Welcome to "Tuesday Mornings," a source of inspiration and encouragement for Christians everywhere.

 

I always enjoy the writings of Henri J. M. Nouwen. Here are his thoughts about gratitude:

 

"Gratitude...goes beyond the 'mine' and 'thine' and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift. In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy."

 

When you are with friends or family during this Thanksgiving season, reflect on these words of the hymn by Henry Alford and George J. Elvey:

 

Come, ye thankful people, come—Raise the song of harvest home:

All is safely gathered in—Ere the winter storms begin.

God, our Maker, doth provide—For our wants to be supplied:

Come to God's own temple, come—Raise the song of harvest home.

 

Al the world is God's own field, Fruit unto His praise to yield:

Wheat and tares together sown, Unto joy or sorrow grown.

First the blade and then the ear, Then the full corn shall appear:

Lord of harvest, grant that we—Wholesome grain and pure may be.

 

For the Lord our God shall come—And shall take His harvest home:

From His field shall in that day—All offenses purge away—

Give His angels charge at last—In the fire the tares to cast,

But the fruitful ears to store—In his garner evermore.

 

Even so, Lord, quickly come—To Thy final harvest home:

Gather Thou Thy people in, Free from sorrow, free from sin;

There, forever purified›—In Thy presence to abide:

Come, with all Thine angels, come—Raise the glorious harvest home.

 

There is so much for which to be grateful this year. Don't let the opportunity slip by unnoticed. Give God the thanks that are due Him.

 

This week's TM is entitled "Thanksgiving 2007." Continue reading below. The late Ken Sullivan wrote the words. You can supply the music.

 

Tom Barnard

A Thankful Senior Encourager

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Thanksgiving 2007

 

Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving.

Let us shout a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

For the Lord is the great God, and the great King above all gods.

(Psalm 95:2-3 NKJV)

 

Kenneth E. Sullivan

 

What do I have to be thankful for today? Browning’s song of love would respond, “Let me count the ways.” The little boy in the classroom gives an obvious answer, “I’m thankful that I ain’t a turkey.” Words of thanksgiving fill the mouths of many today because their hearts are filled with gratitude for the great and wondrous things of God over the past year.

 

Whenever we awake to look upon another bright morning, we have grounds for rejoicing. While the body may be burdened with pain, and life may be deep in want, God has sustained with a ministry of mercy and love. Guilt has received His answer of forgiveness. The Cross has stood over this year as the Healer of the heart. And in times of deepest despair, beside the beds of suffering and the graves of grief the sweet ministry of hope has been present.

 

We can be thankful if God has continued our health, strength, mind, and hope within the normal limits of our day. If our friends have stood by us, and we have been able to walk the ways of freedom and breathe the air of liberty, we can give Him thanks. If families have been reunited or held together and are living under the fullness of His love, we can give thanks.

 

God knows every one of us—our backgrounds, our difficulties, our temptations, and our temperaments. And after knowing all that, we can be thankful that He is still our God.

 

Oh, that we had the silvery sound of the trumpet and the powerful tones of thunder to shout His goodness! For in our littleness and infirmities we are caught up in great thanksgiving that our farewells here on earth suggest a reunion in heaven.

 

Our greatest Thanksgiving Day!

 

Prayer

 

Almighty God, our hearts are alive with thankfulness, and our spirits are lifted up as on wings of eagles. You have looked upon us in love with bounty and store. We stand with heads bowed in thanksgiving and praise, and we ask that we may appreciate Your goodness. In Jesus’ name. Amen.