Happy Thanksgiving! Today is Thanksgiving in the United States. What a glorious day. A day for giving thanks. On this one day each year, the whole country seems to be in harmony. No matter what religion or ethnicity we are, we all love celebrating this day.

We get up early in the morning, looking forward to the parade and football on television, as we put our turkeys in our ovens. We happily anticipate spending the day with our loved ones. From coast to coast, families gather around to enjoy good food and fellowship.

How amazing that we have a holiday dedicated towards giving thanks. Many homes have a tradition of going around the table and each person names things they are thankful for. Even if your loved ones don’t do something similar to this, you are likely still quietly considering all the blessings in your life.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” – James 1:17

However, I feel gratitude should be something we practice all throughout the year, not just on one day in late November. Our lives will contain ups and downs. We will have joyful days, as well as days that are less than pleasant. But it all boils down to this – gratitude is a decision we have to make every day. When not so good things happen, we can choose how we will react to them. Will we get upset because things didn’t go our way? Or will we stop and realize that even though some things went wrong, there are still a lot of things going right?

I know life can be hard. But each and every day God gives us so much. We wake up each morning, fresh breath in our lungs, and a new day to live life. When we stop and take notice, that is when the miracles begin to take place. That is when we will find true contentment in life. That is when we will begin to harvest peace, faith, love, and joy.

Always give thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:20)

When we consistently choose gratitude, eventually the positive feelings inside of us will override the negative feelings. Personally, I would much rather have the positive feelings over the negative feelings. So that is why I try to keep gratitude in my heart all year long. And I hope you will join me. As you look around at all the blessings in your life today, I hope you make a decision to hold onto gratitude tomorrow and the days that follow. And always remember one thing – Every day is a gift from God!

Happy Thanksgiving from my home to yours!

I will leave you with a lovely praise song – Forever by Chris Tomlin.