Think warm thoughts of things that make you grateful

“Let us come before him with thanksgiving.”

— Psalm 95:2 (NIV)

The crunch of leaves beneath our feet and the roaring sound of leaf blowers clearing the path from fallen leaves signals another November is upon us.

As Jeff and I drove down a street in our neighborhood, I saw a message posted on a church signboard that read: “What are you thankful for?”

November brings to us a reminder that we have things to be thankful for as we turn our thoughts and attention to Thanksgiving.

The celebration of this special time makes us ponder this insightful question and wonder are we thankful for anything?

Right away, I realize that this is the birthday month of two prominent people in my life. One is my mother (who has been gone for 30 years, but has left a legacy of all the good moral standards she instilled in me). The other is my older sister, Lea, whom I love and admire.

She offers me good advice, shares in fond childhood memories and still gives me the best hand-me-downs a sister could ask for — some still have the price tags on them!

But, like many of you, I have hardships of health challenges, concerns of unemployed family members and other dreams I am waiting to see come to pass.

However, amid the trials of life, I am thankful for the promises of God.

Woven within the Bible are promises of blessing to overcome our trials, temptations and tribulations if we just dare to wrap our mindsets around them.

God’s promises can get us through our worst times and transform us into better times. I have experienced this and it’s a promise to be thankful for.

As the colder November temperatures leave a chill in the air, let’s take the challenge to spend our November days thinking on all we have to be grateful for, and as the positive thoughts grow in our hearts, let’s feel the warmth from within.

Ÿ Annettee Budzban is a Christian author, speaker, life coach and nurse. She can be contacted at Annetteebudzban@aol.com