Keep giving thanks

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8 NIV

I have written on the 2 verses that precede this verse before. In Philippians 4:6-7, we are instructed by Paul to not worry about anything but with thanksgiving make all of our requests known to God and the peace that surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. This verse naturally follows as what we are to think about instead of all of the challenges and problems were are facing.

As we end the week of Thanksgiving, many of us have been thinking about what we are thankful for from the big things in our lives down to the little things that we some times or most time take for granted. Having been focusing on the positive things in life for the last week may have changed the mindset of some. I know it always does me good to focus for a while on the positives and push the negatives far from my mind.

So if we listen to Paul at this time, I pray that we would keep our focus on what is true, what is right, what is pure, what is lovely, what is admirable, what is excellent and what is praiseworthy. By keeping our minds focused on these things, I believe that we keep our minds focused on God, because all good things come from God.

I pray everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that as we move forward to celebrating the birth of Christ, our Lord and Savior, that we continue to give thanks and keep our focus on God. Keep giving thanks!

Thanksgiving

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7 NIV

I know that I have written about these verses before, however, I purposely did not write about the last section of them during that post. I wanted to save this portion of the verse for today, Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving has always been a special holiday for me. I have always loved the food that is associated with this day. I have always loved the idea of having people gather and celebrate what we are thankful for in our daily lives.

When I still lived at home, my mother would invite her friends and people she worked with to Thanksgiving dinner, especially if she knew that they didn’t have family locally. Over the years, my husband and I have developed a tradition of opening our home up to our extended family’s friends for any occasion. Today is not going to be any different. We are blessed today to have several people outside of our immediate family join us to celebrate Thanksgiving.

I am thankful for the ability to be able to share what the Lord has blessed me and my husband with. I am thankful that the Lord brought me and my husband together and that my husband is such a giving person. I am thankful for the many blessings the Lord has given me and my family such as heat, clothes, food, a home, jobs, relationships, love and most importantly eternal salvation.

If you would like, please leave a comment about what you are thankful for, what you have been graciously blessed with. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.