Thanks + Giving

The word Thanksgiving is made up of two other words:

Thanks + Giving

Have you noticed that before? Somehow I missed it.

       I love Thanksgiving holiday in America. It helps to bring us back to core values of life and faith and relationships - especially these two foundations:

       GRATITUDE: Each year at Thanksgiving our family asks each other what we are grateful for. We go around the table and there is sometimes an awkward moment or two when someone is at a loss for how they are grateful. I have discovered that having a heart which is grateful is a matter of discipline. I must form a habit around regularly being thankful, that the cup is half full when I would otherwise see it as half empty.

       GIVING: I know that the "giving" part of "thanksgiving" refers to "giving thanks." But allow me to stretch it beyond that immediate meaning. Is not a holiday such as Thanksgiving as much about generosity as it is about gratitude? I think so.

       A natural overflow of gratitude is generosity. I believe that is how God created the universe. He blessed it and endowed it with beauty and abundance for His people to enjoy. And to share and to bless others. It is part of the "divine design" of the cosmos. We celebrate this design at Thanksgiving.

       My prayer is that we would be a Grateful and Generous people on this Thanksgiving.