100 Days with Jesus -- Focus on Giving Thanks

Day 44


Thanksgiving is almost here and I’m so excited. The beautiful colors of fall and the Thanksgiving holiday are some of my favorite things in life. And then the Christmas music begins! I can listen to Christmas carols all year. But since it would drive everyone else nuts, I just wait for the first radio station of the season that plays them and that’s where the station stays until after New Year’s Day. There’s just such a feeling of anticipation and excitement that’s hard to explain. Maybe it goes back to my childhood when the holidays were always a special time in our home.

I’m taking a few days off from work to spend some time with my family this year. And during that time I plan to reflect on the many things that I should be more thankful for. I have a tendency to keep plowing ahead, working toward the next goal and not taking time to consider the goals that were reached, the ones that were not but provided a huge learning opportunity, the special people that have come into my life this year and the many burdens that have been lifted. It’s so easy to get caught up in ‘what’s next’ that I miss today. But also, it’s difficult to justify being unhappy, worried or disappointed when you consider so many blessings in life. I found 58 references to the word ‘thanksgiving’ in the Bible and I’m sure there are a lot more than that. Apparently God wants us to stay focused on giving thanks. I know for me, that it keeps balance in my life and takes the focus off myself, both good and bad. Phillipians 4:6 tells us ‘Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God’. I hope this holiday season that you also spend time in thanksgiving and find that you no longer need to be anxious about anything!