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Thanksgiving—Giving Thanks to God

Well, I am a bit late in sending out a Thanksgiving thought.  It has been a full weekend for my family. On Saturday, my family gathered to have pictures taken.  Lyndon Smith so graciously offered to take some photos for us.  I am so grateful for his kindness.  Jan came along to keep the younger grandchildren focused. She did a fantastic job!  Thank you both.  I can't wait to see the pictures. 

The following two pictures were taken by one of my children, and my favourite so far is the one with four of our grandchildren, Haliey 17, Alex 8, Gracie 4, and Avery 1.  I also like the one with the little girls and I sitting in the leaves. Yes, the picture was taken in my backyard, and the neighbour's tree has only dropped half of what we will eventually receive.  Usually, we have about 15 bags of leaves. The girls loved it! 


The following reflection on being thankful is from Elsie Nickorick.

Thanksgiving—Giving Thanks to God

"Devote yourself to prayer being watchful and thankful." Colossians 4:2

Gratitude needs to be shown in the way we live our lives and by our attitude.  The history of Thanksgiving goes back to 1621 with the Plymouth Pilgrims, which is the beginning of what we know today as Thanksgiving Day.

"Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name, make known among the nations what He has done." 1 Chronicle 16:8

The same call is to us—to give thanks and make known.  The following are a few hymns that express thoughts of Thanksgiving.

Great is Thy Faithfulness:  The writer of the lyrics though in impaired health, writes of God's faithfulness "morning by morning." Like the manna in the wilderness supplied "morning by morning."

Count Your Blessings: "Praise to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing" Ephesians 1: 5.  Counting my blessings (and being thankful) serves as an antidote for life's discouragement and grumblings!  The manna in the wilderness was fresh every morning, but soon there was grumbling instead of gratitude.

Now Thank We All Our God: "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift" 2 Corinthians 9:15. The gift of salvation—what a gift! Indescribable!

Thank You, Lord: "Some thank the Lord for friends and home, For mercies sure and sweet, but I would praise Him for His grace.  In prayer, I would repeat: Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul. Thank you, Lord, for making me whole.  Thank you, Lord, for giving me my salvation so rich and free."

My lack of praise and gratitude for salvation at times can be likened to the ten lepers after being miraculously healed.  Only one returned to Jesus to say, "thank you." The interest of the others was centred more on what happened to them personally, and they neglected to give thanks to the one who healed them.

Am I guilty of the same neglect? Carelessness?

Thanks to God: "Develop giving thanks to God the Father for everything" Ephesians 5:20.

Thanks to God my Redeemer—

For all thou dost provide—

For prayers, thou hast answered—

For the pain—

For the pleasure—

For comfort in despair—

For grace that none can measure—

For love beyond compare—

For the roses—

For the Thorns—

For joy and sorrows—

And For Hope.

 

Oh, for a heart that lives what has been penned!

 

A Bible Scholar once wrote of his experience after he had been robbed: "Thankfully, he only took my wallet, not my life.  Thankfully, I was not hurt and am still alive.  I am thankful that I was robbed and not the robber."

 

Come Ye Thankful People Come: "Let us be thankful and worship God" Hebrews 12:8.  Gratitude is turning what I have into enough! When I am thankful, God is pleased.

 

To God be the Glory, Great Things He has Done

The Cross is not greater than His Grace

 

Hymns (or Hymnody, singing or composition) can permeate our minds with Scripture and help us praise God.  They can help us to pray and give us a way of "talking to ourselves." They can comfort and encourage us in our need.  A few other hymns that can help us to focus on Christ are:

 

Tell it to Jesus

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

Does Jesus Care

And there are many other hymns.  God helps us be thankful by His Spirit to have faith not to fear, hope not to despair, and love, not Hate.

 

Blessings, Elsie

 

Thank you, Elsie, for sharing your thoughts on Thanksgiving.  If you would like to send her a note, her email is: enickorick@sasktel.net

 

I am having the two biopsies on Tuesday, October 12, in the morning.  I will not know anything until after October 19.  Thank you for your prayers and care during this incredible journey of learning to love and live well during uncertain times.

 

Blessings, and stay safe,

Robin


 

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