Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Overflowing with Thankfulness

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
8See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ."  Colossians 2:6-8


This is the time of year where we are traditionally told to be thankful.  It's November, and here in the United States, we celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving, a holiday to look back and see how far our country has come, and also to remind ourselves to be thankful for the year that has gone by.    That's all wonderful, and Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, but at the same time, I'm having a bit of a time figuring out exactly how I want to celebrate this year, because I feel like I have already been overflowing with thankfulness for some time now.  Honestly and truly, every day when I spend time in this house that God brought us too, I just stand there and tell God how thankful I am for this home for my family.  And every day that I hop in the van and go for a drive in our new city, I am telling God how thankful I am to live here.  I feel like we're in paradise.


Just the other day I was thinking about how wonderful it is that Andy is still working at his job.   It's been a few years since we went into the Thanksgiving holiday with a regular paycheck, and I am so incredibly thankful.  But you know what?  As I thought on that yesterday, do you know that the devil tried to plant thoughts of doubt and anxiety in me at the exact same time?  I heard myself think about what we're going to do next month, and started feeling worry about what we'll do for December, how will we buy Christmas gifts this year, and how will we pay basic bills.  Oh, I knew those were not my thoughts, because I have the mind of Christ.  Jesus Christ, inside of me, will not be worried or anxious about tomorrow, for who knows what a day will bring!


"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."  Matthew 6:34


So you know what I did? I sent those thoughts packing.  I will not worry about tomorrow, or next week, or next month.  God knows exactly where we are and how things are, and He is already in our tomorrow- working out our plan for then.  Think about that.  God is already there, in our December, and He knows exactly where our income will come from.  God knows and has a great plan, and I trust in Him completely.  I had to tell myself the other day that God has us in the palms of his hands and He will not fail us.  I was not going to listen to voices of doubt and anxiousness, because that would only serve to cause me stress and troubles that I didn't need to deal with.  

And I am so incredibly thankful that so many of these precious Words of God are hiding inside my heart so that when something comes up and tries to worry me, I can come back with those Words and send the worry away.   Nothing gets rid of a voice of worry like the words that Jesus spoke.

And this morning, as I listen to my children playing together, I'm filled with an incredible thankfulness.  Last night Abigail was not well, and this morning, she seems to be back to her normal self.  And I'm thankful that today we'll get to learn something new together and have an amazing day together.  

God is just so good, and I am so thankful for being thankful.   I could go on and on and list dozens of reasons why I'm thankful this morning, and I pray that I will continue to be thankful and will remember daily to thank God for all the many blessings He has bestowed.  Because it all comes from Him.

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