We have lived in the same house on the same corner for many years.  The house is too small when everyone comes home.  The den seems even smaller when the tall handsome men of my household lie down to relax after the big meal.  They are hanging off the couch, sprawling in the floor and sleeping through a ball game.  It is home and I am thankful.

            Our yard is too big, but I find it is a solace, a comfort to me.  The birds stop for a while on their migratory journey.  They remind me that “a sparrow is not forgotten by God,” (Luke 12:6) and I am grateful.  I love the way the snow adorns the pine trees in the beginning beauty of winter and I love the fragrance of the pinecones.  My heart overflows with praise.

            Many extended family members who previously celebrated with us are now celebrating a new life with Jesus.  Their love lives on in the “house” of our hearts.  It reminds me to “number my days, that I might gain a heart of wisdom”  (Psalm 90:12).

            Our house is a house of memories, triumphs, victories, hard places, laughter, tears and love.  The Lord has been faithful and I bow my knees in gratitude.

            They say houses have personality.  I want mine to reflect the One who lives in my heart.  When it is all said and done and the final hour has come, Jesus is the only thing that really matters.  Hope in him makes everyday a “Thanksgiving Day.”  Reaching our heavenly home is the ultimate destination.

            “Thanksgiving” is just that…a day of giving thanks.  It is a special day to give heartfelt thanks to a God who loves his children and has provided every blessing.

            Thankful people are a happy people.  Expressing thankfulness shows appreciation.  “Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God” (Psalm 146:5).   Remember when you close your eyes at night to be thankful for your many blessings.  They are more than you realized. 

Look for the good.  In every situation there is something good to be thankful for.  Do one good deed ever day.  It will come back to you in many ways. 

Choose life.  With every day comes a new opportunity.  You have the choice of your attitude.

Learn to laugh.  A sense of humor makes everything better.

Change criticism to praise.

Let go and let God.  Learn to lean on him.  He is faithful and trustworthy.  Many mistakes and heartaches could be avoided by this simple rule.  The Bible, God’s love letter to you, contains the importance of trusting him.  It is the way to peace, the way to live in the “now” of life, not living in yesterdays or tomorrows.

            Be thankful for the bountiful beauty of the harvest, for friends, for family and most of all for God’s love. 

            In the meantime, I pray your house is filled with his presence, for where he is, love abounds.

            I also pray, “out of his glorious unlimited resources he will give you the mighty inner strengthening of his Holy Spirit.  And I pray Jesus will be more and more at home in your heart, living within you, as you trust in him.  May your roots go down deep into the soil of his marvelous love, and may you be able to feel and understand, as all God’s children should, how long, how wide, how deep, and how high his love really is, and to experience the love for yourselves, though it is so great you will never see the end of it or fully know or understand it.  And so at last, you will be filled up with God himself”  (Ephesians 3:16-19 TLB).

            Let’s have “Thanks-giving” every day of the year!