Thanks and Giving

by Sylvia Gaston

Most Americans’ favorite holiday is Christmas. A 2015 Harris poll revealed the top favorite holidays as:

1.    Christmas (46%)

2.    Thanksgiving (19%)

3.    Halloween (9%)

4.    Fourth of July (5%)

5.    Easter (3%)

6.    New Year’s (2%)

7.    Memorial Day (1%)

8.    Birthdays (1%)

9.    Labor Day (1%)

10. Valentine’s Day (1%)

However, my favorite holiday is THANKSGIVING. In fact, I often verbalize my disappointment over the fact that in retail and outdoor home décor, Halloween is followed immediately by Christmas – even the very next day! What about Thanksgiving, people?!?

It is my absolute favorite holiday of the year. Mostly because it is about 2 things I LOVE – family and food!

My husband and I have a friendly turkey cooking competition each year. His is on the grill and mine is brined and roasted. He claims to win every year but it’s usually a tie – both are delicious. And since I love to cook, it’s fun for me to find awesome new ways to use up all of those leftovers!

But the very best part of Thanksgiving is that this particular holiday is about hanging out with family and basking in thankfulness.

There seems to be a visible shift in people’s demeanor, kindness and appreciation during this season. These are the days when we look at our, often taken-for-granted, blessings. We take stock of the loved ones in our life and the relative comfort we enjoy.

Thanksgiving is also the season where we begin to share a portion of our overflow with those who need it. Whether inviting others to share in our turkey meal or donating groceries so families can prepare their own, we begin giving because we are thankful.

My co-worker, Justine, recently wrote a Sunday school lesson entitled “Thanks and Giving”. This phrase has really stuck with me. I can’t get it out of my head.

It seems to me that when we are TRULY thankful for all that God has blessed us with, there should be a response of giving. Not only to share what we have but also as an act of gratitude for what we have been given.

In the Bible, we read about Paul, a man who has a supernatural encounter with Jesus and goes on to build and encourage the young churches for the remainder of his life. In a letter to the people of the church in Corinth, he encourages their generosity in this way:

“I have been bragging about you to the people in Macedonia…And your desire to give has made most of the people here ready to give also…Remember this: The one who plants few seeds will have a small harvest. But the one who plants a lot will have a big harvest. Each one of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give. You should not give if it makes you unhappy or if you feel forced to give. God loves those who are happy to give. And God can give you more blessings than you need, and you will always have plenty of everything…The service you are offering helps God’s people with their needs, but that is not all it does. It is also bringing more and more thanks to God.” (from 1 Corinthians 9)

Read those last 2 sentences again. When we give, we are saying, “Thanks, God, for all You are doing for me. I’m so thankful, that I’m going to give.”

What are you thankful for? We should be asking and answering this question each day because out of our overflow of thanks, we begin to give. And with our giving, not only are we showing our appreciation, it can become the pebble in the water that ripples out in larger and larger rings of thanks and giving from others.

I hope this phrase gets stuck in your head and heart just as it has in mine – thanks and giving.

Give Thanks

by Tim Howard

This week many families and friends gathered for a Thanksgiving Day celebration. Our country has set aside one day on the calendar each year to remind us of the importance of giving thanks.  One day to press the pause button and say: THANK YOU GOD for all you have done.

Among many statements found it the Bible about thanks and praise, David said in Psalms. 92:1 “It is good to give thanks to the LORD.”

 It’s good because it opens the door for a heart of gratitude to grow within each of us. Giving thanks is something you say and do but gratefulness is a condition of the heart. An Attitude of Gratitude flourishes when life is lived with thankfulness.

Not only this but it also replaces the ugly sounds of criticism, sarcasm and complaining with the reverberation of joy, hope and appreciation. Granted, there’s much to complain about but when you realize over half the world earns less than $2.00 a day; no more than 5% of the world population owns a home and the majority don’t have a car to drive, maybe we have more to be thankful for than we realize.

 People who complain and criticize on a regular basis are not fun to be around. Thankful people, however, bring a fresh perspective because they focus on what they have and don’t worry about the things they have yet to obtain. They bring joy because they choose to fill their mouths with positive things rather than the negative.

Jesus asked a very important question worth answering when He was on His way to Jerusalem. The narrative is found in Luke chapter 17. Jesus spoke a word of healing to ten people stricken with leprosy and here’s what happened: “And as they went on their way, the leprosy disappeared. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God, I’m healed!” He fell face down on the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done… Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where is the other nine?

Good question? Why don’t more people give thanks? Maybe the nine didn’t return because they chalked it up to being lucky or a coincidence? Failing to realize God’s involvement stifles thanksgiving.

Then again, maybe they were so caught up in the present moment and their new-found health they simply forget the goodness of God.

