Thanksgiving???

Thanksgiving. What do you think of when you hear that word? The first thing that pops into my mind is turkey and pumpkin pie. But I don't think that's what Paul is talking about when he says in Philippians 4:6, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Or when David says in Psalm 69:30, "I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving." I don't think they're talking about praying while eating candied yams, or magnifying him with mashed potatoes. No, they're talking about thanks-giving, giving thanks to the Lord.

Dictionary.com defines thanksgiving as "the act of giving thanks; grateful acknowledgment ... especially to God." Well that's pretty much it in a nutshell. The thing is, thanksgiving is not should not be just one day of the year when we get together with friends and family and say things we're thankful for. It should be a 365-days-of-the-year kind of thing. I'm not saying you should visit relatives, make a turkey dinner or watch football every single day. I'm saying, we should be giving thanks every day, to the One Who provided turkey and relatives and football, Who provided life and breath, Who provided houses and computers, Who provided a way for salvation.

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!" 

~ Psalm 100:4