Give Thanks to The Lord For He is Good!!

Happy Thanksgiving!! I was up early this morning, enjoying the peace and solitude of my Quiet Time, reflecting about all that I have to be thankful for. I came upon Psalm 136. The entire Psalm is one of Thanksgiving to God, because He is good, because He alone does great wonders, making the heavens and the earth, the waters that stretch across the earth, the lights that govern the day and the moon and stars that govern the night. He deserves our praise and Thanksgiving for all of the ways that He protects and provides for His people, for freeing us from bondage and leading us through deserts.

Today I give thanks to the "One who remembered us in our low estate and freed us from our enemies, and who gives food to every creature. I give thanks to the God of heaven." What I especially love about this Psalm is the response, "His love endures forever". That's the truth that I cling to every day, the thing that I am the most thankful for. It is what begins my journey to a million other things that I am so grateful for on this Thanksgiving day: my family, my husbands kisses and the laughter of my children, our health, our many wonderful friends, our jobs, the way of life that we enjoy in Wyoming, the beauty of God's creation that surrounds me. And I'm thankful for turkey and stuffing and green bean casserole and pumpkin pie!

I love thanksgiving for so many reasons, but especially because today makes us stop and ponder what we are thankful for and why. Our Pastor and his son just got back from a missions trip in Zimbabwe. They were there for two weeks, visiting family's in different "trusts" or villages. Each family that they visited was given a gift of water and cornmeal. Pastor Bob shared with us how grateful the people were for what is a seemingly simple gift. Bu this gift would go a long way in feeding these families and they didn't hesitate in sharing their meal with their guests! I think that we have gotten too accustomed to comfort, ease and plenty here in American, making it harder and harder to be thankful. So today I am finding myself thankful for our ability to share water and cornmeal with a starving country, and for people like Pastor Bob and Dylan, who are willing to to go and give to a poor and hungry people, and then come back and open our eyes to all that we have to be truly grateful for, and to consider that if we had a lot less, maybe our gratitude would be more. Take time and read Psalm 136 today, it will begin the journey to a thankful heart!