My Thanksgiving List … 2008

Well, ... Let me tell you about my Thanksgiving Day project for this year. The other day on a Christian radio program, I heard a Christian teacher (I can't remember who) teaching about the quality of Christian gratitude; and he proposed an exercise to promote gratefulness. Here was the deal ...

Take a sheet of paper (or on your computer) and create two columns. Lable the first column: What I'm Thankful For. The second label with: What Life Would Be Like Without That... . In the first column write down short summary statements [bullet points] about what you're thankful for in your life. Then, in the second column, briefly write down what your life would be like if that element you just wrote in column #1 was not a part of your life. It's sort of like an exercise taken from the movie "It's A Wonderful Life."

Well, this week I did that excercise; and it was powerfully revealing and gratifying for me. I did it on a Microsoft Word Table, which allowed me to edit, add, and change during the week as I prayed and was quiet with God each day this week. And God showed up - BIGTIME - in this project, showing me what a great life I have ... in spite of the economic downturn ... the horrible stuff going on in the world ... a number of health challenges ... and well, you get the picture.

So, I post this today to challenge any reader to get alone with God - real solitude, I mean - and ask Him to illuminate for you what you have in this life for which you are truly grateful. Then meditate on each of these elements of your life and picture what life would be like without that thing. You will be blown away with THANKSGIVING (or whenever you do this task).

And though I'll not share it here, anyone who'd like to see what I'm thankful for, just email me @ billb13@bellsouth.net and I'll send you my list.

And may God bless you dearly, even with the Romans 8: 28 challenges of life ... <'BB><