About this time of year, we start gearing up for the holidays. I have a confession to make. I don’t want to sound grumpy but I wish we would really gear down. I wish this season really was a holiday– a time to be refreshed; a time to be reflective, to soak in the glory of God’s goodness.

I wish…..

But wishing will not get us there. We must be intentional. A few years ago, I realized that Thanksgiving was being overlooked as we race towards Christmas; that beginning November 1st we are on the fast track to where? I am not sure.

So I want to propose that we look at our calendars today and make a plan to fill in the days with thanksgiving. Wouldn’t it be great to create a Thanksgiving calendar for you and your family and fill in each day with why we are grateful!  Here is how it will work. Some of you more creative people I know will make fabulous calendars, but for those of you who are like me, it may be just a large poster board with squares for the days or perhaps a journal of thanksgiving. It really doesn’t matter. The key here is to spend time thanking the Lord for His goodness, His faithfulness and His love for us.

An article in Forbes online states that gratitude may be one of the most overlooked tools that we all have access to every day; that cultivating an attitude of gratitude doesn’t cost any money and doesn’t take much time, but that the benefits are enormous. Research reveals gratitude can have benefits such as opening doors to relationships, improving our physical and psychological well being, helps with sleeping and improves self-esteem.

Scripture gives evidence that kingdom-minded people are grateful above all for the gift God has given us in Jesus Christ, who while we were yet sinners died that we might live in Him. If we start every day meditating on this alone, our soul will be refreshed. Here are some scriptures to put on your calendar of thanksgiving.

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

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24)

And whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the lord giving thanks to God through Him. (Colossians 3:17)

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. (Psalm 136:1)

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and let us offer to God acceptable worship. (Hebrews 12:28)

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. (Psalm 100:4)

Friends, I have not scratched the surface with Scriptures that exhort us to be thankful. Let’s start on our thanksgiving calendar today thanking the Lord for His goodness extended to us and why not add a Scripture of thanksgiving each day? Let me know how it goes. I will meet you on the other side of our journey of making space for a grateful heart.