From My Home to Yours, a Psalm of Thanksgiving

Our family will be sharing this psalm of Thanksgiving as we gather around our table today. May the psalmist's grateful words echo in your hearts as well. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Psalm 138 

I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; before the "gods" I will sing your praise. 

I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. 

When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted. 

May all the kings of the earth praise you, O LORD, when they hear the words of your mouth. 

May they sing of the ways of the LORD, for the glory of the LORD is great. 

Though the LORD is on high, he looks upon the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar. 

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, with your right hand you save me. 

The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever-- do not abandon the works of your hands.

To get your celebration started, here's "Thank You," by Hillsong United. Worship and enjoy.

If you're reading by email and can't see the video, CLICK HERE to hear "Thank You,"

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8 Things I Shouldn't Be Thankful For

As Thanksgiving hides behind Thursday morning’s door waiting to jump out and yell “Gotcha,” I’m preparing to count my blessings. As I make my list, I’m discovering something surprising—many of this year’s blessings have entered my life disguised as something bad. Or sad. Or hard. 

When I bow my head in gratitude on Thursday, I’ll be thanking God for: 

Unemployment 
My husband’s job loss reminded us that our jobs are not our provider, God is. We tend to equate money with security, but unemployment reminded us we are most secure in the center of God’s hand. I’m thankful for the lessons he taught us about his love and care. 

Need 
The needs that accompanied his loss of income showed me God’s unlimited ability to provide for his children. “My God shall supply all your needs according to his riches and glory,” he promises, and it is true. I’m thankful to have new stories of God’s faithfulness to add to our faith heritage and share with others. 

Sickness 
Family members’ illnesses reminded me how God holds our lives in his hands and every breath is a gift from him. I’m thankful for Jehovah Rapha, the God Who Heals. 

Drought 
Months of bone-dry days and scorching heat remind me not to take simple things, like rain, for granted. Drought teaches me how truly dependent we are on God’s mercy and provision. “He bestows rain on the earth; he sends water upon the countryside” (Job. 5:10). I’m thankful for rain that waters our land, sunshine that makes plants grow, and seasons that testify of God’s faithfulness. 

Closed doors 
The longer I walk with the Lord, the more I’ve learned, if God doesn’t open a door, I don’t want to force it. As Jennifer Kennedy Dean writes in her book, Live a Praying Life, “If God has the power to change your circumstances right now, and if God loves you and wants your highest good, and if the circumstances are still in place, then what is your conclusion, based on truth?” I’m thankful I can trust God to know what’s best for my good and his glory. 

Grief 
The ache of missing loved ones reminds me of the sweetness of heaven. It makes me homesick for the day we’ll all be together. I’m thankful “we sorrow not as those who have no hope,” (1 Thes. 4:13). 

Delayed answers to prayer 
Having to pray persistently, fervently, and faithfully because answers are slow in coming has grown my character and my faith. It has strengthened my spiritual muscles. I’m thankful for the promise, “They who sow in tears shall reap in joy” (Ps. 126:5). 

The convicting voice of the Holy Spirit 
You know the voice. The One that keeps you awake at night, troubles your thoughts, and reminds you of what is right. The same one that won’t let you sin and get away with it, even if no one sees you. The one that nibbles you like a duck until you cry for mercy and do whatever it takes to make it right. I’m thankful for the still, small voice of conviction, because it proves I am God’s child.  

As you prepare for Thanksgiving, I’d like to encourage you to look past the obvious. Look closely at the parts of your life that are bad, sad, and hard. Perhaps you’ll discover, when you peel back the layers, that these trials are some of the greatest blessings of all.

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Why Not Have Thanksgiving MONTH?

One of the first things conscientious parents teach their children to say is “please” and “thank you.” More than just good manners, these three little words are foundational to a polite society. 

When we say please, we transform a command into a request—unless, of course, you’re my third grade teacher. When Mrs. Cavanaugh said, “Please be quiet and take your seats,” it wasn’t a request. It was an order. 

Generally speaking, however, please reminds us that we are making a request. When someone honors our request, the proper response is to say, “Thank you.” Mrs. Cavanaugh never said thank you, but my mom taught me to. Under her gentle tutelage, I learned to acknowledge gifts, courtesies, and compliments with gratitude. 

As our world becomes more consumer-oriented, genuine expressions of thanks become rarer. I’m as guilty as the next person. I don’t always thank my husband for taking out the trash, replacing the ratty windshield wiper on my car, or working hard to provide for our family. Sometimes I complain about poor service in a store or restaurant, but seldom offer anything more than a cursory, “Thank you,” to my waitress or clerk when I receive good service. 

One of my goals during this Thanksgiving month is to go beyond the simple thank you and offer a more intentional, thoughtful response. It could be as simple as sending an email that says, “Thank you so much for your help on this project. I couldn’t have done it without you, and I’m very grateful for your participation.” Or I might say to the cashier at the grocery store, “You have a great smile. It’s so nice to see a happy face at the cash register.” At least once this month I plan to write a letter to a store manager bragging on one of his employees. 

I took my idea for a trial run in September. I was preparing for a trip to Japan to visit my daughter, who lives in Yokosuka with her Navy husband. When I asked if there was anything I could bring that she couldn’t get in Japan, she responded with a sigh. “What I miss the most is Chick Fil A nuggets, and there’s no way you could bring them to Japan.” With 20 hours of travel time ahead of me, we agreed that Chick Fil A nuggets were out of the question. 

