“Don’t Wait Until Thanksgiving to Thank HIM!”

 

Read: 1 Chronicles 16:7-36

“O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever” (1 Chronicles 16:34 AMP)

We often think of Gratitude in terms of Gain: Someone gives you a ride to work. A neighbor cooks a meal when you’ve had surgery. Your boss notices your hard work and gives you a raise. The kids clean up the house or your husband cooks dinner. For these things (no matter how rare or how often they're done), of course You’re Grateful! And if you remember your mother’s upbringing, you promptly write a thank-you note or better yet, open your mouth and Tell Them Thank You!

However, it’s even more astonishing to witness people Overcome with an Attitude of Thanksgiving in Dire Circumstances: For example, think of the parents of a terminally ill child who praise God for each day of their daughter or son’s life. How can they possibly visit the cancer center, watch them take needles every day for diabetes, or wait endlessly on the list for a transplant, and yet still praise and thank God for life? You might even be baffled by a family’s ability to be thankful in the midst of disaster, weeping with joy that even though their house and possessions have been destroyed by flood, fire or earthquake, their family has survived, and for that alone they are thankful! 

I’m always amazed by people who can Thank God Regardless of Their Situation or Circumstance. Those who possess a grateful heart even after their car has been repossessed; those who still come to the house of the Lord with praise on their lips even though they’ve been evicted from their own house. I’m in awe of those who receive “death notices” from their doctor’s appointments and yet they go out and still gratefully visit the sick and shut in. It’s mind-blowing those who can preach a message after receiving a pink slip! Or those who can attend a wedding, with gift in hand, and a smile on their face, even though they just received their divorce papers in the mail. Believe it or not, there are people who are Really Just Grateful! Why? Because they know that even when their lives change, their God doesn’t! He is Consistently Faithful, and that They Refuse to Forget!  

“O my soul, bless God. From head to toe, I’ll bless His holy name! O my soul, bless God, don’t forget a single blessing!” (Psalm 103:1-2 MSG)

That’s when your thanksgiving is for real, when someone can look at your life and see not a thing you should be thankful for and yet you continuously offer God your praise, worship, exaltation, adoration, jubilance, gratitude and thanksgiving...ANYHOW! In other words, God has been so good to you already that if He doesn’t do another thing, He is still worthy of your thanksgiving! 

But even deeper than Gratitude for a favor, or thankfulness in the midst of misery, thanksgiving can be viewed as a Testament to an Enduring Quality in Someone we Admire and Respect. For instance, David celebrated God’s divine attributes with a heart of pure Thanksgiving. With great fanfare, the ark of the covenant had finally arrived in Jerusalem and taken its place into the tent David had prepared for it. After the offerings were made and the feast was over, David’s gladness spilled over into a great song of jubilant thanksgiving.

Consider the countless reasons you have to be Grateful. Has something brought great joy to your life? Consider the attributes of those you love; your husband’s faithfulness, your wife’s generosity, your friends’ trustworthiness, your parents’ goodness, your child’s tender heart. Aren't you Grateful? Or do you get so caught up on the negatives that it completely overshadows the positives? 

Truth is, God has been better to us than we could have ever been to ourselves, and better than Any of Us Deserve! Just take a moment to reflect on His provision for you to have a place to lay your head; food on your table; clothes on your back; transportation (by any means) and traveling mercies as icing on the cake! Reflect on how He’s healed you, saved you, delivered you, protected you! Reflect on how many times He stepped in right in the nick of time! Reflect on how He’s kept you in a right and sound mind, despite the chaos around you! Reflect on how He’s kept you in the midst of the mess YOU put yourself in! The list could go on forever, because that’s just how good He’s been! No matter how you look at it, The Lord has been Good to You! You Owe Him a Grateful Heart!

This week is the perfect time to “give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.” Don’t wait for the Thanksgiving DAY! After all, the Lord has abundantly blessed you, and He didn’t wait for a holiday to do it, so why would you wait until a holiday to Thank Him? 

