you thank God for each and every day? Do you celebrate His divine goodness?

We're also in the election season. In fact, in a couple of days, it will be over. I've noticed that most people have lost the act of giving thanks during this time. It all seems to come across as whining and complaining. People are passionate about their candidate and seem to love to argue about it. Christians are fighting with other Christians over the issues. (I'm very passionate about what I believe in as well, so I'm not saying not stand up for what you believe in.) But the point I would like to make is that we are spoiled in this country. We've stopped giving thanks for the precious, precious freedom that we enjoy day in and day out. We've stopped giving thanks for all the blessings we have, that many people around the world are dying for. We've become a whining, grumbling, and complaining society.

How can we change this? One day at a time, one word at a time, one heart at a time.
Instead of the "woe is me" attitude, we could be thanking God. Instead of complaining about the traffic, we could be thanking God. Instead of whining about our bills, or the clothes we wish we had, or the dishes piling up, or whatever you can think of to whine about - we could be thanking God.

That's my challenge for you this week - thanksgiving.
How can you show it? How can you live it?

Wow - can you imagine if we instituted my five cent fine for whining, grumbling, or complaining across the country? I would hope that it would make people think twice about their attitudes.

Life is hard, but God is so good.
Let's give thanks.