Thanks. Give Thanks.
Those who have been with me for more than a year or two, should recall that I love to write about Thanksgiving all through November. Such an awesome time, an awesome focus for a holiday…. thanks. I have an endless number of things to be thankful for, and yet I could lie to myself and act like all of the things that are difficult in my life add up to enough to not be overwhelmed with thanks. That would be a lie.
I love this time of year because the strong spirit of thanks reminds me of all the people in the world who have so little. I love the title of my church’s giving drive, “Be Rich”, because it takes the truth of an AMerican’s position in life compared to the bulk of the world, and acts us to act with the riches that we possess. Whether financial (because we do live in a home, and often times wear different clothes each day of the week), time (because we don’t have to use all of our time to try to survive, we actually have time), or resources (do you have a pantry where you actually keep more food than you need)…
So because of these awesome things that we take for granted, we should take the opportunity we have at this time of year, to BE RICH. If you want to be rich, and don’t have a place to do it, I can offer this website as a great place to throw down $40 for a donation, and I will update you as to all the amazing things that took place with your cash, your time and your food!
Check it out – https://berich.org/
So as we move to make some steps… some action steps so that you can help others, and open up your heart to some big possibilities… lets also look beyond that first step. Lets look to the place of ongoing, non-stop, “thankfulness”. A few years back I was at a camp to improve my commitment, and purpose. I have been to camps like this over the years, honestly, they are all great. Nothing better than a weekend of self discovery, they are sooo good. Anyways, back to my point. There was an opportunity to develop a morning ritual that we were given. A ritual to start the day, every day, in a similar fashion. So with that in mind, I have been very committed to this process, though it waxes and wanes, I am committed to starting the day with thanks. Many thanks.
On my knees, on the floor of the bathroom, “Thank you God for my… wife, kids, dog, business, patients, parents, city, for free will, for freedom, for those who trust in your for health, for those who trust in me to lead them, for my home, and the people who live in our neighborhood, the kids waking up in other cities, etc, etc, etc.”
If there is one thing that season deserves, and that you deserve in this season. It is a heart of thankfulness. So I am challenging you to begin every morning from now until December 1st, with thanks on your heart. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I strongly recommend that you find the things that bother you the most, and give thanks for those things specifically. Such as, “thank you for people who don’t use their turning signals, thank you for those people who sit at the green light for an extra minute…” :)
Being thankful for the things that bother you, will help remind you that these things shouldn’t bother you!
Be well and be blessed! Looking forward to enjoying this season with you! – Dr. E