Finding Thanksgiving: Making it Real

 

 I'm thankful for the empty tomb and the freedom and forgiveness that emptiness purchased for me.









I'm thankful for family. For my son, Ryan, my sister, Cookie, and all the other wonderful family members who have loved me at my worst, rejoiced with me at my best, and cheered me along all my life.









I'm thankful for my Grandmother's faith. She loved missions and she lived her life on mission for Christ every day of her life. I'm thankful for the gift of prayer she imparted to me and how her frank, truth-in-love words still speak to me decades after she moved to heaven.










I'm thankful for the Word of God that is sharper than any two-edged sword. The truth in those pages continues to transform my life.

I'm thankful that, in 1989, God placed me on the farm, for the twenty-five years I raised cows, for the sheer joy of new calves in the spring, and for all the lessons I learned along the way.

I'm thankful for these spunky, funny, sweet Wonder Dogs that are so much more than companions and storyline material. 

I'm thankful for Sam Wiley and the many lessons he's taught me over the last 27 years. I'm thankful for the peace he's gained recently and the way he continues to persevere, even when life's hard.

 I'm grateful for my faithful friends, who love me through thick and thin, and for the perennials they've shared with me over the years. 

I'm grateful for the reminder that God always keeps His promises for the body of Christ, that's so much more than I can yet understand, and for the sweetness of my church home.  

I'm thankful for the call to missions that has changed my life and that God brought me to Global Outreach for this amazing season.

I'm thankful for this nation that has been blessed beyond measure and for the hope that God might, one day, make us strong in Him again.  

I'm thankful for veterans like my daddy who fought and suffered in so many ways for the freedom we hold far too lightly. I'm grateful for the ones who gave blood, limb, and life for those freedoms. 

I'm grateful for our forefathers, who established this nation on Christian principles and grateful for the promise of 1 Chronicles 7:14.

I'm overwhelmed with gratitude for the gifts of God. This is not an exhaustive list. It's a jumping-off spot for thanksgiving. Let's choose gratitude today. Tell the people you love and appreciate how grateful you are. Demonstrate thanksgiving in word and deed. Let's live as thankful people, not just today, but all year long.

It's become my tradition to read Lincoln's Thanksgiving Day Proclamation every year. Here's the link: Lincoln's Thanksgiving Day Proclamation.

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If you've been blessed by and are grateful for this digital ministry, prayerfully consider supporting  this outreach. Here's the link for online donations: Global Outreach Acct 4841 
In case you missed yesterday's post, here's the link: Finding Thanksgiving: The Faith-Shield

#Thanksgiving Day