Start by expressing Thanks for some of the things David included in his prayer:

“God’s Wonderful Acts…” (vs. 9, “Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; meditate on and talk of all His wondrous works and devoutly praise them!” AMP);

“His Miracles…” (vs. 12, “[Earnestly] remember the marvelous deeds which He has done, His miracles, and the judgments He uttered [as in Egypt],” AMP);

“His Salvation…” (vs. 23, “Sing to the Lord, all the earth; show forth from day to day His salvation” AMP);

“His Glory And Marvelous Deeds Among All Peoples …” (vs. 24, “Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all peoples” AMP);

“His Holiness…” (vs. 29, “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name. Bring an offering and come before Him; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness and in holy array” AMP).

Everything About God is Worthy of Our Praise! Let us not allow anyone or anything to rob us of the gift of a thankful, grateful heart! No matter what your situation is today it can always be worse! 

Believe it or not but someone is standing online at a soup kitchen grateful, while you throw half-eaten food in the garbage for which you didn’t even say grace over to thank God for His provision. Someone is grateful to have enough coins to put in the bus to get from point A to point B, and yet you mumble and grumble about the gas money you Do Have to put gas in your car. Someone is grateful that Medicaid/Medicare covered enough of their prescription cost that they could get their necessary meds, while you fuss that you have to go and pick up your meds of which your health insurance covered in full. Someone is grateful to wake up even if it’s alone, while you roll over next to an imperfect spouse who loves you perfectly, and yet you’re ungrateful. Someone is excited that their child came home from school safely even through a rough neighborhood, while you have yet to give God thanks for your straight A student, in a private school, in a good neighborhood! There is always someone somewhere that would love to be in your shoes, but while they are in their own (no matter how painful), they are walking with God…Grateful...ANYHOW!

There are people pushing their entire lives around in a shopping cart that are still thankful; there are people sleeping under the bridge in a cardboard box that are still grateful; there are people standing on the bridge who are thankful God sent someone right on time to talk them off it before they took a leap to their death; there are people riding the subways to stay warm who are still grateful for a little temporary heat and shelter; there are people who had a half-eaten butter roll from the garbage can this morning, and knowing that it will be their only meal for the day, they still thank God for something to eat. There are people singing God’s praises in the hospital; people are worshiping Him while enduring chemotherapy; radiation and dialysis; people are thanking Him even as they go into surgery; people are grateful to Him while struggling through rehab; people are adoring Him behind prison walls as they’re so grateful to Him for saving, healing and delivering them right where they are; people are eating His every Word passionately even as they sit alone in the nursing homes with no one to visit them but the presence of the Lord; people are sick and shut in, and still they have praise on their lips and worship in their spirits. 

Surely, you can think of a reason also to give God thanks?

Are you getting this? Being thankful has nothing to do with a holiday; being thankful should be a believer’s everyday way of life. Because truthfully, we have so much to be grateful for! After all the mistakes, fumbles, failures, flaws, bad choices, and sin-filled days and nights, God still loved all of us so much that He would send His only begotten Son to save such a wretch as we were, and still are! How can we not be thankful? How can we not be grateful? Our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life; we’re placed in the palm of the Father where no man can pluck us out; we’re kept securely in the midst of the Father’s Will where there is safety; we have Heaven as our hope and home. We indeed have much to be grateful and thankful for, and none of us should ever need a holiday or calendar to tell us that!

We should all sing with David, “Let the heavens be glad and let the earth rejoice; and let men say among the nations, The Lord reigns!” (vs. 31 AMP) Because despite any of our circumstances, the Lord yet rules and reigns and treats His children as the sons and daughters of a King, which they are (even when they don’t look like it or live like it). We need to stop complaining, grumbling, murmuring, because the Lord loves us, looks out for us, and lives in us, who wouldn’t be grateful for that?

So, Today, no matter what happens, Give God Thanks! Remember: No Matter What Road You Travel Down In Life, No Matter How Bumpy, Or How Many Times You Feel Detoured and Even Derailed…GOD IS ALWAYS IN CONTROL! YOU WILL REACH YOUR DESTINATION! So Why Not Enjoy Jesus Along the Journey?! Give Him Thanks Always, For All Things! 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “THANK [GOD] IN EVERYTHING [NO MATTER WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES MAY BE, BE THANKFUL AND GIVE THANKS], FOR THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD FOR YOU [WHO ARE] IN CHRIST JESUS [THE REVEALER AND MEDIATOR OF THAT WILL].” (AMPC)

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1.       Do you think your friends and family would characterize you as a grateful person? Why or why not?

