thankful train.

One of the general will’s of God for us as Christians is to be Thankful.  At all times.  In all circumstances.  

  

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

We have a thousand things to be thankful for, and it is a good exercise to name those things.  “For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive?” 1 Cor 4:7  

Our thanks should be to Him who made us and has entrusted us with these gifts.

During the month of November, every night around the dinner table, we discuss as a family the many things we are thankful for.  At our dinner table we have a Train, The Thankful Train.  Each train car has a letter of the alphabet.  Each night we are on a new train car.  H names everything that comes to mind starting with that nights letter.  For A, we are thankful for Alligators, Acorns, along with the other important things like Aunties and Apple Sauce.  

I discussed with H how we should name things that we are REALLY thankful for.  Not just write something on the train because it starts with that letter.  "But Daddy, I AM thankful for them", he said.  Mom said, "maybe we will have time today (during “school” time) when we talk about things that we can be thankful for."  Referring to the fact that writing anything that starts with the days letter is not the point of the thankful train, such as cheetah for the letter C.  Then, we as parents have to stop ourselves, and think, maybe H understands Thankfulness better than we do.  He is thankful for ALL things. 

So this thanksgiving I am thankful for:

family

friends

a community that cares for the needs of one another in tangible ways

emails and encouragement from family and friends

packages, mail

skype

my wife, “Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” Proverbs 31

my two sons and all their silliness

and God’s great Love.  That out of love he would send his only Son to suffer and die for me.  And, in believing in him and receiving him as my savior I may be called His.  And have the gift of Eternal Life.  For this, I am ever so THANKFUL.  May my life speak thanks and not just my lips.  2 Cor 9:15

Tonight we finished the train.  We had fallen behind a little.  We had W,X,Y and Z left.

Tonight H was thankful for Walrus,Whales, X-Rays, Xylophones, Yaks, You, Zebras and Zippers.