Give Thanks!

Where has Thanksgiving gone?  Somehow anymore we go straight from Halloween to Christmas.  And in the process do not give a beautiful holiday the ABSOLUTE attention it deserves.   And it is  one of the few holidays that started out God-centered.  It's purpose a necessary thing.

According to the dictionary.reference.com here is what Thanksgiving means-

thanks·giv·ing

–noun

1.

the act of giving thanks; grateful acknowledgment of benefits or favors, esp. to god.

2.

an expression of thanks, esp. to God.

3.

a public celebration in acknowledgment of divine favor or kindness.

4.

a day set apart for giving thanks to God.

And what does our source of truth, the Bible,  say about thanksgiving.

Psalm 95:1-6"O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker."

Psalm 100 "Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations."

This season  is a especially a time for me to stop and think about all the Lord has done my life.  It is a time to DWELL in Him. To teach my kids to stop the busyness of our day to day life and just be thankful in Him.

1 Chronicles 16:8

Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.

1 Chronicles 29:13

Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name. 

 1 Chronicles 16:34

O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.

Jonah 2:9

But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.

Here at the Woodpile, Thanksgiving celebrations have already begun.  As the weeks pass I will most likely blog about the poems we learn, songs we sing, books we read.  Or what we are creating to celebrate and decorate for this years Thanksgiving.   But tonight I want to make sure I start off this Thanksgiving season the only way-  giving thanks to God who has given me all.  Who gave His SON!  My Father who blessed me with life both earthly and eternal has gifted me with so much: a childhood full of love and laughter, a man who is my better half, the ability to appreciate the beauty of a maple leaf in the Fall, the sight of my older son laughing delightedly as he sees his baby brother's face lighting up as he reaches for him, the ability to twirl around with my girls and join in with the laughter that fills the air.  So many things to be thankful for.  So many PEOPLE to be thankful for.  And all these blessings are all because of Him. 

The earthly things I am thankful for seem so precious.  They make my heart sing and weep at the same time.  And yet they pale to insignificance compared to His glory.   If only I could be thankful enough.  Never to take it for granted.  Never to lessen the gift He blesses me with.  What I can do is give thanks with all that is within me and then give thanks for His forgiveness, His grace for when I fail.  And is there anything else I could be more thankful for than the freedom of His grace. The freedom to know that in this sinful body I could never be enough or do enough. BUT I don't have to be He has done it all for me.  He LOVES me despite me!  And I give thanks.