![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mari.dekle.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/1560954507_f600e972ef.jpg\")
Merriam-Webster defines Thanksgiving as \u201cthe act of giving thanks\u201d and \u201ca prayer expressing gratitude.\u201d The Bible has even more to say about the topic. Look at the Psalms: Psalm 100:4-5 says, \u201cEnter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> Psalm 68:19 says, \u201cBlessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, the God who is our salvation. Selah.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> Also Psalm 106:1, \u201cPraise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> Psalm 66:16-20 adds, \u201cCome and hear, all who fear God, and I will tell of what He has done for my soul I cried to Him with my mouth, and He was extoled with my tongue. If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear; But certainly, God has heard; He has given heed to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer nor His lovingkindness from me.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> One more, Psalm 69:30 says, \u201cI will praise the name of God with song, and magnify Him with thanksgiving.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> The list goes on, and that is just from the Psalms, many of which were written amidst difficulty and pain. What does that tell you and I? We are living in difficult times, all the more reason to give thanks for His goodness in these times. There is always reason for something to be thankful for if you have a grateful heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Henry Smith wrote a song in 1978 that many have used as a Thanksgiving song since (not only). The chorus goes: \u201cGive thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One, give thanks because He\u2019s given Jesus Christ, His Son\u2026 give thanks.\u201d<\/em> This song expresses what kind of heart we should have, to whom, and for what. Hebrews 12:28 puts it even better, \u201cTherefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> Yes! Because of what we have in Christ, a kingdom which cannot be shaken, we should show our gratitude, not just in words, but also through service. Furthermore, it is to be done with reverence and awe. Think about that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In today\u2019s world, much is done quickly and halfheartedly, not acceptably. Other words for acceptable are: Adequate, satisfactory, worthy, good, decent and respectable. Looking at this list, I have to ask myself, \u201cwhen I do service for the Lord, can these words be used to describe the quality of the work?\u201d The Bible tells us that anything we do should be unto the Lord (Colossians 3:17), so it doesn\u2019t matter who our boss is, Jesus is the ultimate boss and anything we do should be done for Him. In having this attitude, we are showing hearts of thanksgiving and gratitude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you don\u2019t do it already, I challenge you to spend time this Thanksgiving making a list of all the things you are thankful\/grateful for. Make it a family project and see what you come up with. Tim and I have started making a list every Sunday afternoon of our blessings received the previous week. I also try naming every day 5 or more things for which I am grateful for. It isn\u2019t habit yet for some days I forget but I am working on it. I find, with a grateful heart, I have less to complain about. I have more joy in life and am seeing God\u2019s goodness even in the little things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Five things I am grateful for at this very moment: May you truly give thanks with a grateful heart not just at Thanksgiving, but throughout the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Happy Thanksgiving, Mari<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tuesday, November 22, 2022 Thanksgiving is upon us again and people are rushing around buying their turkeys and stuffing for the big meal. For many, it\u2019s just another holiday where football is in the forefront, or the big Macy\u2019s Thanksgiving Day parade and getting geared for the Black Friday sales. You look on internet in… Continue reading Give Thanks<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mari.dekle.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mari.dekle.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mari.dekle.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mari.dekle.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mari.dekle.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=822"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mari.dekle.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":830,"href":"https:\/\/mari.dekle.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822\/revisions\/830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mari.dekle.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mari.dekle.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mari.dekle.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mari.dekle.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/There-is-always-something-to-be-thankful-for-1024x538.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mari.dekle.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/grateful-heart.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mari.dekle.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Give-Thanks-every-Day-1024x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
1. Being able to write this blog for you.
2. The squirrels and birds who entertain me as I sit here at my desk and type each blog.
3. The gift of creativity even when I don\u2019t feel very creative.
4. For each one of my readers that I have been able to encourage in one way or another.
5. The precious gift of salvation through Jesus Christ my LORD!<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mari.dekle.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Happy-Thanksgiving-Day-1024x819.jpg\")