Being thankful isn’t just for the Thanksgiving holiday. Scripture tells us to be “thankful in everything, in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 -19). ” In everything give thanks for this is the will of Yahweh in Messidan Yahshua concerning you 19 Quench not the Spirit.”

As I came into this holiday thinking of my list of things I am thankful for…I felt the Spirit tap me saying, ‘ aren’t these things you are thankful for everyday?” My answer, ” YES! Oh Yes”  This got me thinking & seeking God’s Word on the subject.  It hit me of how so many (including me) get caught up in the “things of the world”, pains and woes of Life in the past, and how much we file away our blessings only pulling them out for designated days of the year. This is for sure to our detriment not acknowledging Life and all it has for us in this moment. Even the tough times as they mold and make us stronger building our Trust, Faith, Love, Mercy, Compassion, and Endurance to continue on in this world. Did you know when you rise & set Each Day giving thanks and all your cares to God, Your day and You have a different energy. Things actually have a more positive flow, Love and “Thankfulness” take root and bear new fruits. This is best said in Colossian 3: 15-17 “And let the peace of Elohim rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be ye thankful. Let the word of Messiah dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of Yahshua, giving thanks to Yahweh, the Father, through him. ” In all faiths these words are written in some fashion. In all Faiths Love with all it’s attributes are the answer to defeat Hurts & Darkness. So this Thanksgiving I say… “let’s come together, being conscious of this moment, remembering to choose good things, giving thanks daily, and loving one another.” In this we can’t go wrong.  It is in these things we can bring “change” in our lives individually and collectively. This is Your personal choice, no one change take God’s plan for your life and all it has to Give unless you allow them to. Now, I leave you with these seeds of prayer on thankfulness “from all walks” of LIFE….May we cling to these True and Healing words.

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” ~Marcel Proust

Phillipians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Psalm 100:4 “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!”

Quran 31:12 “…Any who is grateful does so to the profit of his own soul…”Gratitude has recently become a focus in psychological research. There is a positive psychological effect in feeling thankful that results in appreciating life as it is. We must learn to be aware of and to appreciate the good things in this world to prevent taking them for granted. Being aware of the fact that it is Allah only who has helped us in our life will make us appreciate His blessings more. There is a link between practicing gratitude and feeling happy. Allah tells us in the Quran that we shall be rewarded for showing gratitude:  O you who believe!  Eat of the good things that We have provided for you, and be grateful to God, if it is Him that you worship. Islam.  Qur’an 2.172

From Hindu teachings I found this perfect for today:
A sense of gratitude and indebtedness to others is an important
wellspring of a generous and virtuous life.  All people can recognize that
they are indebted to their parents, who gave them birth and raised them at
considerable sacrifice.  But our indebtedness extends much further than
that. Fundamentally, we are indebted to God our Creator and the powers of
nature that nourish and sustain our life.  Then, since the food we eat
travels from the soil to our dining table by passing through many
hands–that cultivate, harvest, clean, package, transport, sell, and
prepare it–we should recognize that we rely on the labors of many people
in order to survive.  A sense of gratitude to others is thus acknowledging
our interdependent existence; it is an antidote to the illusion of egoism.
Such gratitude is recalled and expressed in the prayer of grace or thanks
offered before meals. Another dimension of gratitude is directed towards those who are
responsible for our education and enlightenment in the way of truth and
salvation.  Gratitude towards one’s teachers, and especially towards the
sages and founders of religions who offered their lives to find the truth,
is a proper attitude of faith.  Most of all, we should be grateful to God,
who quietly has been guiding and nurturing each person toward salvation,
and without whose grace the world would be plunged into utter darkness.

“Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.” ~Buddha in darkness.“You have no cause for anything but gratitude and joy.” 
~The Buddha

“It is not good for all our wishes to be filled; through sickness we recognize the value of health; through evil, the value of good; through hunger, the value of food; through exertion, the value of rest.”~Greek Proverb

“When eating bamboo sprouts, remember the man who planted them.”~Chinese Proverb

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” ~Albert Einstein

Mr. Ward says it well:  “For each new morning with its light, For rest and shelter of the night, For health and food, for love and friends, Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” “God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say ‘thank you?’” ~William Arthur Ward

And I end this post with these wise words: “Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty.” ~Doris Day

What am I thankful for: ALL of YOU, the Freedom to Choose, and ALL God has for Me.  Shalom!