Thankful

Oh my, we are staring Thanksgiving right in the face aren't we? Wow! So crazy how fast the days zip by. Stop for just a moment.....really when you read the next question, let's stop and reflect for a few minutes and then we can come back to our conversation.

How do I know when I am thankful?

Hey wake up....we were only supposed to ponder for a minute or two, I heard some deep breathing out there. So what did you come up with? This time of year, we do take pause and express more than we typically do areas in our life that we are thankful for. This weekend we had the opportunity with part of our family (predominantly debby's side of the family) to have a pre thanksgiving thanksgiving. My mother in law had a great idea. She asked each person to share what we were thankful for and we couldn't say family. Yea I know..... for some as soon as this is mentioned the squirming in our souls starts ROARING as we ponder what we are going to say. I mean we can't remember what anyone else is thankful for because we are so focused on trying to come up with something "good" to say. We desire to speak out something so good that Saturday Evening Post would want to paint a picture of the words we just spoke, you know sky opening, jaw dropping kind of stuff.

But as I reflect on that moment, it really was neat to listen to family members state that they are thankful they are loved, to hear some say they are thankful for a place of employment, to hear others their thankfulness that tests are behind them, or others that are thankful for laughter, all thankful for health, still others that are thankful for the ability to work, then that one that is thankful that their time is over to tell everyone what they are thankful for.

This year on Thanksgiving both sides of our family will gather at our house, man we are going to have a house full and it is going to be an absolute blast! Yes, there might be some of those awkward moments in our discussion, you know those moments when you have already talked about the weather, the Braves, college football, how is work going, there are some we ask about their walk, some we don't (praying to press through this one) but we are yoked through blood and marriage, but most importantly the ones that will gather on this Thursday are yoked through Jesus Christ! My fellow brothers and sisters in Christ will be rousting about on Thursday on Claire Court.

So back to our question. When do I know that I am thankful? I don't know about you, but part of my answer is this huge smile I have on my face as I think of my family and the feeling of excitement that brings. And yes even the feeling of awkwardness I am thankful. Know that you are part of our family. Debby and I give thanks each time we think of you and we praise God for you sharing life with us. Let's join together and live out the following.

Colossians 3:15-17 NLT And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be thankful.Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father.

love em up!