Tuesday, November 25, 2008

The Thanksgiving Project

I received an email from a buddy of mine this morning. He started a blog called The Thanksgiving Project and invited some of his friends and family to post their thoughts about thanksgiving over the next couple days. Below is what I posted this morning:


Thanks for getting this idea up Kneil. This morning I was working through all the references in the New Testament that have the word Thank or Thanks in them when I got your email. I was sharing with my lovely bride (who I thank God for) this morning over blueberry walnut waffles (which by the way I also thank God for) and oatmeal (also...) how for the first time I noticed that in scripture nobody ever really thanked anybody else for anything. What they did do was Thank God for someone, or something and then let that person know. Look at the beginning of almost every single letter that Paul wrote. He doesn't tell the Philippians thanks for being such a great group of people. Nope, he let's them know that he is thanking God for them and what they are doing, or displaying or how they are growing...

Thank you cards were obsolete in Jesus's day. What wasn't obsolete though was letting somebody know that you were thanking God for them. I sometimes feel guilty when I don't send a thank you card immediately or remember to say thanks to someone. It's somehow rooted in this pride thing, or this sense of duty. I'm not supposed to give you thanks. Really. I'm supposed to give God thanks for you, and let you know it. That way it's never about what you did, it's about what God did, in you or through you and what He is doing. What I am being challenged to do is remember to let people know that specifically I am thankful to God, and then how.

I thank God for Kneil, and his leadership and sensitivity to start this blog.

I thank God for my wife, she has been an incredible inspiration for me this year as we've faced so much change and transition.

I thank God for the rays of sun that light up the table as I sit here and write and pray.

God is good. I am thankful for that.

How are you thankful to God?

No comments: