11222020 Let's Be Thankful...

Let’s Be Thankful

Did you know that the words, "think" and "thank" in English are from the

same root word? The Old English form of "thank" was thanc which means

"thought, gratitude."

 

So, "thanksgiving" is really "thinksgiving." And that’s as it should be. 

If a person is genuinely thoughtful, he ought to be thankful.

Think about how much you have to be thankful for. Life is fundamentally good.

Even with tough times and harsh hardships, there is more good than bad in life.

Few of us are so abused that we can truthfully, consistently wish never to have

been born.

 

Think about how much you have that you did not make. Suppose that you were

Robinson Crusoe, stranded on some desert island. How long would it take you

to make a pencil? Write a book? Build a computer? Develop a vaccine? 

The whole world of human achievement is ours to draw upon. With all its flaws, 

human culture gives us uncountable riches.

 

Think about how much you owe others. "No man is an island," said John Donne.

"None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself," 

said the Apostle Paul. Most of our life would be dull and dreary without steady

interaction with others. With all the frustrations and friction of such relationships, 

most of us would rather not be hermits, sealed off from the human touch.

If you really think, you cannot help but give thanks. The two just go together.

- William Eudy

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Count Your Blessings

When upon life’s billows
You are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged,
Thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings,
Name them one by one,
And it will surprise you
What the Lord hath done.

Are you ever burdened
With a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy
You are called to bear?
Count your many blessings,
Every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing
As the days go by.

When you look at others
With their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised
You His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings.
Wealth can never buy
Your reward in Heaven,
Nor your home on high.

So, amid the conflict
Whether great or small,
Do not be disheartened,
God is over all;
Count your many blessings,
Angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you
To your journey’s end.

Count your blessings,
Name them one by one,
Count your blessings,
See what God hath done!
Count your blessings,
Name them one by one,
And it will surprise you
What the Lord hath done.

- Johnson Oatman Jr 1897