2.       What are the characteristics of God for which you are thankful?

3.       How often do you remember to thank God for His work in your life and in the world around you? 

4.       Are you a complainer? If so, what are you going to do, starting today, to change your behavior?

5.       When something “bad” happens, do you still thank God? Do you still trust God?

6.       Who are 5 people you are grateful to have in your life? Do they know you’re grateful for them?

7.       How do you show your loved ones your gratitude for them?

8.       How has someone shown you gratitude that you will never forget?

9.       What is your favorite Thanksgiving Scripture?

10.   If you had to express your thanks to God in only 3 words, what would they be? (And no it can’t be thank you Jesus)…lol, surely you can be more creative than that!

RELATED SCRIPTURES:

Psalm 100:1-5, “Shout with joy before the Lord, O earth! Obey Him gladly; come before Him, singing with joy. Try to realize what this means – the Lord is God! He made us – we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Go through His open gates with great thanksgiving; enter His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and bless His name. For the Lord is always good. He is always loving and kind, and His faithfulness goes on and on to each succeeding generation” (TLB);

Colossians 3:16-17, “Remember what Christ taught, and let His words enrich your lives and make you wise; teach them to each other and sing them out in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing to the Lord with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, and come with Him into the presence of God the Father to give Him your thanks.” (AMP)

HOMEWORK: READ: Psalm 136:1-26

“Thou Who hast given so much to me, give me one more thing – A GRATEFUL HEART” (George Herbert)

“There’s always a blessing to thank God for; the ones you are aware of, and the ones that you are not. Be grateful to God every day.” (Author Unknown)

“Sometimes I just look up, smile and say, ‘I know that was You, God, thanks!’” (Author Unknown)

“God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say thank You?” (Dr. William Arthur Ward)

“I am grateful to God for all His many untold blessings upon my life.” (Lailah Gifty Akita)

“Gratitude is our ability to see the grace of God, morning by morning, no matter what else greets us in the course of the day.” (Craig Barnes)

“Dear God: Today, I woke up. I’m healthy. I’m alive. I’m blessed. I apologize for all my complaining. I’m truly grateful for all You have done in my life.” (Author Unknown)

“The best way to show my gratitude to God is to accept everything, even my problems, with joy.” (Mother Teresa)

“When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?” (Gilbert K. Chesterton)

“Gratitude is Thanking God After it Happens. Faith is Thanking God Before it Happens.” (Mark Batterson)

Much Love, Dr. Shermaine 

#EnjoyTheRead #BeInspired #BeEncouraged #BeEmpowered #BeChallenged #ShareTheWord #BeThankful 

“18 Habits of the Happiest – Healthiest Families”

 

 

GET HAPPY! Sometimes it may seem like every member of your family is heading in a different direction: kids have school, sports, and extracurricular's, not to mention it's increasingly tough to tear them away from their smartphones. And if you're like 59% of two-parent American families, then both you and your partner have jobs outside the home. But even if you often find yourselves embarking on separate paths, the most important relationships you can foster are those right at home—they make us who we are, after all. We asked top experts what the happiest families do to successfully come together and grow as a unit. Try bringing these 18 easy-to-adopt habits into your own home.

THEY CREATE A FAMILY MISSION STATEMENT: Organizations and companies create mission statements as a way to articulate goals. Families can do it for the same reasons: to teach kids values and bring the family unit closer. Kids can even contribute to the process, although "the level of involvement would need to be adjusted based on the age," says Simon Rego, PsyD, director of psychology training at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. "Younger children would likely benefit from being informed about the family's mission statement then held to it, while older children may be invited to shape it." In any case, you're all partners.

THEY TAKE FAMILY HISTORY TRIPS: If you can afford to visit the haunts of your forefathers and mothers in Italy or Ireland, then great—but it doesn't have to be that complicated or expensive. You could even take your kids to the spot where you and your partner met, or the town where you or another relative grew up. "Making that family history come alive builds relationships," says AARP family expert Amy Goyer. Even better, invite grandma and grandpa along on the trip. They are, after all, the ultimate family historians.

