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Thanksgiving Psalm of Blessings

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Blessings – they are there in the everyday routines of life. But we seldom see them because we are so caught up in our work and worries. In fact, we seldom find time to spend any time with a God who has blessed us in so many ways.

Sometimes in our tragedies and sorrows we think there is nothing for which to be thankful. Yet I have found it is precisely in my tragedies and sorrows where I have found God waiting to provide comfort, strength, and hope.

“You’re blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God. You’re blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him.”

—Psalm 119, The Message

I am blessed because every day I have the freedom to make choices. I can make them by myself, or I can choose to make them in harmony with God’s Word.

Turkey, Stuffing and Thanks

Thanksgiving isn’t just a time for turkey and stuffing. Giving thanks is an important value humans need every day. It isn’t some corny, left-over virtue from the past that we don’t need any more.

Learning gratefulness and humility is important to our health: mental, spiritual, and physical.

It motivates us when the world looks black. It energizes us to pick ourselves up and begin yet again. It gives us hope when our future looks hopeless. The more we practice it throughout the year, the more we benefit from it.

Here are some things I continue to be grateful for:

  • The freedom to develop my talents and use them in service to others as well as myself
  • The opportunities to express myself in positive and helpful ways
  • The ability to choose how I will respond to whatever life throws at me
  • The freedom to worship a God who is gracious and forgiving and gives me wisdom and strength
  • The capability to reach out, encourage and help another in their struggles
  • The assurance that I live in a free nation, where I have the opportunity to work and choose positive principles and values

This Thanksgiving, as I give thanks for all of those who have shed their blood to keep this country free, I am humbled by their sacrifice. I give thanks to God who has blessed our nation and our freedom.

“Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set; then I’d never have any regrets in comparing my life with your counsel.”

—Psalm 119, The Message

giving thanks

Blessings to you this Thanksgiving.

May the bowing of your head in prayer and thanksgiving give you the greatest blessing of all.

May your Thanksgiving be filled with remembrances of all the blessings God has given us as a nation and to each of us personally.

May you find in those remembrances the strength to meet tomorrow’s challenges, the peace you seek as you walk with God, and the hope for a future where God’s love is more evident than man’s hatred for one another.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving.

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