Cultivate a thankful heart this month
“Let us come before him with thanksgiving.”
— Psalm 95:2 (NIV)
The small brown acorn and the shapely red leaf caught my attention when I spotted them nestled within the branches of a shiny, silver Christmas tree.
“Oh, how clever,” I thought. “Somebody was still mindful of fall and Thanksgiving, and had the creativity to integrate it with Christmas.”
In our modern-day culture as we decorate for Christmas in October, we must be careful not to get ahead of ourselves and allow an important part of our spiritual heritage to slip through the cracks.
Thanksgiving is an important and valuable attribute to our health and well-being. The celebration of it helps get our focus back to being grateful, a God-given value since the beginning of time. This moral was so important to our Founding Fathers they established a whole holiday devoted to giving thanks.
With the holidays at the forefront, our fast pace can get the best of us, making us a little rough around the edges, and easily offended by life’s situations. When this occurs it blocks out the blessings surrounding our daily lives.
Practicing a grateful heart can open the door for insights and revelations we haven’t seen before. Showing gratitude toward God and others, makes the way for greater blessings to appear.
Expressing a simple “thank you” to God each day, even when we don’t feel there’s much to be grateful for, shows him we’re still open to him and his plan and creates a satisfaction for the present day we are in, and lights the way to our future.
Our constant complaining clouds our vision for the good; an act of giving thanks conquers bitterness and is a subtle form of forgiving. It brings us the joy and change we are desperately searching for.
During November I enjoy implementing creative ideas and biblical insights to help cultivate and discover the blessing of a thankful heart.
I have found making a mental note or writing down three things we’re grateful for each day, can bring us to a better sense of trust in God (don’t forget to do this with your children or grandchildren as well).
I’m starting my day with a prayer of thanksgiving, and on my list I’ve included I am grateful for each and every one of you!
ŸAnnettee Budzban is a Christian author, speaker, life coach and nurse. You can contact her by email at Annetteebudzban@aol.com