Thanksgiving

Oh give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good and His mercy endures forever. Next Thursday is Thanksgiving. Turkey day! Gobble till you wobble! Dressing, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce (jellied not whole berry). Looking forward to it.

As I think about Thanksgiving I realize how much I have to be thankful for. I asked my Facebook friends to state what they were thankful for in their lives. Some have been stating what they are thankful for. Most of the time they have been thankful for the blessings of life. Many of them have talked about their families, their friends, etc.

I am very thankful for my family - Penny my wife who is such a blessing to me. She has seen me through good times and bad times. She has truly been what God has asked of her - she has been a helpmate for me. Without her I would be overwhelmed with many things. I thank God for the 25 years of marriage, the 5 years of dating and the fact that He gave her life and brought me to her. What a blessing!

I thank God for my children, Rachael and Matthew. I can remember when the Lord brought them to us. Penny was pregnant with Rach and boy it was amazing to go through the time of pregnancy. It was also a miracle. The whole gift of life was a miracle. Rachael has turned into quite a young lady that I am very proud of. She has a strong faith and follows it through out her life.

When Matthew came along, I didn't think I could share the love God had given me for my first child. Then He gave me a second child and what was I to do? Then Matthew came along and God did an amazing thing - He multiplied the love I had for my children. And Matthew has turned into an amazing young man. College life has really been good to him. He has grown and matured beyond what I could have imagined.

Thank you Lord for my wife and my children. Thank you for them even when we have our struggles. That is something I have learned. We should be thankful in good time and in bad times, in plenty and in want. Too often we are only thankful when things go well. We forget to be thankful when we are challenged. We should thank God for those times when the days seem dark and dreary. I thought about that in the recent rains, and saw how frustrated we become when it doesn't quite raining. We forgot to thank God for the rain, the dreary days, the grayness, and all the other things that go with it. I know I forgot to thank God when the water came into the basement. I got frustrated and forgot to tell the Lord how much I appreciated the house He gave us to live in.

This Thanksgiving, stop and thank God for all things - no matter what they are. Learn to be thankful even when you are struggling with many things. Thank Him for sunshine and flowers, for rain and mud, for dry basements and wet basements.

Oh give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good and His love endures forever.