Thankful Thinking...

As it draws nearer to Thanksgiving, many of us are starting to plan for this season's family feast.  We are shopping around for the best deal on the best bird, screening through magazines for recipies and Fall home decor ideas, aswell as time management and other useful articles and noteworthy tips.  Some of us are making our 'to do' and 'shopping' lists making sure to include every last possible detail.

In one of my recent posts 'Transition" I put forth a challenge to my readers to stop for a moment and contemplate the most asked question of this season...'What in your life are you most thankful for?'

I will conclude this post with some 'Thankful Thinking' of my own, but first I would like to share a story out of the Bible.  You may have read this many times...or maybe this will be your first time reading it...either way I find this story to be very relevant to the heart of this post and the heart of this season...

The Story of Job

Job was a righteous man. He feared God and did everything according to the Lord’s will. God blessed him abundantly. He had seven sons and three daughters. His lands extended to a great extent. He had plenty of cattle, sheep and camels. His children enjoyed life and everyday one of his children would have a feast in their house and would invite all their brothers and sisters to join them. After they feasted Job would offer a sacrifice to God. This was because he thought that one of his children might have sinned and had cursed God in their hearts. He wanted God to forgive them for their sins.


One day the angles came to God and Satan came along with them. God told Satan about Job. He told him that there was no man as righteous as Job on earth. He shunned evil and was blameless and feared God. Satan replied that God had blessed Job with everything and that was the reason that he feared God might take all his riches away. He told God to take away everything from Job and he would surely curse Him. God told Satan to test Job as much as he wanted but not to lay a finger on him.


One day, while his sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine in the oldest son’s house, a messenger came to Job and told him that the house had collapsed and all his children were dead. Another messenger told him that all his sheep and cattle was robbed. Yet another messenger came and told him that all his crops were burnt. The last messenger came and told him that the neighbouring tribe had killed all his servants and taken away the camels. 


Job heard this but did not curse God.  In the second test by Satan, Job was covered with sores from head to foot but didn’t utter a single word against God. When his wife told him to curse God and die, he told her not to talk like a foolish woman. He asked her if he should only accept good from God and not trouble.


 A few days later, Job’s three friends came to meet him. They knew of his loss but were shocked to see the change in him. They mourned his loss along with him. After the mourning period was over, they spoke to him. They told him that it as all God’s doing that he lost everything that he owned, including his children. Though he was righteous, God had punished him. They told him to curse God for all his misfortunes. But Job said nothing and did nothing except praising the Lord. He said that God had his own ways and surely he must have done something wrong to be punished in such a manner. Whatever his friends said he always defended God. In fact, it was his friends who sinned by talking against God.
God was very happy with Job and also accepted his sacrifice and prayers on behalf of his three friends. 


Then God blessed Job and gave him twice as much as he had before. All his brothers and sisters visited and consoled him. Each of them gave a silver and gold coin before they left. He had more cattle than he had before and his lands extended beyond his earlier boundaries. He had seven sons and three daughters again. His daughters were the most beautiful girls in the land and he gave them a share in his property. He lived a long time after that and saw his children and grandchildren to the fourth generation.


I believe we can learn a lot from Job, even though he had everything he was 'thankful' and feared the Lord.  Then, when everything was taken away from him he remained steadfast in his faith and remained with a thankful heart to the Lord.
As promised here is a bit of my very own 'Thankful Thinking'...

• My husband and I have a loving family who would do anything for us
• My sisters and I maintain good friendships
• I have a husband who doesn't just say, but shows me love in new ways everyday
• My dog is a blessing and brings more joy into my life daily
• I live in a nice house in a nice area of town
• My husband and I both have our own vehicles
• We both have jobs
• I have a brother-in-law living in my basement that I get along with and that I can call a friend
• I have a step-daughter that inspires and reminds us to play and not take life so seriously 
• I have a great network of friends whom often inspire, motivate, and offer helping hands or shoulders when their most needed
• God loves me so much, he sacrificed Jesus to save me and make me new!!! (1 Peter 1:18-19).      I have always been told that something is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it.  How awesome is that?  You are so valuable,  Jesus was willing to die for you.

I will end this post here today, but with an encouragement for you to comment about some of your own 'Thankful Thinking'...