September 11, 2001, On that day no one will ever forget, after being bombarded with
the news and visual images, I felt overwhelmed, angry and fearful.  

I left work and went straight home and gave my kids the biggest hug they’ve ever had.
I felt a little guilty that I was able to go home and hug my kids when so many parents
would never be able to do that again.  

Since that day, my life like so may other’s has been changed.
I’ have prayed more then I ever have and I’ have  started to give
thanks to God for all the blessings he’s given me.  

Sunset
I’ve begun to look at the world with a different perspective.  
I now observe the sunset, I don’t just glance at it while I’m driving or rushing to get
somewhere else.  I hug my kids and tell them I love them more often.   I let my parents
know how grateful I am that they raised me.  I let my brother’s and sister’s know I
appreciate them.  
I let my husband know he is valuable, even after he’s left the toilet seat up!

Why should we give thanks?  Why should we give at all?  
The bible tells us “Give and it shall be given back to you,
pressed down, shaken together and running over…”

Pressed down
Have you ever measured brown sugar, you have to press it down in the measuring
cup, it takes more brown sugar then if you measured it loose.  That’s what we
receive when we give.

Shaken together  
Do you remember being a kid and getting a bag of candy and shaking it down so all
the candy is at the bottom of the bag.  I would grab the bag with one hand at the top
and feel the bottom of the bag.  The bag had more weight and it felt like you had
more candy when it was all at the bottom of the bag.

Running over
Remember when you were a child and you first learning how to pour kool-aid from
the big pitcher.  The weight of the liquid would force the pitcher forward and it would
be overflow.  Imagine God wanting to bless you so much that the blessings overflow
!

What do I receive when I give thanks?  
Becoming aware of the things I am grateful for keeps me in a spirit of thankfulness.  
Which spreads to my attitude, I can’t be unhappy when
I’m focusing on their blessings, continually adding things to my mental thank you
note.  

Am I positive and thankful all the time, NO!  
I suffer adversity, trials and tribulations just like anyone else.  
I have bad hair days.  I get in bad moods.  But after I get past the bad mood or trial,
I have come to appreciate even the trial.  
It is true “what does not kill us makes us stronger”

Challenges make room for Gratitude
It’s really remarkable that when faced with genuine challenges
we can find room for gratitude.  Of course when faced with major life changing crisis
like death, we must go through the grieving process.  But the key word here is
“through”.  
We will go through this and come out of it a better, stronger and eventually more
thankful person.

Sometimes the hardships we face may actually nurture our appreciation for the
simple joys in life.  Jane Adams in the November issue of Health magazine said “You’
d think that people with pain and disability would be the least grateful, but it’s just the
opposite”.

Robert Emmons a professor of psychology at the University of California at Davis
said those who were ill expressed higher levels
of appreciation for the good things in their lives, while the healthy more often
expressed discontent.  There is no shortcut to gratitude, you have to work through the
adversity first.

What am I thankful for?  
My family, my husband and I have reconciled after a 15 month separation.  
My children are healthy and relatively happy well-adjusted kids.  My daughter Hannah
will celebrate her 10th birthday tomorrow.  My son Matt is 16 and looking forward to
driving a car.  
I live in a modest home that has indoor plumbing, running water and electricity.    My
parents are still alive and healthy and all my brother’s and sisters are healthy and
living a fairly comfortable life.  

Is everything perfect?
NO.  My house is not my own, I rent.  My car is 11 years old and needs a new
muffler.  My husband snores and wakes me up at night.  My daughter has been
running a fever for 3 days now and the doctor can’t find anything wrong with her.  The
car my son is looking forward to driving is a 1954 Chevy rusting in my driveway right
now.  

Am I grateful?  Do I give thanks? Am I blessed?  
Yes, a resounding yes!  

So today, remember all your blessings
and Give Thanks with a grateful heart,
give thanks to the Holy one, give thanks…

Copyright 2010 Pat Edmondson
Give
Thanks
Stories to lift
you up!

by Pat Edmondson

§Iput on God’s armor so as to be able to resist the devil’s tactics. I stand my ground "with truth buckled around my waist and integrity for a breastplate..." I carry the "shield of faith" to "put out the burning arrows of the evil one ... " I accept "salvation from God to be my helmet and receive the word of God from the Spirit to use as a sword . Amen §

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