Beyond November

Ahh... Thanksgiving.  I think I might enjoy it even more than any other holiday there is.  Okay... maybe it's second fiddle to Christmas... but it's a CLOSE runner-up!

Thanksgiving.  The time of year we pause to be thankful.  The time we slow down to see the blessings that are right in front of us.  All around us.  Every day.  Yes... THOSE blessings.  And yep... that one too!

And when you've been counting all year long, this daily thanks seems like an ordinary part of living.  Like breathing.
Because without gratitude, we slowly die inside.
I believe that.
We die.

Everything is a gift. 

Don't believe it?  Look around!

Warm blanket.
Clean water.
Transportation.
Ability to walk.
Music.
Blue skies.
Green grass.
Trees.
Family.
Clothes.

It's all a gift.  That we don't even deserve.

Grace.

And the gifts continue even when we're not looking.  Even when we're not paying attention.  Because of GRACE, they are there anyway.  Always there.

Safe travels to and from work.
Kindness of a stranger.
Forgiveness.
Acceptance.
Air to breathe.
Sleep.

Those things too.

They are all gifts.

And how many times have we taken for granted these... and other... gifts?  How many times have we been walking right through life, dead to it all? 

How many times have I missed... GRACE?

Because grace is undeserved favor.  And I have been blind to the gift of grace for far too long.

I am tired of living an empty life.  Sleeping right through the miracles... the gifts... the blessings.

Ann Voskamp says it best in her book, One Thousand Gifts, "Thanksgiving is the evidence of our acceptance of whatever He gives.  Thanksgiving is the manifestation of our Yes! to His grace."

And I say Yes!

By saying Yes! to seeing the gifts... counting the gifts... naming the gifts... I am really saying Yes! to God.  A God who is bigger and stronger than anything and everything else.  Yes! to a God who gives grace and mercy to an undeserving soul like me.  Yes! to a God who... "From His abundance, we have all received one gracious blessing after another." John 1:16.

One gracious blessing after another.

A smile.
Smell of a newborn baby.
Chocolate.
Warm soup.
Phone call from a friend.
White, puffy clouds in sky.
Long weekend.
Coffee.
Crunch of leaves in fall.

Grace!  Blessings!  Gifts!

Like Joni Eareckson Tada put it, "He's prepared to fill your days with reasons to give Him praise."

He pours out the blessings.
Our response is to praise Him for them.

And not just at Thanksgiving.

Grace... blessings.... gifts... they outlive the month of November.  They surpass the comfort of a month dedicated to the blanket thanks because it "feels" like it's what we're "supposed" to do.

The other 335 days of the year?  They, too, are grace-filled.
And blessings can be found there too.

Because God... the giver of life, the gift-Giver, deserves our praise in those days too.

Even the hard ones.

Waiting room with loved ones.
Doctors office with sick child.
Courthouse.
Funeral home.
Rain and wind.

He's there too.  And His blessings do not cease because we stop looking.

His blessings... His grace... they carry on.
And so... my praise must carry on.

I will give thanks.  Because I want to live!

Lord, give me eyes to see Your grace.... Your blessings... Your gifts.... every day. 
Beyond November.

All is grace!

Amen?

Amen!
 

November Gifts

It's November.

That means that my third favorite month of the year is here... followed by October (1st) and December (2nd).

I love November.

I love the leaves falling, the cooler weather, the darker evenings.

But one thing I have always struggled with about the month of November is how it is perceived by so many people.  Especially where I'm from - southern Michigan.

And here is what I hear a lot... "I love fall, but I hate what comes after it."

And that's not fair.  For November.

Those who are unfortunately displeased with snow season, are missing out on so much beauty and wonder that November holds.

As my daughter and I were watching Monster House last night, something struck me.  It's the little girl in the beginning of the movie who is portrayed in the opening credits.  I have since been made aware that it's called "Elisa's Song" and it's my favorite part of the whole movie.

Here is the clip:

What stuck me so about this little girl is her attitude and perspective.

Did you catch her wonder and excitement and enthusiasm while riding her bike down the sidewalk?

"Hello fence!"  "Hello leaves!"  "Hello sky!"

Wonder.

And I wonder.

Where did that awe and admiration for the simple things go?
Why don't I feel like this most days?

When life is hard and days are messy... when milk is spilled and boiling pots run over and moms yell and children fight... where is this kind of awe and wonder?

"I like it now... but I don't like what comes after."

Then should we stop enjoying the now because of what follows?

Should we stop seeing the beauty in the everyday... ordinary moments of life?

Like fences?
And leaves?
And sky?

I'm tired of missing the ordinary things.  Because IN those things... in those seemingly small and insignificant things... I find joy.  Contentment.

And being thankful for those small seemingly insignificant things makes my life large and makes me yearning to discover more.

And there is more!

What if we changed the way we SAW things?

Like fences and leaves and skies?

What if in this crazy, messed up world, we began seeing the simple things as big things.

Gifts.

Because they are all gifts.

Even November is a gift.

That third favorite month... neatly tucked between two other favorites.
Like the middle child.
And how often does she feel forgotten?

I don't want to miss anything.

I don't want to miss the small things... the gifts.

The ladybug on the window sill - God cares for the small and weak!
My daughter's hair ties - God's greatest gift to me!
My dirty crock pot - God's provision and the family who loves!

I want to see the little things too.

And so during this month... the one known to many as the "Thankful Month"... may I not paint wide strokes of thanks, forgetting that the small things... because they... they are gifts too.

Everything is a gift.

And I... I am so thankful.

Martin Luther once wrote... "If you want to change the world, pick up a pen."

It's November... the month for giving thanks. Will you join us for our {30 Day Gratitude Challenge}?

It's easy... and yet challenging.  In the swirling and twirling of our busy lives... will we pause long enough to see the goodness in a moment?  Every day... is a gift!

Join us?

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_8V_ptqLiHbTkZUQXQ1VGZkMEE/edit?usp=drive_web