Thanksgiving

I am reading a book called One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. In life there are so many things that happen that are hard to understand. Struggles, death, cancer, sadness, evil, pain, divorce, teenagers…need I say more. For many this is a wonderful time of year, but for many this time of year can be very sad. We all have seasons in life where things are amazing and seasons where it feels like the world is falling on top of us. Where do you find joy. Where is it? We know God is great, but where is evidence of that?

Luke 22:19 “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them.” How can we find joy and live our best life? The Greek word God used for ‘he gave thanks’ is “eucharisteo”.

The root word of eucharisteo is charis meaning grace. Eucharisteo also envelops the root word chara which means joy.

The bread symbolized Jesus’s body that he would sacrifice for us a couple days later. It is also symbolic that after “he gave thanks” he gave it to His disciples. A gift.

Joy, not the emotion of happiness, but the deep source of joy comes from God’s grace and our thanksgiving.

We miss God in the everyday. Our earth is suspending on nothingness in the universe in a perfect distance from the sun so we may have life. We have massive mountains, oceans, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, rainforests, animals, trees, flowers, and amazing land formations.

Your body contains 37 trillion cells feeding your organs oxygen, fighting infections, building good and destroying bad.

Your heart will beat 100,000 times today.

Your lungs will take 23,040 breaths today.

Some of you with children will get to get up and see the smile of your children or look in the beautiful eyes of someone you love.

I know this is crazy but this is why I love working in cancer. We miss all these things, but if you were told tomorrow you were going to die, what would you miss. What would you appreciate. Close your eyes, if this was your last week on Earth, what would you miss/appreciate. Keep that thought in your mind as you walk through this week.

The wind in your hair. The feeling of a warm blanket out of the dryer. The smell of coffee in the morning. Hearing some of your favorite people laugh. Cuddling with your smelly dog. A warm shower. Seeing the beauty of each season. Seeing an amazing skyline.

One of the first jobs God gave Adam in paradise was to name the animals. Naming something is meaningful. This book gives a challenge in which I am going to give to each of you.

Be intentional and name 1000 thanksgivings. Naming these things and making this list will bring you joy. You don’t believe me…do it and see. It will bring intentional focus on thanksgiving and gratefulness. It will help you focus and prioritize importance.

This is not something you do in a day. This is a running list over time. I don’t know how long it will take, just be intentional. Set aside 30 minutes to get it started and just keep adding to it over time.

That is where we will find Joy. Through thanksgiving.

Eucharisteo

Thanksgiving and Grace = Joy and a Life of Abundance

I love you guys.

Have a great week!

#faith #communityengagement