Thanksgiving Praise

Well it's here... the week of Thanksgiving! A lot of us are excited about being out of school or off work or just being able to eat as much as we want without anybody saying anything about it! I want to challenge each of us to really think about what this holiday stands for. This is a time to remember what God has done for us and where He has brought us from. We are to praise Him for being the God of second chances. As Psalm 100:4 says we should "enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name." Praising God should not be confined to this one Thursday. We should continually praise him and be thankful for everything God has done. Even if we don't understand where He has us at this point in our lives we should praise Him for what He is doing. He wants the best for us. This may be a season of teaching. Be still and listen to what God is trying to tell you. This Thanksgiving is definitely different for my family. First, my husband isn't here with us. He was blessed with an opportunity to go to Israel! How awesome is it that he will be in the Holy Land on Thanksgiving! He is seeing the actual sites that we read about in the Bible. Second, Thanksgiving dinner will be held at my house in New Orleans. We have been on an amazing journey since the beginning of the year. I'm so excited my parents and my sister Amanda and her family will be joining me and the boys! AT and I have downsized this year and everything isn't how we thought it would be but this is definitely where God wants us to be... in the center of His will for our lives. It is nothing like the complete peace we have at this point. We continually thank God for making our purpose clear. I pray everyone has a wonderful time of reflection on this Thanksgiving week. Cherish the time with your families. Don't get too busy with strategies for Black Friday or anything else that you don't take the time to praise God and spend time with the loved ones God has blessed you with (even if they do get on your nerves). Truly worship the One who has made everything possible. In Christ, Alissa