But mothers don’t give up easily. A suggestion from my sister-in-law led to a phone call to Patrick, an employee at a local ice company. “I think five or six pounds of dry ice should get your nuggets safely to Japan,” he said confidently. “Stop by on the way to the airport, and I’ll be glad to package it up for you. It’ll cost you about $12.50.” 

Knowing I had to arrive at the airport by eight a.m., I asked what time they opened. Eight o’clock, he said, too late for me to stop by and still make my flight. “I don’t mind meeting you here early,” Patrick said. “I’ll see you at 7.” 

You’d better believe I wrote that young man’s boss a letter expressing my thanks and praising his willingness to go far beyond what was expected of him. I hope my letter made them smile as much as those Chick Fil A nuggets made my daughter smile, but I doubt it. 

Thanksgiving Day will soon be upon us. We’ll eat too much, watch football, and acknowledge God’s blessings. Why not go a step further? Why not join me in dedicating the rest of the month of November to thanksgiving? I suspect the more we find to be thankful for, the happier our hearts will be. And so will the hearts of those around us. 

“He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed” (Proverbs 11:25).

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Thankful for SQUASH?

My husband and I established the habit of saying grace before meals long before our children were born. 

When our first daughter was old enough to sit in a high chair and eat small bites from the table, we included her in the blessing. We would each take one of her little hands in ours, bow our heads, and express our thanks to God for our food. 

As she got older, she’d mimic the way we closed our eyes and bowed our heads, peeking out from under her eyelashes. To involve her further in our “thankful time,” we’d often sing "Thank you, Father. Thank you, Father, for our food . . ." in lieu of a spoken prayer. She caught on quickly, and I’d sometimes hear her singing a blessing as she served make-believe tea to her stuffed animals. 

By age three or four, we encouraged her to pray her own original blessings at meal times. Some days she got quite long-winded as she thanked God for everything from her friends, pets, and family members, to the band aide on her skinned knee. 

One summer evening as we took our places at the table, I asked who would like to return thanks for the meal. My daughter volunteered. Closing her eyes tightly, she began. “God, thank you for the meatloaf, smashed potatoes, gravy, and . . .” She paused to peek at her plate. Scrunching up her nose in disgust, she asked in a stage whisper, “Do I hafta say thank you for the squash?” 

“Yes, Baby,” I replied, smothering a smile, “even for the squash.” 

“In everything give thanks,” reads 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 

Just like I encouraged my daughter to give thanks for squash, God calls us to be thankful for the things in our lives that are good as well as those that are distasteful, painful, or difficult. His motive, like ours in training our daughter to give thanks, is to encourage a grateful attitude and to build our trust. When we regularly express thanks to God for the good things in our lives, we remind ourselves from whom our blessings come. 

“Every good and perfect gift is from above,” James 1:17 says, “coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.” Instead of crediting luck, good fortune, or random chance, we acknowledge the Lord’s daily care and involvement in our lives. This grows our faith. 

When we choose to give thanks for the sad, bad, and difficult aspects of our lives, we acknowledge that we are trusting God to use trials for our good and his glory (Romans 8:28). This also grows our faith. 

So the next time you look down at the plate of your life and find squash, practice the spiritual discipline of thanksgiving. It will make your faith grow.

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Should We Be Grateful or Grumbly?

When the cashier, a cute little girl of sixteen, handed me my grocery receipt, I checked it as I pushed my cart toward the door.  The total had been less than I expected, and I was scanning it for errors. I am frugal, so I always keep a pretty accurate mental tally as I shop. When the total was different from what I expected, I started searching.

Always quick to head to the service desk when I have been overcharged, I'm also quick to point out an error in the store's favor.  It is the right thing to do, and being honest sometimes gives me an opportunity to witness. This time, it only took me a moment to spot the mistake. There at the bottom of my receipt was the reason for my reduced grocery bill.

The cashier had given me a Senior Citizen discount.

I had never seen one before, so I looked again, checking to make sure I hadn't misread it.

But no, there it was., clear as day--a five percent discount for being over the age of 65.

Those of you who know me are already laughing, but for those readers whom I haven't met, I'll let you in on the joke --  I am almost two decades away from my 65th birthday. I don't have grey hair (at least none that show). I am reasonably fit, and I passed my daughter's latest wrinkle check. Why in the world, I wondered, did the cashier give me a Senior Citizen discount?

It had to be a matter of perspective.

Though I am a long way from 65, to my 16-year old cashier, I probably looked ancient. I certainly was WAY older than she was, so in her mind, I had to be a senior citizen.

While I shook my head and chuckled a bit, I realized that like my cashier's youthful perspective skewed her ability to judge my age, my perspective often skews my ability to accurately process my own life situations.

I grumble about minor aches and pains until I comfort a friend who has cancer.

I complain about eating hamburger instead of steak until I hand a box of crackers out the window to a homeless person on the street corner

I lament about the Christmas gifts I wish I could afford until I assemble a box for an Operation Christmas Child recipient.

I complain about the socks my husband deposits daily on the floor beside his work boots, until I hug a friend whose husband died when her children were two and four years old.

I fuss that my dining room isn't big enough to seat all my Christmas guests until I serve in the food line of the homeless ministry in the park.

I chafe at long hours on my feet at work until I read the latest unemployment figures.

Like my cashier's 16-year old eyes lacked an accurate perception of my age, my self-centered eyes often lack an accurate perception of how much I have to be thankful for. If you also suffer from a self-centered myopic perspective, would you join me today in thanking God for His many blessings to us?

". . . I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength" (Philippians 4: 11-13).

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