The Thankful Project: November 17th

The Thankful Project: November 17th: The Holidays

Insert <<It's the most wonderful time of the year>> here. Honestly though, there is something special about this time of the year. Maybe it's the nostalgia or maybe it's the excessive amount of sweets but there is something a little different about November and December. I love the holiday season for multiple reasons:
- the food
-the music
-the sense of nostalgia
-the movies on TV
-the family time
-the selflessness of humanity
-the thoughtfulness 
-love is in the air

The holidays were always a special time for my family. I'm sure I have a Norman Rockwell idealized image of what we actually looked like, but it always felt so warm and cozy. We would always go to my grandmothers for a Thanksgiving meal and all the cousins and aunts and uncles would come over to enjoy food and fellowship with one another. When I was a teenager my little family moved away (the first rebels to do so) and then we started our own family traditions. It has always been a time where we all come home and spend time with one another, something we don’t always get to do with our busy schedules.

I know people like to complain about the traffic and the sales that seem to be earlier and earlier, the Christmas music that starts playing too soon (for some people at least), the stress and expectations of entertaining- but remember the ‘reason for the season’. Remember to be grateful and thankful for the traffic: that means you have a car to get from one place to the next. Be grateful and thankful for the ridiculous sales because it means you can finish your check list sooner and spend the rest of your time with the ones you love. Be grateful and thankful for that Christmas music that starts playing way too early, it may bring someone joy in a moment of darkness. Be grateful and thankful for the stress of the in-laws coming into town, you have people who want to be with you during a time that is busy!

Looking forward to another wonderful holiday season with the ones I love, both near and far.

Thankful Heart

Jesus Calling

July 24th 

"Thankfulness opens the door to My Presence. Though I am always with you, I have gone to great measures to preserve your freedom of choice. I have placed a door between you and Me, and I have empowered you to open or close that door. There are many ways to open it, but a grateful attitude is one of the most effective.

Thankfulness is built on a substructure of trust. When thankful words stick in your throat, you  need to check up on your foundation of trust. When thankfulness flows freely from your heart and lips, let your gratitude draw you closer to Me. I want you to learn the art of giving thanks in all circumstances.See how many times you can thank Me daily; this will awaken your awareness to a multitude of blessings. It will also cushion the impact of trials when they come against you. Practice My Presence by practicing the discipline of thankfulness."

Psalm 100:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:18

It is no secret that I have been struggling to have a positive spirit or a positive outlook at my job. Lately I've dreaded every single day going into work and it's just a miserable experience until 5 o'clock rolls around. I find myself in a pit of complaints: complaints about the work, my boss, the commute, the strict new rules we must follow…definitely not a very Christianly spirit. I haven't been grateful to God for the things I should be thankful for and goodness knows I haven't expressed them to Him. 

After reading this mornings devotional in Jesus Calling, I prayed that the Lord would help me to have a grateful heart, recognize the blessings He has given me, and verbally praise God for His goodness. I went about my morning like normal and while driving to work the heavens opened up and it poured monsooned rain. Guess whose umbrella was in the trunk of her car- this girl!! I absentmindedly prayed that the Lord would let the rain stop when I arrived at work so my hair wouldn't look liked a drowned rat going into work. Pulled into the work parking lot and -poof- rain stopped for 4 minutes to let me get inside pretty much dry. Blessing #1 

Later in the afternoon I got an e-mail from my boss and in an uncharacteristically kind and thoughtful gesture, she had sent me a Starbucks gift certificate to 'thank me for all my hand work and dedication lately'. Considering I have little interaction with her anymore, the fact that she went out of her way to send me the gift card was a kind and thoughtful gift.  Blessing #2

On my afternoon lunch break I had to take my car into the shop for an oil change. I thought I'd be clever and book it for the late afternoon so less people would be there and it'd be quick. Well an hour and a half later I was still sitting in the lobby! Finally the technician came in and retrieved me and brought me back out to my car. He apologized that it took so long and told me that because it took so long, this one was on the house today. Blessing #3

I got back into my car and headed back to work, going back to my devotion that morning: "See how many times you can thank Me daily; this will awaken your awareness to a multitude of blessings. It will also cushion the impact of trials when they come against you. Practice My Presence by practicing the discipline of thankfulness." Blessings can be small and tiny things throughout a day from a rainbow, a singing bird, a breeze on a hot day, but when you start viewing them as blessings from the Lord they become that much sweeter. There are seasons in life when it doesn't feel like Lord is blessing you but maybe if we start praising Him for the small things in life, that season will become more bearable and positive.  The Lord is good all the time, and all the time the Lord is good.