Happy Thanksgiving

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the Lord is good and his love

endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations"

Psalm 100:4-5

Thank: [thangk] –verb (used with object)

1.

to express gratitude, appreciation, or acknowledgment to

Thanksgiving: [thangks-giv-ing] –noun

1.

the act of giving thanks; grateful acknowledgment of benefitsor favors, esp. to god.

2.

an expression of thanks, esp. to God.

3.

a public celebration in acknowledgment of divine favor orkindness.

Thanksgiving- a day set apart to express gratitude to God with a public celebration. As I sit here typing this this is my first Thanksgiving away from my family. My first thanksgiving in another country. And quite possibly one of the first Thanksgivings that I have taken the time to write down my thoughts on Thanksgiving day. I have much to be thankful for.

The Psalms command us to enter the presence of the Lord with Thanksgiving- why? Because the Lord is good and his love endures forever. How many times in life has that NOT been enough for me? How many times have I searched for things to be thankful for- and in my selfishness feel like the list comes up short? How many times have I been angry with the Lord and not wanted to thank Him when His Word tells me that He deserves my praise and thanks giving

just because He IS?

"For God so love the world that he gave

His one and only Son,

that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have

eternal life."

John 3:16

This verse is enough reason for me to never stop giving praise. For me to use my every breath is praise and thanks giving to my Savior- but yet, so often I am not satisfied with this alone. I look for other things in life that I feel I need or are my right to have when I have been give the greatest gift I could ever receive. The Lord has opened my eyes and saved me from the darkness. Jesus was THE Sacrifice for the debt that I could never repay. An innocent and spotless lamb led to His death on the cross for MY sin.

"He himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed." 1 Peter 2:24

For my salvation and so many other things I am thankful today. Thankful that I serve a King who loved me enough to die, thankful to be surrounded by people who love Jesus and who love me, thankful that I have a beautiful family who I miss on this special day, thankful for friends who have invested in my life, thankful for the things the Lord has taught me while living overseas, thankful for this season of life, thankful for each breath.

May I use each one to glorify His name and enter his gates with thanksgiving-

because He is good and His love endures forever.