Thank You!

At an early age, children should be taught to say thank you when someone gives them something or does something nice for them. We're taught to say thank you as it shows that we have good manners. Not only should we tell people thank you when they have done something for us, but we should also tell God thank you. In fact, we should tell God thank you every day. We don't have to wait until Thanksgiving comes to say thank you. We have something to be thankful for each and every day. First, we can be thankful for who God is. God never changes, but always stay the same. I know people, places, behavior, situations, and relationships change, but not God. I'm so grateful for that! Knowing God doesn't change on us is good news. We can thank God that He is our Provider, Creator, Guide, Help, Strength, Love, Peace, Keeper. He is faithful to His promises and His promises cover us. We can also be thankful for who we are. It's because of God that we are here and who we are. God made us unique and wonderful (Psalm 139:14). There can never be another you. You are one-of-a-kind, so embrace that! I know sometimes it can be hard as we may be tempted to look around at others. But, let's do our best not to compare ourselves with others, but find what makes us special. We need to find out what we like to do and what gifts and talents we have. We are all needed and what we do matters. We should also be thankful for what God has done for us. God wakes us up every morning. He allows us to have food, shelter, clothes, money, transportation, the job we go to, the school or college we go to. He has given us the health we have. He allows us to walk, talk, eat, move, breathe. He protects us everywhere we go. In fact, He protects us from things we don't even know about! That's a good place to praise God right there!! He has given us the family and friends we have, the church family we have to fellowship and grow with other believers. Most of all, we should be thankful for God's love toward all of us in that He sent His only Son Jesus so we can live a brand new life in Him (John 3:16, I Corinthians 15:3-4, II Corinthians 5:17). Let's not forget about the fact that we can read, write, walk, brush our teeth, dress our own self. These are things that others may not be able to do or be able to do easily on their own. We can also be thankful that we have clean, running water and electricity that some don't have access to. As we take time to tell God thank you, we can't forget to tell the people in our life thank you- family, friends, coworkers, church family, neighbors. Tell someone thank you that held the door open for you, took your shopping cart back in the store, or bagged your groceries. In a world where it seems good manners have been forgotten, let's be among those that say thank you. Saying thank you can make a difference and change one's life. We don't have to wait until a certain time of year to say thank you. Let's be thankful every day!

I want to take a moment and thank all of you for your support, prayers, encouragement, and kind words given to me on my blogging journey. I appreciate all of you as your words and actions mean so much to me! When you share with me that the blog message was just what you needed for that day and that the messages are what get you through your days, that pushes me even more to keep writing and keep going! Let's continue on this journey together as I can't wait to see what's next!