I’m sitting here in Texas drooling as my mother whips up a few homemade pumpkin pies (from their homegrown pumpkins) and a broccoli cheese casserole. Ah… home. I don’t ever want to leave when I come back. Some would say because it’s home and full of the family culture. I would agree. However, life is so much faster off the farm. What were we thinking!? Quality of life, in my opinion, is not as sweet when life speeds up so much. This is why I enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas being pretty much back to back – I get to come home for what seems an extended amount of time and taste the JOYS of the slow and savory life all over again.

Anywho, I just wanted to write quickly and challenge you with something. 

Instead of simply thanking the Jesus for the things that are easy to thank Him for like what I said above – your job, family, good health, etc, think of some of the things that you’re not so thankful for at the moment – challenges, people, etc, and bless them as you give thanks to the Lord. Yeah, that’s usually not that easy is it?

Can we truly be thankful for those things?

I think we can, we just need a heart tune-up from time to time. If we embrace those things with the heart of Jesus, life is all-the-more filled with Him and challenges become blessings. Blessing and giving thanks for the rough stuff is an unusual form of worship that Jesus promises yields victory in our lives.

How will you embrace Thanksgiving differently this year?

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances…” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18