The brevity of Thanksgiving has long troubled me. One day. And really, just a moment there, with a quick prayer of thanks before feasting with the family begins, before old stories are remembered and new ones get shared, before we chew down a handful of Tums. Then a good friend, Murray Pura, piqued my thoughts by posting a Canadian Thanksgiving menu covering four days. Why can’t we focus on giving thanks for those days? OK, no menus, just fresh thoughts on each of the four days leading up to the big day.
You see, as the quote in the pic shows, gratitude changes us. If you’re at all like me, we all could use some good changes. And to make it easy, the new post each day will come in above the previous ones.
Thanking God for the Physical World
With the plethora of fires and disasters, with Jenny O turkeys being recalled (salmonella) and about 55,000 CA chickens being destroyed (Newcastle’s Disease), with storms and tornadoes and hurricanes bringing destruction, we can easily get frustrated with the physical world. But maybe thanks can balance that, and even tilt it in the positive direction. God gave us a physical world. Physical bodies. Yes, the fallenness of both brings flaws. But innately, being physical is good. In the first five days of creation, God did it all, and called it good. Day 6 saw humanity enter the picture, and it all became very good.
Our verse for the day, “Sing praises over everything, any excuse for a song to God the Father in the name of our Master, Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20, The Message). Focus this day on the beauty of the world. The flavor of grilled salmon. The tang of lemonade. The beauty of the mountains around us. The waves of grain in late summer. The freshening of rain. Or, for everything physical. That’s good.
Kick Starting the Application
Begin by grabbing some paper and a writing utensil, and write down 10 aspects that you appreciate about being physical. About living in a physical world. Then, express your gratitude to God for each of them, and tell him specifically WHY you’re thankful. And, feel free to share some of these on Facebook. On my reminder thread, or your own. Let’s spread that transforming gratitude.