A Life of Thanksgiving

Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. (Ephesians 5:4) 

I was reading one of the blogs I follow this morning and decided to join in the challenge of a "week of thanksgiving".   Nate, the blogger behind Confessions of a CF Husband, challenged his readers (and himself) to choose to choose "to give thanks to God for His blessings" in ALL circumstances. Philippians 4:6 says, "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God".  It's so easy to thank God when life is "good", when things seem to be going our way...but, when the going gets tough, I find it hard to look at the circumstances and thank God for ALL things.  I love how Nate said, "When my daughter voices her grumpiness, 'God, thank you that she has a voice that works and you are shaping her own unique personality.'"  This morning, I was wide awake at 5 am, but, instead of being annoyed, I decided to enjoy the quiet of the morning by opening up my bible and continuing with a bible study that I had been ignoring.  So, I decided to be thankful that I was awake early, because I actually had the quiet time to spend with the Lord.  And I was able to begin my day with the right focus and seek His guidance as I care for my children today. 

I am reminded of the story of Corrie ten Boom, a brave Dutch woman who hid Jews in her home during the Holocaust.  She was captured by the Gestapo and eventually ended up at Ravensbruck concentration camp.  The conditions there were terrible - the barracks were filled with fleas.  At the end of a long, grueling day, Corrie would take out her bible and read it to the women in her barracks.  Corrie realized she could thank God even for the fleas, because they prevented the guards from coming into the barracks and stopping their bible study.  Wow!  That is the kind of attitude I want to have and so, this week, I want to find ways to thank God for EVERYthing...and, hopefully, it will become such a habit that every week is a "week of thanksgiving" for me.