Giving Thanks
Dear FPC friends,
As we get to November, my mind starts to drift towards Thanksgiving. Giving thanks is not a thing we do one day a year. It is a discipline that we are called to on a daily basis. There are numerous verses in the Bible that celebrate the importance of cultivating a habit of giving thanks. I say a habit because I have discovered in my life that waiting until I feel thankful will mean that I don’t give thanks nearly enough. I have to make a habit in my day of giving thanks, lest I take life for granted.
I have a few times in my day that I start to think of what I am thankful for. When I do it enough, I find I move past the regular things I am thankful for, and start to thank God for the things that I am likely to just take for granted. When I remember these things, I find my life getting richer. I start to stop thinking of all the things that life owes me, and I begin to live a joy filled life that is not grumpy, but alive and taking note of the richness all around me.
One of my great challenges every day is trying to live in the moment. I am almost never right in the moment. It feels like my spiritual challenge is being present and paying attention. Of all things in my life, giving thanks helps to ground me to the present moment. Right now I am thankful. Right now I can breathe deeply and say thank you for the richness that is all around me.
How will you practice giving thanks today?
Where can you fit a few minutes of giving thanks?
How can you remember to do it tomorrow?
Peace and Grace to all, I am sure thankful to be in community with you!
Blessings,
Doug
Join us Sunday evening November 6th for an evening of story and music.
Marco Klaue, friend of Rob and Eshinee Veith, will share about his work with "Su Refugio" (His Refuge), an organization that runs a children's home and several community projects in Paraguay. He will be talking about the newly developing music program that is being added to the current ministries of the organization, and share with us some of his musical gifts.