Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, it's finally here. Thanksgiving Day! I got up about 7:30, got the turkey in the oven at about 8, and we had everything finished and eaten by 3:30. Dinner, anyway. That photo is one I took just before devouring the feast.

That picture also shows some good things that I'm thankful for. I'm thankful for my family. Of course, there's one more kid, my youngest, who refused to be in the picture. I'm thankful for my wife, too, but if I post her picture that I took today, she'll kill me! These people that God has put in my life bless me every day. Sure there are days that I want to pull my hair out for dealing with the shinanigans, but I really am blessed. It makes me think of all the good things God does for me.

I am in good health today. I have a roof over my head and transportation. There is food in my fridge (especially today's leftovers!). I'm no where near rich, but God is providing all I need. My family and I are blessed and prospering! I thank the Lord for his many blessings.

The Bible speaks much on being thankful. There were certain sacrifices in the Old Testament Law that were Thanksgiving Offerings. After times of victory and blessing, God's people would offer up thanksgiving for what the Lord had done. David displayed a thankful heart in 2 Samuel 7. Check it out:

Then King David went in and sat before the LORD; and he said: "Who am I, O Lord GOD? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far?

David had been on the throne for a while at that point. God had given him victory and blessed him tremendously. So, one day, David probably just walked around and looked at how God had blessed him. He decided that he wanted to bless God. He wanted to build the Lord a temple, so the Ark wouldn't have to stay in a tent. The prophet Nathan affirmed David's desire, but then God stopped him, and told him that David was not to build a temple. His son would. Then that is where God decided to reveal just how he would bless David. David wasn't to build God a house, but God would build David a house-he would always have a decendant on the throne!

David probably struggled to find the words to express his thanks to God for his blessing. I know I would. All he could say was, "Who am I?" Just like that Casting Crowns song that asks, "Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth, would care to know my name...?"David was humbled in God's exaltation of him! (That will humble you when you realize how God has lifted you up!)

David must have flashed back to his early days in the sheepfold. Night and day, he'd watch over his dad's sheep, unnoticed by people, but seen by the Lord. When his own dad wrote him off as unimportant, God chose him. He was everything a king wasn't supposed to be. He was the youngest son. He was just a kid. He was a dirty shepherd. He probably wasn't 90 pounds soaking wet. But God took him from the sheepfold to throne.

Yeah, David had a lot to be thankful for. So do we! Think of what God has done for you. Just this afternoon, I picked up the latest CD from Casting Crowns, The Altar and the Door. As one song played, called "Slow Fade", I thought about the pits God has pulled me from, starting with salvation, to the times I wandered like a sheep and got stuck in the ditches of sin. Immediately, I began to tear up as I thought about how good the Lord Jesus has been to me. He pulled me from my sins, filled me with his Spirit, gave me my family, and called me into the ministry of the Gospel!

So, what do you have to be thankful for today?

God bless!