A Time to be Thankful

I will be honest; I do not generally see myself as an ungrateful person. Yet with Thanksgiving approaching, I am reminded I need to be more conscious of those people and circumstances for which I am very thankful! The truth is I am not ungrateful, but I rarely take time to count my blessings. You know how it is to go from one day to the next taking care of whatever is right before you, right? We go from one event to another, one to-do item to the next, one ballgame to another, etc, etc… We get so busy. We are not ungrateful, just terribly busy.

So let me suggest we take a moment this Thanksgiving to pause and be grateful for all our many blessings. Just think for a moment, what are you thankful for in this season? A great family, good job, excellentmarriage, healthy children, food on the table, all the bills being paid...what would you put on the list?

As I sit here, a few things come to mind for me. A good family, job, house, health, and the like. I have tons to be thankful for in my life. I suppose one difference in myself and many I see in the world around me is who I thank for wonderful gifts. Whenever I count my blessings, I cannot help but give praise to God! It is amazing how that one step makes a huge difference in my soul. Not just to be grateful, but to acknowledge who is the giver of all the wonderful blessings in my life.

As we come to the Holiday season, I encourage you to take time to be thankful, but also be sure to thank the one from whom all blessings flow!

(Psalm 26: 6 - 9)

Peace and Grace,

Brother Chip

GIVING THANKS IN TURBULENT TIMES

Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Be thankful? Tough ask! Virtually everybody has an opinion about life during Covid-19. The disruptions to our lives, let alone the risk assessment everyone is subconsciously calculating, makes for animated conversations around the coffee pot. In my spot, the idea of “doing no harm” and leading responsibly with great people in our church has been in itself “quite the ride.” Thankfully, I could say, it has taught me a few things. I have learned to be more patient with others and myself. It has affirmed that fear has two sides. Fear keeps us appropriately cautious from jumping without looking first, but it also can paralyze us from living fully. We need balance. I laughed out loud the other night watching a rerun of the silly movie WHAT ABOUT BOB. Bob, a lovable multi-phobic personality, played by Bill Murray, cannot be alone in his daily fear, so inappropriately, he attaches himself to his narcissistic therapist. It is “big funny” because we all have a little bit of Bob or little bit of Dr. Leo Marvin in our world. We probably need to be a little more real about life, like Leo’s son, Siggy.

Being thankful in all circumstances isn’t just because I learn things. It is because of who I learn from and why? We belong to God our Father who made this world, and He desires we be His mature kids. We want to fully understand the significance of this truth. The scripture says that as disciples we learn from Christ, the master teacher/Messiah, who we are in this world and the right things to do. We, who are/are being saved from sin, are God’s redeemed sons and daughters who are learning characteristics like obedience, trust, patience, compassion, confidence, common sense, and wisdom. So, being thankful that God is supernaturally “with us” in Jesus is understandable and developed within us. His presence bolsters our confidence. He ultimately reigns over all things and is now our companion and teacher. We trust He will help us all make sense of things, as we live in His good purposes, both hearing and doing His will amidst a fallen world. 

So yes, during this time of Thanksgiving, we are thankful for His provision and also thankful that we are born from above, in Christ, and these are times to trust and grow.

Barry