It’s easy to lose a spirit of thanksgiving at any time – but be warned - the consequences are not very positive. Romans 1:21 declares: “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, so they became futile in their views of life, and their foolish heart was darkened.”

Thanksgiving will blow the clouds of darkness away and keeps the lights on. Only then - will a person see life through positive lenses.

As I celebrated Thanksgiving a couple of days ago – my family and friends took time to express thanks to God. I personally don’t thank God for everything because some things are evil but I have committed myself to giving thanks in the midst of everything.

This is something I endeavor to do 365 days a year – including Thanksgiving weekend. I hope you do as well.

The Blessed Life

by Tim Howard

A few days ago we celebrated our 240^th Birthday as a nation. Our family – like so many – put some burgers on the grill, had friends over to the house, shot off some fireworks for the kids and had a wonderful day.

We also took time to share and give thanks for some of the wonderful gifts we all get to experience because we live in such a great country.

We have running water to our houses 24 hours a day. Electricity is available to us and we only need to flip a switch. If a fire breaks out in your home – people you don’t even know will come and do everything within their power to extinguish it. Six days a week someone visits our homes to pick up an envelope and take it wherever you want. Wow - What a blessing!

As the conversation continued, we enumerated many other blessings. Things like cell phones, computers, navigational systems, 50-inch flat screen HD televisions, homes with a pool, cars that are fast and the list goes on. 

Wow – What blessings we have at our fingertips!

In the final analysis, however, we all agreed that the gift of friends, family and the freedom to worship God freely - topped the blessing list!

The song titled: ‘God Bless America’ is a prayer that God has answered!  We must never take for granted the great blessings we enjoy and the freedom afforded to all of us. How can we guard ourselves for this?

Two things come to mind from the life of David and Abraham in the Old Testament.

David in the Book of Psalms took time to give thanks and in doing so – reminded himself of God’s goodness.  Psalms 103: 2-5 “Bless the LORD, O my soul and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul forget not all his benefits. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things.”

Abraham in the book of Genesis heard God say:  - “I have committed myself to blessing you with the sole purpose of making you a blessing to others.”

How can we guard ourselves from – taking things for granted? By giving thanks to God daily for what we have and deciding to use our blessings as a means to bless others.

“ For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” Gal 5:13

Give Thanks

by Tim Howard

Maybe this isn’t true for you but when the fall season begins and November rolls around – my thinking begins to revolve around Thanksgiving. For me, it’s not just about a one day event to celebrate with family and friends but a month long endeavor to give thanks for what we have. Each year at this time I make a dedicated effort to remind myself of all the things I possess that money can’t buy and then verbalize my thanks. Sometimes I say thanks to God directly and other times I share my thanks with people. Every time I do this – without fail – I realize I am rich. You don’t have to have a stockpile of money, investments, a 401K or a lot of stuff to be rich or thankful!

As a young boy my parents taught me the words: ‘Please’ and ‘Thank You.’ Please is a request and ‘thank you’ is the proper response when you receive that, which you requested.

I in turn, as a parent have tried to teach my children and now my grandson the same three words. I realize they are more than mere pleasantries when spoken.  They plant seeds within a person that can activate and shape a positive attitude.  Saying “please” can guard you from an attitude of entitlement and keep you from developing a demanding spirit.  Expressing thanks in verbal form can develop a grateful heart and create a spirit of appreciation.

In this season of Thanksgiving it is easy to lose a sense of gratitude when we forget how blessed we all are.  This is precisely what happened in the Old Testament when people forgot God’s goodness. Psalm 106, beginning in verse 12, God summarizes this unhappy time in history by saying:  "They believed His promises and sang His praise."  That's the good news!  "But they soon forgot what He had done and did not wait for His counsel."  They didn’t give thanks!

Their forgetfulness closed the door to thanksgiving and opened the door to a spirit of complaining and criticism.

Years ago Jay Leno wrote a satire on complaining: “Are the American people complaining because they have electricity and running water 24/7? Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?  Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in recent years?  Or perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home.  You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings.”  Maybe we have forgotten how blessed we are!

It’s not just the Israelites in the Old Testament – All of us are prone to forget what we have. The antidote for spiritual forgetfulness is called praise and thanksgiving.  Praise and Thanksgiving is a discipline - a deliberate focusing of our thoughts on things we have rather than what we don’t have.  When this is practiced, an attitude of gratitude will be present and the atmosphere around you will change.

We would be wise to train our minds and hearts to express thanks – all the time – Starting now!  Let this month be a month of praise and thanksgiving. We have much to be grateful for!

Attitude of Gratitude

by Tim Howard

Thanksgiving Day celebration may be over but giving thanks should never end. Every day is an opportunity to express thanks and grow an attitude of gratitude. 

