‘Tis the season for writing out wishlists, filling the calendar, and stuffing our stomachs! Our to-do lists our longer than usual. At this time of year, we tend to spend more time thinking about we need, want, or plan on than usual.

Sometimes it’s refreshing and helpful to remember what we already have.

What We Have as God’s Children

• The Spirit

“For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” –Romans 8:6

• God’s Own Word

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” –2 Timothy 3:16

• The Riches of Christ

“Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ.” –Ephesians 3:8

• A Place in God’s Kingdom

“Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?” –James 2:5

• Faith, Grace, Hope, and a Testimony

“Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.” –Romans 5:2

Ideas for Thinking on God’s Good, Perfect Gifts

• A few years ago I heard someone on the radio say that when they found themselves dwelling on lists of hurts or worries, they tried to switch and think on a list of blessings from God.
• Memorize Scripture! God gives His Word to us as a good gift and we can never spend too much time learning from Him through it.
• Focus on someone you love- thank God for them, pray for them, consider what a blessing they are to you.
• Recall your testimony. Remember how God has saved you. Praise Him for answered prayers and times when He has especially apparently worked in your life.
• Look up one of the names or character traits of God and consider the glory, matchless implications of God being who God is.

What else would you add? Any tips for re-orienting your mind to think on what you already have in Christ?

{A version of this post was previously published here}

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Whether it’s our favorite foods or trying something new, recipes assist in the desired result. Even online dish-and-recipe photos pull us in with the promise of achieving success as the cook.

Every Thanksgiving, I follow a special recipe to make my Grandmother Clarkston’s lemon pie. Yum. It’s my favorite dessert of all time.

Then, as soon as I post pie photos on social media, family and friends, far and wide, ask for the recipe.

Stirring up a Thankful Heart

Recipes always call for measurements—a cup of this or a tablespoon of that. Likewise, we often make other measures in life.

But where do we find the recipe for a thankful heart? What ingredients work together to make a heart full of thanksgiving? 

A real thankful heart never comes easy, much less during the last few difficult years experienced around the world—including my world and perhaps yours.

Because we don’t have to look far to see devastation, need, loss, hurt, lack and hopelessness.

You see, these factors only affect our heart if we allow it. We decide whether our hearts turn hard toward God or thankful.

Our circumstances never dictate true thankfulness in our heart.

Our circumstances never dictate true thankfulness in our heart. @FridayKaren #thankful #recipe #blog
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So here are eight ingredients to stir up a T-H-A-N-K-F-U-L heart.

Thankful Heart Recipe

T – Taste and see that the Lord is good. (Psalm 34:8)

The first bite of lemon pie always reminds me of its goodness. Similarly, God reminds us over and over He’s a good, good Father. God alone is reason enough to give thanks.   

H – Help others. (Philippians 2:4, Matthew 25:42-44)

Kingdom principles rarely make sense to our limited minds. When we look to the interests and needs of others, and when we help the least of these, it grows a thankful heart.

A – Accelerate praise and giving thanks to the Lord. (Psalm 7:17, Psalm 69:30)

As our voice sings praises and gives thanks, and raises Hallelujahs!, our heart naturally overflows with thankfulness. Praise + giving thanks = a thankful heart.

As our voice sings praises and gives thanks, and raises Hallelujahs!, our heart naturally overflows with thankfulness. Praise + giving thanks = a thankful heart. #thanksgiving #blog
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N – Nourish our soul. (Isaiah 55:1-3, John 6:35)

Holidays and special occasions find most of us nourishing our body with nutrients and vitamins (and other stuff we won’t mention here). But replenishing our soul with spiritual nourishment brings spiritual vitality and life. We go to the bread of life, Jesus, to satisfy our hunger and thirst.

K – Keep the faith. (2 Timothy 4:7)

Like straying from a recipe botches the dish, straying from the foundations of our faith leaves us open to worldly perspectives and a less than whole heart devoted to God.

More Ingredients

F – Form an attitude of gratitude. (1 Timothy 4:4, Hebrews 12:28)

An attitude makes all the difference. Forming a specific one doesn’t happen overnight. Hebrews 12:28 encourages us to “be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.” (ESV) And 1 Timothy 4:4 says, “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.” (ESV) Attitudes of gratitude connect thanksgiving to our heart.

