I Choose to Be Thankful

As November comes to an end, I am reminded of the many things I have to be thankful for. I could sit and make a list a mile long I am most certain! I am blessed beyond belief. I have a wonderful family, amazing children and some of the best friends in the world. I know being in the great land of the free, we all too often take for granted what we have. We take for granted the TV we all have in our living rooms. We take for granted the computers and cell phones we talk and type on daily. We take for granted the food we have readily available at our big box grocery stores. We forget that not too many years ago, we had to walk or travel horseback where we wanted to go. The ability to jump into a car and travel 500 miles is all too often taken for granted. Childhood diseases are minimal thanks to vaccines, preterm babies now survive, and deadly health conditions now have miraculous medical cures. These things are all too often forgotten. Sometimes it's nice to be reminded of what all we have, just how good we have it. I spent a few weeks in Uganda Africa as a young adult. It was a mission trip that took me to some of the most under developed, far out, third world villages you could ever imagine. Places like this don't exist. At least I didn't think they did. These people live in mud huts built with their own two hands. They wear nothing more than a rag around their waist. They grow and kill their own food. They have no contact with the outside world. They rely on herbs and teas to heal the sick. They don't know what phones are, or even electricity for that matter. Most of the people in the furthest villages have never even seen a white man. The children circled me, and wanted to touch my hair. They used the bathroom in holes in the ground. No running water to be found. AIDS and Malaria run rampant. They worship many gods and have many idols. It was so different from anything I had ever seen. I still remember the lost look in so many of the village peoples eyes. We just don't know how great we have it. I just feel as though we are given a certain amount of time here on earth. Some longer than others. Some in villages, some in America, some in poverty, some in riches. And whether we ended up with a lot or a little, a long amount of time or a short amount of time... we are all given the chance to make the best of it. To allow the Lord to use us or not. To be thankful or not. To praise Him for what we DO have, no matter how big or small, or not. The choice is yours.
I said all that to say this...

That even on the worst of worst days...  Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials James 1:2

When everything is crashing down...  Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice! Phillipians 4:4

When you can find nothing to be happy about... Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus 1 Thessalonians 5 16:18

And complaining is the only word from your mouth... Do everything without complaining and arguing. Philippians 2:14

Be thankful. Just do it. Giving thanks always for all things. Ephesians 5:20