I’m finishing the final 4 part of giving thanks when you are in the thick of it, using the acrostic THANKS. The whole article is here. I have been in the thick of it in that the amount of work I have had to do has been overwhelming. Acknowledging my reality of that included knowing that it would end. Numbering our thanks is what I am absolutely doing today. I completed the task. I summited the mountain of paperwork and I am saying thank you numbers of times!
#108 of my 1000 thanks is that I met the deadline! I finished the task! I am grateful and I am HAPPY! Oh yeah!
STARTS:
T is for Thoughts.
H is for our Hearts.
A is for Acknowledging our realities.
N is for Numbering our thanks.
K is for a Kaleidoscope of creation.
S is for Speaking our thanks.
A is for Acknowledging Our Realities
Giving thanks doesn’t mean ignoring or denying hard realities. It doesn’t gloss over challenges or hardships. It acknowledges all of that while at the same time persisting in hope.
When we deny the difficulties and challenging circumstances we sometimes face in life, we diminish the opportunity for God to be magnified in the eyes and hearts of others and ourselves as He shows Himself strong on our behalf and present in our pain.
But, when we acknowledge the hard and the heavy of our circumstances while maintaining faith in God’s promises to love us, sustain us, never leave us or forsake us, we offer a genuine sacrifice of praise that honors God and inspires others.
N is for Numbering Our Thanks
Keep a numbered list of anything and everything you notice during your day for which you can give thanks.
1. A vibrantly, red maple leaf floating through the sky.
2. Your children getting along for an entire five minutes.
3. Waking up another morning.
4. A long phone call with a friend.
And so on…
K is for the Kaleidoscope of God’s Creation
Like God’s unchanging character, we can draw upon our five senses to experience God’s creation in its many forms and give thanks for the way in which He has given us varied displays of His beauty, wisdom, and power through creation.
S is for Speaking Our Thanks
Ephesians 5:19-20 exhorts us to speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, giving thanks always.
Psalm 78:4
We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His powers and the wonders He has done.
God commands us to give thanks because He knows that it will bring us the highest happiness in life. It will bring joy to others as well and will tell them Who He is and what He has done.
In closing, my prayer for you is that the thanksgiving that begins in your thoughts would move to your heart and through your fingers and lips as you learn to give thanks in the thick of it.”
Ends
These are the days!
Keep the smile going!
God bless you!
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