In the meantime

 It is easy to give thanks for those good,  often-taken-for-granted things in life: a warm house, family and friends, yummy coffee.  But what about when life gets rough and we have a hard time even noticing those simple things to be grateful for? What about those times when we feel suffocated because of the weight of the burden we’re carrying?  Or when life seems terribly unfair…and we feel like we’ve received the short end of the deal? Or when we want to cry a loud “Why Lord???” and hear a comforting answer that will make everything better again. Can we thank God for those things too?  Can we thank Him in the good times and in the hard? The Bible tells us to.  “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thess. 5:18) I think God is pleased when we are intentionally thankful for the good things in life. After all, it is His will that we be...

Thanksgiving is just around the corner!  I absolutely love this time of year--the  fall colors, the just-right-kind-of-weather-for-a-hoodie, the yumminess of pies...oh yeah! (Which reminds me--I have a bunch of granny smith apples that need made into a pie or crisp!) Anyway, with Thanksgiving coming up, I decided to challenge myself: find at least two things to be thankful for each day of this month.  It's been super great! Forcing myself to be intentional about gratefulness has made me notice the simple things in life:  Like on Monday this week when Isaac had an extra hour before work this work, so he made breakfast (which he rarely does!) Or the truckload of free firewood from a co-worker.  Or the blessing of gathering with a body of believers to worship God through music and the preaching of the Word.  Or the unusually nice fall weather we're having right now, even though it is November and we're in SD! While we're talking about Thanksgiving and be...