Special Gratitude Edition

“Praise to You, O Lord, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; You are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from You; You are the ruler of all things. In Your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give You thanks, and praise Your glorious name.” – 1 Chronicles 29:10b-13

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“My God, I have never thanked Thee for my ‘thorn!’ I have thanked Thee a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my ‘thorn.’ I have been looking forward to a world where I shall get compensation for my cross as itself a present glory. Teach me the glory of my cross; teach me the value of my ‘thorn.’ Show me that I have climbed to Thee by the path of pain. Show me that my tears have made my rainbow.” – George Matheson

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“The main thing I’ve learned about Thanksgiving since 2012 when I began to try to count 10,000 reasons to praise God is that the more I praise him, the more aware I am of the things around me for which to praise him! I began to see blessing in suffering and difficulty. I learned from Ann Voskamp that all is blessing. Absolutely everything from the hand of God is for our good and his glory. In Romans 8:28 and 29, we see that all things work together for the good of those who love God, those who are called according to his purpose. But we here in America have a tendency to define good as pleasant or painless or easy. We must begin to see “good” from God‘s perspective. In God‘s economy, good is that which glorifies him and feeds our spirit and grows us and roots us in our faith. It is also those things that take his plan for the salvation of the world and further it. We like to think that when something works out for good, it means we’re going to get the thing we want. It does not always mean that. But we can praise God for his goodness always, and in every circumstance because he is always good.” – Jane P.

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“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe…” – Hebrews 12:28

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“Things I am thankful for: His love, His grace, His wisdom, the Word, my family, my purpose. All…given generously to me for His glory!” – Debbie J.

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“Thanksgiving creates abundance; and the miracle of multiplying happens when I give thanks – take the just one loaf, say it is enough, and give thanks – and He miraculously makes it more than enough.” – Ann Voskamp

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God Most High, thank You for being near to us in all things – hard and wonderful, needy and overflowing, weak and strong. No matter our state, we rejoice in Your love and rich provision of every need. You are generous. You are kind. You are the Lord. We rest in Your rule. We view this world through eyes of gratitude for every good and perfect gift that comes from Your hands. May our streams of thanksgiving ever flow in praise to You – the God Who delights to bless His children. We bow our hearts in humility, in gratitude, and in the beautiful Name of Jesus. Amen.