GIVING THANKS

All my adult life I’ve thought that Thanksgiving Day gets cheated every year. We make such a big deal of Halloween, then hop right over to Christmas. Even as a child I thought it just wasn’t fair.

So, I’m doing my little part by reminding us all not so much what we have to be thankful for, But  who it is that we should be thanking.

Gratitude puts our lives into proper perspective.

With this post I’m including some links to three hymns of gratitude complements of You Tube.  I’ve tried to include different musical styles. But I’ve deliberately chosen hymns that ring with truths about God’s greatness and our gratitude to Him.

I’m quoting from Then Sings My Soul: 150 of the World’s Greatest Hymn Stories (page149) by Robert J. Morgan. He expresses my feelings well:

“One of the strange things about the ‘attitude of gratitude’ is that we tend to exhibit it in reverse proportion to the number of blessings received. The more we have, the less thankful we are.

Among the lessons Viktor Frankl learned in the Nazi death-camp, Auschwitz, was to take time to be thankful and to count your blessings. He wrote that prisoners in the camp dreamed at night about certain things more than others. Bread, cakes, and nice warm baths—the very things we take for granted every day.

Ralph Waldo Emerson observed that if the constellations appeared only once in a thousand years, imagine what an exciting event it would be. But because they’re there every night, we barely give them a look.

I would like to change that.

I would like for us Christians to show the world how to be grateful every day. I would like for us to take time to admire the stars, and stop to thank God for creating them, and allowing us to enjoy them.

I would like for us Christians to teach our children and grandchildren that gratitude is more than saying thank you. It’s a way of life that demonstrates our thanks TO GOD for the millions of things we tend to take for granted. It is a way of life that reminds us moment-by-moment of how small we are, and how great God is.

I would like for us to begin and end each day with grateful hearts.

Hymns are not especially popular these days. But maybe they should be. Maybe we should struggle with a few Thees, Thous and Arts so that we can more mindfully sing the words as we worship. Maybe we should be reminded of the truths Christians of hundreds of years past held dear. Maybe a few hymns sprinkled into our worship services would remind us that sacred truths—not emotions—are the basis of our worship.

Enjoy the music. And while you listen turn your thoughts toward God and all the blessings He gives you, please.

“Count Your Blessings”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wODZDmBimiM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WDUpudh-pY

“Now Thank We All Our God”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GvSMerBDUc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR6Kajdtt3M

“For the Beauty of the Earth”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy7t2Uasqe8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1lnk6sJiQo

Wishing you a blessed Thanksgiving Day!