“Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks.” – 1 Timothy 4:4
First off: We want to say Happy Thanksgiving to our American sisters. We pray that your time together with family and friends will be blessed. I’m not sure if we have readers from different countries, but comment below to let us know where you’re reading from.
Second: We want to say THANK YOU! We are so incredibly blessed by you, the reader. Your support is ridiculously amazing. When we started off, we had no idea the impact we could make. We are so thankful for your comments, emails, and the love on Instagram. There are late nights phone calls with Haley or Ashley in which we talking about all of you! So thank you…we love that we are both in each other’s lives. May God continue be glorified through all of this.
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Merriam-Webster defines Thanksgiving as a prayer expressing gratitude.
I’m sure in your homes you have a prayed a prayer like this:
Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for this meal. Thank you for my family…
I’ve felt for so long that my prayers have been weak; like they have been this memorized prayer that I just recite so that I can eat without feeling like a terrible person.
I know God doesn’t look at me like a terrible person and I shouldn’t lie to myself, but I have felt in my heart that I’m not fully expressing gratitude.
I don’t want you to think I’m ungrateful and that my prayers sound like a voice of an adult on Charlie Brown, but I’ve always struggled with a prayer life.
I can feel God revealing in my heart that I haven’t been acknowledging the little gifts He has been giving me.
See, God is doing. He is an active God. He is doing things in our lives everyday. He is moving, paving ways, setting up situations. He is showing Himself in nature, laughter, friendships, etc. He wants us to see Him. He wants us to love Him by expressing to Him our acknowledgment. But wow, aren’t we a distracted bunch?
A few years ago I read One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp. It changed the way I looked at life. It made me see that God was DAILY giving gifts. These gifts came from giggles from my younger cousins, letters in the mail from old friends, and the taste of jasmine tea.
Those little gifts were a way of God saying, “I see you. I know you. I know what you like. I love you dearly. I have more gifts to give.”
Ann says this in her book:
“And when I give thanks for the seemingly microscopic, I make a place for God to grow within me.”
Don’t you love that? Even in the smallest thanks – thank you Lord for the trees, thank you Lord for laughter between my grandparents – we make a place for God to grow within us. We view God as an intentional God – as a lover of our soul. Woah, our lover.
As we sit down as our Thanksgiving tables to thank God for this incredible life He has given us, ask Him to reveal the little gifts that He has only set out for you. He wants to be pleased by your enjoyment. Once you see, hear, or feel the little gift, thank God. Thank Him for being intentional with you and that He was able to express His love to you in such a unique way.
May our hearts become full and grow with having a thankful heart. May we recognize Him every single day. May a product of our acknowledgment instantly turn into an expression of gratitude.
“Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.” -Psalm 95:2-3
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As a way to thank you for joining our community and supporting us, we are having a little giveaway. We want to bless you with Ann Voskamp’s book, One Thousand Gifts. The giveaway starts today and ends on Monday, November 30th. We are using Rafflecopter for our giveaway. There are a few ways to gain giveaway points – the most is by commenting on our giveaway photo and tagging 3 friends. Come back each day (if you’ve commented on it) and get your point. You have been a HUGE blessing in our life.
We also want to let you know that starting November 29th, our Advent bible study starts. Everyday up until December 24th we will be sharing from our hearts. We are excited to bring in 4 guest bloggers, too! Looking forward for this Sunday!
Happy Thanksgiving!