A truly thankful heart

Is it really Thanksgiving already? This week has just flown by. I made the cranberry, sausage and apple stuffing yesterday. The house smells like Thanksgiving and I love it! We decided on Tuesday night that we would indeed put up our Christmas tree. I almost waited until after Thanksgiving this year to do it but what the hay? The kids had so much fun decorating it. We alternate Thanksgivings between our families so this year, Morgan's whole side of the family will be coming to our house. We will miss being with my family this year but look forward to seeing them at Christmas.

As this year quickly comes to a close, I am reminded about all that 2008 has brought. Before this year, it was actually quite easy for me to be thankful. After all, there was so much to be thankful for. For the most part, I consider myself a positive and optimistic person. I have no problem being thankful to God in the midst of our circumstances. But I am beginning to realize that God wants more from me. He also wants me to be thankful for our circumstances. There is a definite difference there and I know that He is trying to teach me something through the latter. The act of thanking God for our challenges, struggles, heartbreaks, suffering, disappointments, etc. requires both a trust that surrenders to Him and an eternal "big picture" perspective. I realize that our current circumstances do not compare to some. We are not talking life or death here, nor sickness or health. I'm speaking mostly about the state of our economy, the stock market and it's impact on Morgan and his clients, our Tutoring Club business, and the sad fact that we must soon lay-off our employees. These past few months have been some of the toughest (business wise) that we have ever experienced. Although we may not always know or understand the why's of our challenges, as believers, we know that we can rest assured that God is working through it all- for His good and for ours. As believers, we are also gifted with the Holy Spirit that dwells within us and helps us to actually be able to say, "Lord, thank you for this difficult season of challenges." My desire is to have that kind of deep trust- to be able to easily say those words and actually mean it. The kind of trust that is not easily jolted by life. Often times, when life works out the way we want it to, there is not much to learn from that experience. But through our challenges and the not-so-easy times, we realize that often character, faith, and perseverance are born. In spite of our circumstances, our hearts are earnestly thankful, this year and every year. May you choose to truly say, "Lord, thank you for it all."

God Bless you and your family this Thanksgiving.

Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

~Ephesians 5:20