Serving our Father God and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in Holy Spirit filled ministry since 1997!

December 2024

 As children we learn that Thanksgiving and Christmas are times for feasting, gift giving, and celebrating with friends and family. But we must not forget the main theme of these holidays – GRATITUDE. Gratitude is the quality of being thankful, readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. It is a state of feeling thankful for the good things in our lives.

We often take blessings for granted. Daily necessities like shelter, food, clothing, and the comfort of family and friends often fade into the background and go unnoticed in our daily routines. We lose sight of the love that others show and God’s favor over our lives. When we look at what is going on in the world, we see people losing everything, living on the streets, not knowing where their next meal will come from, and not being able to provide for their families. These people are just like us. Yet, our circumstances are different. That’s enough for us to be thankful.

Nehemiah 8:10 says:
Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (NIV)

Anytime we celebrate God, which should be every day, we should include giving to increase our joy.

In Psalm 107:1, 8-9, the psalmist wrote:

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things. (NIV)

This has been a trying year for each of us in some way. We may have experienced financial burdens, loss of loved ones, family or person sickness, or maybe just being overwhelmed with the stress of day to day life. To cover the pain, we often quickly tell others we are blessed. While true, our blessings are more than a band-aid.

This holiday season I challenge each of you to go out and share a few kind words with someone less fortunate than you. This is the perfect time to show gratitude for the many blessings we have. Indeed, someone needs to hear our stories and know that we are truly thankful despite personal losses. Our gratitude can give someone hope that better days are coming.

This quote by Melody Beattie reminds us why it’s important to express our gratitude:

Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.

Holiday blessings to you and yours.