Day 44

So today, I had a major flashback... to the 1980s.  And not just to the '80s, but to the styles of the '80s.  Let me explain.  Tonight I was talking to a friend at a Christmas party and somehow we ended up discussing fashion trends of the 80s.  Let's see if you remember any of these styles... Guess jeans, Tretorn shoes, Bellini shoes, Davies Bags (remember the navy flat bottom bags with leather handles and you mailed off to get your initials?).  We were laughing at the expense and efforts we went through to fit in.  Now it seems kinda silly... but back in the day, it was so important.

My son doesn't have the flexibility to wear name brand clothes to school like I did.  He can wear two different colored pants and three different colored polo shirts.  That's it.  I must admit that this keeps his school clothes budget much more economical than those Guess jeans I used to wear...

Here's what I discovered about thankfulness tonight.  It's a command, not an option.  Much like wearing a uniform to school, we are told to wear a uniform of thanksgiving by this command in in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."  

But 1 Thessalonians is not the only place we are commanded to give thanks.  Any guesses how many times we're told to give thanks in the Bible?  Are you ready for this?  Thirty-three times.  http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/translationResults.cfm?Criteria=give+thanks&t=NIV

Can you believe it? This thankfulness stuff is pretty important.  From 1 Chronicles 16:4 in the Old Testament:  He appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, to make petition, to give thanks, and to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, to Revelation 11:17 in the New Testament:  "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign," we are commanded to give thanks. 

Thanksgiving needs to become part of our DNA... we should be "overflowing with thanksgiving" (Colossians 2:7).  And when we get to this point over time, it won't matter whether we wear name brand clothes or clothes from Goodwill, because our heart clothes will be radiant with thanksgiving.  Thanks for wearing thankfulness with me each day.  Who knows... maybe thanksgiving will become the new trend...  How cool would that be? 

Tonight, I am thankful for...

1.  Christmas shaped pretzels
2.  Pretzel appetizer and pretzel dessert
3.  A tried and true recipe... and a new recipe that turned out to be good
4.  Picking up my Christmas cards
5.  Receiving Christmas surprises in the mail
6.  Photo books that capture memories from the past
7.  Creating connections
8.  God orchestrating all the details for an upcoming retreat and being just in awe of how He's at work
9.  The blessing of my friend watching the boys tonight
10.   My three year old's opinion about the music we listen to on the radio
11.  My seven year old's love for other children
12.  Memories of vacations
13.  Wassail
14.  Holding hands
15.  Hugs

Here's to 10,000 reasons... Only 5,167 to go...