Celebrate the Season
As my family celebrates this season of thanksgiving, we are focusing on our attitude of gratitude. We are whole heartedly celebrating Jesus for His blessings and His gifts, and we want our attitude of gratitude to reflect what we are truly thankful for—the little things and the big. This season has been like no other and while it looks a bit different, we remain steadfast in giving thanks.
Gratitude is on our Lips
The story of the ten lepers in Luke 17:11-19 reminds us to be thankful in all things. In these verses, the lepers cried out to Jesus for mercy. They wanted Him to heal them, and He did. But as each went their separate ways only one of the ten returned to thank Jesus for his healing. It seems the others took Jesus’ gift for granted. Jesus asked the one who returned where the other nine were. Then He said to the man, “Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner? Then He said, ‘Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
“One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him–and he was a Samaritan.”
Luke 17:15-16 NIV
Gratitude and Grace
As grateful Christians we grow in understanding of God’s grace and while He doesn’t demand that we thank Him, He is pleased when we do. God’s provision is plentiful and we should convey our love, trust, and gratitude to Him.
“Expressing gratitude enables me to glorify God and grow in His grace.”
As we enjoy this season of thanksgiving, my family is choosing to honor God with gratitude for:
- The time to pray and meditate on His Word
- The blessing of another day
- The chance to spend time with friends and family
- The stranger who makes our day special
- The encouraging card that arrives in the mail
- The friend who brings a meal when my schedule is hectic
- The kind words shared daily
Regardless of what the gift is, God’s goodness is displayed over and over again through His love for us. We should never take His abundant provision for granted but instead, worship, praise, and honor Him at every turn. So, just as my family is learning all the ways to make our attitude of gratitude count, we hope you remember to keep thanksgiving on your lips today and every day. After all, gratitude is the story we never stop writing.
Prayer
Father God, help me to express my gratitude at every turn. Everything I have and everything I am is because of You. I want to thank You for seeing the big picture and taking care of me even when I do not understand. Help me to remember to thank and appreciate the actions of others through kind words and a kind heart. In Your name I pray. Amen.
Blessings to you and yours,
Amen, Mitzi. Our lives can get busy, we may have too many bumps in the road, or the lack of understanding in the why can take our eyes off of our Father. Then our gratitude turns into grumbling. I am kinda there right now in a situation of life. Thank you, friend, for reminding me that even when things do not add up, God’s got it and to be grateful for that. I love you. ❤️
Hi Friend! I never think of you as grumbling….I’m always so thankful when I can unload and your positive, uplifting spirit steers back on path and helps me see things with more clarity. But you are right in that we can all get to a point when we’re not happy with a situation or life issue and the little bit of grumbling or venting makes us feel just a tad better. Thank you as always for your encouragement. Love you.