A Thanksgiving Thought - Jenn

Hi! This is Jenn and this is my first blog EVER! Yeah, I'm a computer/internet illiterate person...really. Becca had to show/tell me twice how to do this! (Thanks Becca!)

The past couple of weeks my two children and I have been working on the Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes. This is our second year in participating in this wonderful ministry and this year they were even more curious about the kids who would receive their shoeboxes.

Before we went shopping for the boy and girl we would be giving our shoeboxes to, we watched a DVD provided by Samaritans Purse that basically explains the "shoebox process" in a kid-friendly manner. As soon as the 10 minute DVD was done, my children started asking questions like "Why don't they have any toys Mommy?" "Mommy, do they have food?" (Included in those questions was, "Mommy, can we get a shoebox filled with toys?" What kid wouldn't after watching the faces of those children opening up those shoeboxes!) :)

After trying to answer their questions to the best of my ability, we went shopping and I was astonished at how giving my children are....honestly, the are much more giving than I am. If space wasn't limited to a shoebox, we could have easily filled a refrigerator box with all the gifts that they chose for the children! Sure, some of the gifts they chose, I'm sure they chose because THEY liked them, but their heats were in the right place. I know that innocence will soon fade away, but I have hope that it won't be sooner than what it ought to be.

So basically I've been thinking lately that I really have no idea how blessed I am. Sure, I see things on TV, the news, even the Samaritan's Purse DVD, see pictures and hear stories from missionaries, etc., but I truly do not GRIP just how truly BLESSED I am. If I truly did I would not take what I have for granted....and often times even find myself complaining about what I do have (meaning that I complain that what I have is not "good enough").

It reminds me of some news stories I have recently heard; "Stay tuned for the News at 10 where we'll tell you how to make sure you don't gain that extra 20 pounds during the Holiday Season." Wow.....we, who have so much, have to be TOLD how to NOT gain 20 pounds! Turn the channel and you'll perhaps see children and adults alike, who NEED to gain 20 pounds! Imagine what their faces would look like if they saw just one of our children's plates on Thanksgiving Day! What a thought...

This Thanksgiving, I truly want to BE THANKFUL for ALL the blessings that I do have. I don't want to just SAY it, but to ACT on it as well.

How does one do that? For me it's taking my eyes completely off of ME and FOCUSing them completely on God and all that HE is and all that He has provided for me...especially my salvation. Praise the Lord that I am BOUND TO THE PROMISED LAND! Praise and WORSHIP HIM...which is so much more than just saying a "thank you" prayer before I gorge myself with food.

Also, for me, this ACTION of Thankfulness means that I need to stop COMPARING myself/my things, with other people(s). I once heard here on KGCR (I can't remember which program it was on), a great quote, "Comparison is the destroyer of contentment." How very true!

However, I want to be more than content.....I desire to be THANKFUL and JOYFUL for all that He provides me with! Another great quote I heard recently, "Everything we have from our Father in Heaven is an act of kindness on His part...EVERYTHING, not just some things!"

When my Father in Heaven gives to me His kindness, I desire to have the same look upon my face that those children must have when they receive a shoebox filled with toys or a plate of food. Help me Father to be truly Thankful for ALL that you have given to me so FREELY!

P.S. I visited Matamoros Mexico this summer on a missions trip. I SAW with my own eyes the need in this world. I SAW with my own eyes a gentleman who had NOTHING materially (in comparison to what I have). I SAW with my own eyes, his joy and THANKFULNESS that he had to our Father in Heaven. You would think that after witnessing those things, I would not struggle with being more thankful for what I have. For me, it just shows me how easily I am "of this world" and how easily I can be influenced by the culture that I live in. Lord, help me to be like Daniel who lived in Babylon, but was not influenced by it. Help me to be more intentional in giving you THANKS and PRAISE for ALL that you have given to me!