If you are going to give thanks every day, you will need to focus on what is good. Paul the apostle says it this way:  “… friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.” Phil. 4:8.  When you do this, you are able to give thanks.

You see what you look for! If you look for the good, you will find it. If you look for the bad you will find that. There are a lot of good things happening all around us but with all the negativity in the press and the preoccupation with the dark side of life, it’s difficult to stay focused on the things Paul mentions.

The challenge is great but remembering to give thanks is imperative. When you stop giving thanks you open the door for a downward spiral to occur. This happened to some people and it’s recorded in Romans chapter one. They knew there was a God but they didn’t respect Him, they didn’t give Him any of their time and they stopped giving thanks – thinking they didn’t need Him. The result was devastating. You can read about it in Romans 1:24-32. Their unwillingness to give thanks to God opened the door for a critical spirit and judgment.  When people forget the blessings they have received, the temptation to complain and criticize increases.

I remember reading an article by Jay Leno. He wrote:  “Are the American people complaining because they have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?  Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?  Or perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home.  You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings.”  Maybe we have forgotten how blessed we are!

Giving thanks and offering praise is a discipline - a deliberate focusing of our thoughts on that which is good. King David made this commitment: Every day I’m going to find something to praise God for. I will never stop looking for good because God is good. It is always the season to give praise. I too have made that commitment. I don’t thank God for everything that happens because everything isn’t good but in the midst of everything I do commit myself to giving thanks. Why? Because God uses everything to grow us up. He even uses the bad things to accomplish His purposes.

You and I would be wise to end our day with thanks to God and begin our day with praise. Remember this as you walk through the Christmas season at a frantic pace. It will help you stay on track and develop an Attitude of Gratitude. 

Give Thanks

by Andrew Cromwell

During this season it is traditional to give thanks. A popular activity on Facebook this month is to post “what I am thankful for” each day. The holiday serves as a wonderful reminder to us that we need to live with an outward focus rather than an inward focus.

In order to give thanks, we must first recognize that there is someone apart from us that has given us something. This recognition is actually bigger than it may sound at first because far too often we live our lives as if we are the only one in the universe. I suppose in a sick, twisted kind of way, just the reverse is also true for some people — they see themselves at the center of the universe and so they are unsurprised (and not particularly grateful) when things come their way. 

Perhaps more importantly, in order to be truly thankful we must recognize that we have a need — that we are missing something. It is not that you can’t be grateful for something you don’t need (like that special Christmas sweater from grandma), but there is a whole other level of thankfulness when we receive a gift that truly meets a need (like the gift of help when we just won’t be able to finish that project all on our own).

Scripture says that every good gift comes down from the Father of lights (James 1:17). In other words, God is the origin and cause of every good thing in the universe. Without him, we could not have good things to begin with. He was the One who gave the first gift and made it possible to give every other gift. So when we give thanks this season, we should remember who is the true source of every good gift.

When we give thanks to our Father in heaven, our thanksgiving is deeper and more meaningful. Psalms 136 says, “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love endures forever.” As we move away from Thanksgiving and into the Christmas season, let’s decide not to leave the spirit of thanks behind. Instead, live with a spirit of thanksgiving each and every day, recognizing the One and true source of all good things in our life.

Give Thanks

by Andrew Cromwell

During this season it is traditional to give thanks. A popular activity on Facebook this month is to post “what I am thankful for” each day. The holiday serves as a wonderful reminder to us that we need to live with an outward focus rather than an inward focus.

In order to give thanks, we must first recognize that there is someone apart from us that has given us something. This recognition is actually bigger than it may sound at first because far too often we live our lives as if we are the only one in the universe. I suppose in a sick, twisted kind of way, just the reverse is also true for some people — they see themselves at the center of the universe and so they are unsurprised (and not particularly grateful) when things come their way.

  

Perhaps more importantly, in order to be truly thankful we must recognize that we have a need — that we are missing something. It is not that you can’t be grateful for something you don’t need (like that special Christmas sweater from grandma), but there is a whole other level of thankfulness when we receive a gift that truly meets a need (like the gift of help when we just won’t be able to finish that project all on our own).

Scripture says that every good gift comes down from the Father of lights (James 1:17). In other words, God is the origin and cause of every good thing in the universe. Without him, we could not have good things to begin with. He was the One who gave the first gift and made it possible to give every other gift. So when we give thanks this season, we should remember who is the true source of every good gift.

When we give thanks to our Father in heaven, our thanksgiving is deeper and more meaningful. Psalms 136 says, “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love endures forever.” As we move away from Thanksgiving and into the Christmas season, let’s decide not to leave the spirit of thanks behind. Instead, live with a spirit of thanksgiving each and every day, recognizing the One and true source of all good things in our life.