THEY TELL STORIES: Take a trip without ever leaving the house by sharing stories with your kids from your past, and by inviting your parents and grandparents to join in. "Sharing family stories with grandchildren passes on the family's culture and traditions and provides a sense of connection across the generations," says Carroll Tingle, chair of human development and family studies at the University of Alabama. One way to do this is to let the children interview their grandparents. "They might ask what the grandparent remembers about the day the grandchild was born," Tingle says. "Truth is, most children love best those stories where they are the main character."

THE KIDS ARE CLOSE WITH THEIR GRANDPARENTS: Be sure the two generations have plenty of time to visit or at least talk. Grandparents can be a stabilizing influence: a study in the Journal of Family Psychology found that adolescents who had more grandparent involvement in their lives had fewer emotional problems and were more social than those who had less grandparent involvement. This was especially true in single-parent households and step-families. “Connections between the generations have long-term benefits for grandparents, parents and children," confirms Tingle.

THEY HAVE FAMILY MEETINGS: If you're old enough to remember The Brady Bunch, you'll also remember the official family meeting. It's an idea worth borrowing, says Marcia Slattery, MD, professor of psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. "It's designated time. Everybody has input and looks forward to it. It's sacred time you keep together." You can incorporate the family meeting into regularly scheduled programming such as Sunday dinner or make it a separate piece of the weekly schedule. "Agenda" items could include reviewing the past week, the upcoming week's schedule, new activities or problems at school.

THEY HAVE FAMILY RITUALS: Establish a routine where all members of the family know that you're doing something together on certain days of the week—think watching movies together on Friday evenings, going to the farmers market with grandma on Saturday mornings, or making a new type of pizza every Tuesday. Or you could be more creative together, making old-fashioned photo books and adding captions to the pictures. "It's like an investment," says Rego. "You create structured time as a family and treat it as a commodity."

THEY THANK EACH OTHER OFTEN: Encourage your kids and spouse to keep secret journals where they record all the times they find family members doing something good like when a child clears the dinner table without being asked, goes to bed without an argument, or when Dad picks up the dry cleaning for Mom. At the weekly family meeting, everyone can take turns acknowledging someone else. "They consciously and deliberately thank each other for the good things they've noticed them doing," says Rego. It doesn't have to end here: One study found that kids who wrote gratitude letters were happier. Other studies have shown that being grateful in general can make us not only happier, but healthier too.

THEY VOLUNTEER TOGETHER: Volunteering is gratitude-in-action, a time to express thanks by doing something positive for the community. Time spent in service teaches kids values and empathy and gives them new places to learn. It could be as simple as donating to a food bank, picking up garbage, or helping out at a homeless shelter. It could even be a way to exercise together: you could train for a Bike MS ride (a nationwide series of bicycle rides that benefits the National Multiple Sclerosis Society), or create a Relay for Life team (overnight walk-runs benefiting the American Cancer Society, and also held nationwide). "There are an infinite number of ways we can engage in volunteerism or charity and any one of them help enhance the overall climate of the family," says Rego.

EACH CHILD GETS ONE-ON-ONE TIME: Time spent together as a group is important, but so is spending time with each of your kids individually. "Every child will be unique and needs to feel that parents are interested in them as much as any sibling," says Slattery. You can pick specific days of the week to spend dedicated time with each of your children, either at home or away from home. Or you can make sure you spend a portion of each evening (maybe before bed) with each child separately.

THEY HAVE ESTABLISHED SLEEP ROUTINES: Let's face it: well-rested family members are easier to be around. But science points to other benefits as well. One study found that infants and toddlers who kept to a consistent bedtime routine including a bath, applying lotion, and quiet activities, slept better and woke less often than those who had no routine. And children who go to bed at the same time every night had fewer behavioral problems than those who didn't have a regular bedtime, research shows. Children and adults who get enough sleep are also less likely to be obese.

THEY KEEP AN ACTIVITY CALENDAR: Keep track of gymnastics practice, soccer games, music lessons, and whatever other activities your family is juggling on a whiteboard, wall calendar, or by using an app like Cozi (which is owned by Health's parent company). This facilitates communication and keeps everyone organized, says Slattery. This is useful even when your lives are less hectic, like when the kids are out of school and too much unstructured time creates anxiety. When that's the case, Slattery suggests creating slots for physical exercise, brain exercise (such as reading), social interaction, and playtime each week. "The big areas I emphasize are consistency and routines," she says. "The predictability and stability of what we do and when goes a long way."