U – Understand God’s blessings. (Ephesians 1:3)

We’ve heard it said to count our blessings. And we know we are blessed with every spiritual blessing. While it’s not an exhaustive list, these include: amazing grace, never-ending mercy, unconditional and undying love, unsurpassed peace, real hope, authentic faith, unwavering truth, overflowing joy and God’s fullness for our emptiness.

L – Lay up treasures in heaven. (Matthew 6:19-21)

We have all lost earthly treasure. Maybe especially over the last few years. Perhaps income, home, retirement, investments, insurance, or other.

One sure-fire way to cook up a thankful heart? Lay up treasures in heaven. A place treasure is never destroyed and no one steals from us.

One sure-fire way to cook up a thankful heart? Lay up treasures in heaven. A place treasure is never destroyed and no one steals from us. #thankful #blog
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Have you left out any ingredients for a thankful heart?

Let’s put this recipe to use this Thanksgiving and all year long.

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LINKUP is open. Join my friend @FridayKaren for a special recipe this Thanksgiving. Just as a great recipe makes a delicious dish when we add all the ingredients, there's a recipe to follow for a thankful heart. Share your blog! #blog
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The pilgrims came here seeking freedom of you know what. 

When they landed, they gave thanks to you know who. 

Because of them, we can worship each Sunday you know where.

A fourth grader’s report on the first Thanksgiving when the classroom teacher requested students make no reference to God (source unknown).

While believers remain disturbed about Christmas devoid of God, what about the holiday before the birth of Christ?

How Do We Find and Keep God in Thanksgiving?

Because the holiday celebrates more than gobbling up turkey.

Look at these definitions for gobble:

1) The sound a male turkey makes.

2) To eat, devour, grab or use something up in a speedy or greedy way.

And some definitions also cite to eat noisily. That’s another article on etiquette. Please try not to do this at the Thanksgiving table.

“To gobble” suggests:

• An action without reflection beforehand.
• No careful consideration of the devoured item.
• No gratefulness of where the means derived.
• A general lack of thankfulness for the provision.

To really give thanks, maybe like the first Thanksgiving, we are grateful for our “haves” without begrudging our “have-nots.”

To really give thanks, we are grateful for our haves without begrudging our have-nots. #thankful @FridayKaren
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Thankful for the cornucopia of many blessings received and yet to be given from our Maker. As with the pilgrims, we carry a thankful heart for the place we’ve landed, whatever it looks like for each of us.

Abundant Provision and Freedom

We see ample cynicism in the media, government and society…perhaps in us. There’s a lot of ungrateful gobbling going on.

Still, we rise above the negativity when we remember this truth: We always have plenty to be thankful for.

Yet, sometimes we lose sight of giving thanks for freedoms. And no matter how we have to say it, like in the fourth grader’s report, we do say it, and we carry thankfulness in our heart. You see, thanksgiving—real thanksgiving in our heart—overflows in gratitude more than one day a year. A continual gratefulness that defines our lives and our character.

Often a sigh of relief is spoken with, “Thank God!” Maybe we received good news from a medical report or found out our loved one wasn’t hurt in an accident. Wonderful things to be thankful for.

Not just as a relief that something turned out good in the end. But thanking God, that in the end, we understand all good things come from Him.

Gobbling and Fullness

So before gobbling up a turkey leg or piece of pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving, contemplate the fullness in our lives because of a generous God. Then consider how we show ourselves as a generous people. What does it look like in daily life? How is grateful and generous displayed in our communities and in our world?

Grateful people are generous people. Generous people are grateful people. #grateful @FridayKaren
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Generosity helps others, models Jesus and shows the world true gratefulness and thankfulness. Do we serve the hungry, the homeless and those without basic needs—the “least of these?” (Matthew 25:35-40).

And this Thanksgiving season, thank God for fullness of stomach, life, love, family, freedoms and for every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). Not only giving thanks on turkey day and in November…giving thanks all year long.

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name! For the Lord is good; His mercy and loving-kindness are everlasting, His faithfulness and truth endure to all generations” Psalm 100:4-5 AMP.

Link up is open! Join @FridayKaren today to discover how to find and keep God in Thanksgiving. Are we thankful for the cornucopia of many blessings received and yet to be given from our Maker? JOIN us and share your blog.
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