THEY WRITE OUT CHORES AND EXPECTATIONS: Along with a mission statement, everyone should know what chores they're expected to do. Involve the kids in making the house rules (at least up to a point) by giving them options for their weekly responsibilities: Would they rather feed the dog, clear the table after dinner, or take out the garbage? "Make it specific and concrete and tangible," says Slattery. Tape the list to the inside of a cupboard door. "That takes away the 'I didn't say that' and 'What are you talking about?'" she adds.

THEY LAUGH TOGETHER: Tell jokes, watch funny movies, and above all else, learn how to laugh at yourselves. "It's very important to integrate humor into the home on a regular basis," says Slattery. Research has shown that laughter can improve mood, boost our immune systems, and improve heart health. Private jokes (as long as they're not cruel or demeaning) can be another way of fostering connections within the family, adds Rego. Nicknames—maybe a teen child is still "Pooh Bear" because that was their favorite stuffed teddy as a child—can also foster connections.

THEY EAT DINNER TOGETHER: Families that eat dinner together are healthier and happier, and family mealtime teaches kids to love good-for-you foods and to control their portions. "Taking the time to sit down and talk and share food is just one of many ways to catch up with each other," says Lynn Barendsen, executive director of the Family Dinner Project, an organization that encourages family meals and family time. Take it to another level by wearing your PJs at the dinner table. The wardrobe change helps set mealtime apart from other sitting times that may seem boring to kids, like school, say the Family Dinner Project experts.

THEY HELP THE KIDS OPEN UP: If your kids tend to clam up during family meals—especially if they're teetering on the teen years—try "table topics." These are slips of paper in a bowl at the center of the table that have conversation starters and questions written on them. Fun, even nonsensical topics can be mixed in with nutrition questions so kids learn tips for a lifetime, says Wesley Delbridge, RD, a spokesperson with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Some suggestions: "If you could be any superhero, which would you be?" and "What is your favorite fruit and vegetable?" Topics can be tailored for any and all age groups.

THEY COMMUNICATE CONSISTENTLY: Consistency is a good general rule for any household. This holds especially true for communication. "Open communication clearly has been shown to be helpful for kids to learn self-expression and problem solving," says Slattery. Make an effort to communicate at consistent times such as during family meals and at bedtime. And make sure all family members have an opportunity to speak and also practice active listening. "That means respectfully paying attention to what another family member is talking about and asking appropriate follow-up questions or comments to convey you've heard what they've said and are interested," says Slattery. "Don't interrupt and don't just talk about yourself."

THEY UNPLUG ONCE IN AWHILE: You don't want your kids' (or your) main relationship to be with an iPhone. Turn all screens off when it's designated time to talk to each other, like the family meeting or dinnertime, suggests Slattery. "This goes for parents too," says Slattery. "When kids approach parents, they should move away from their computer or phone and be there to respectfully listen." Among other things, this teaches active listening.

THEY USE TECHNOLOGY TO THEIR ADVANTAGE: While you don't want to be immersed in a screen 24/7, there are times when it can be helpful—for keeping in touch with grandparents, for example. Tingle's grandchildren live five hours away but she reads to them "virtually" on a regular basis. "While I narrate, they sit looking at the illustrations (from my computer screen to theirs) just as mesmerized as if they were sitting in my lap," she says. She also sets her laptop on the kitchen counter so they can cook together. "Emails, text messages, and tweets are great ways to share laughs, encouragement, learning experiences and just to let them know you care," she adds. "I've sung lullabies via speaker phone to infant grandchildren who are resisting sleep."

By: Amanda Gardner, Health

 

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The Goal is to Always Make You Aware of What Concerns Your Body, Soul and Spirit, So You Can Have Open, Honest and Frequent Discussions With Your Physicians and Counselors. You Can’t Treat or Cure What You Don’t Know is Sick.

 
"It's Not Selfish to Love Yourself, Take Care of Yourself and to Make Your Happiness a Priority. It's a Necessity." (Mandy Hale)

"Self-Care is Not Selfish. You Cannot Serve From an Empty Vessel." (Eleanor Brown)