With Thanksgiving and Praise

This past Sunday my pastor preached on "living with an attitude of gratitude". Since Thanksgiving was this week, I wasn't surprised that the sermon was about being grateful, and since I grew up attending church I have heard sermons every year that attempted to drive this concept home. However, I am finding that since I was saved in August many things that I have heard and experienced for years are now holding new meaning for me, and this message was no different. I wanted to talk about all the ways that this message touched my heart this week.

The first thing that I was able to truly understand and identify with is that praise and worship should be shouted triumphantly. I always thought people were a little strange for going so "overboard" with their worship. I have since found that there is really no other way to praise God! Sometimes I am so overwhelmed with God's goodness and glory, and what He has done for me, that I find myself singing and dancing with joy just as David did. I don't think I could be casual about the grace that I have experienced, or the blessings that the Lord has heaped upon me.

The second point that really made me think was the 3 step plan that I can use to become and remain grateful.

1. Take note - Live a life of awareness, and truly pay attention to all the things that I am blessed with everyday, big and small.
2. Take inventory - Count your blessings is a beautiful hymn, and just as true today as when it was written. If I am constantly counting my blessings, I will find it very hard to feel that I am lacking something, or to want for more. The Lord promised to provide for my needs, not my wants, and I need to stop confusing the two. And to be brutally honest, all I really NEED is salvation, so the Lord has kept His promise. Everything else is icing on the cake.
3. Take action - If I live a life serving the Lord with joy, not only will that bring me joy and show my faith by my works, but it will also keep my heart where it is supposed to be: humble and joyful.

I also wanted to look at the verses my pastor used in his sermon, because he used Psalm 100, and those are some truly beautiful and amazing verses. I have read them several times since Sunday, and I am loving them more and more.  

• Psalm 100:1  I love that this verse doesn't say to have joyful thoughts. It says to make a joyful noise! The kind of fire that I feel for the Lord is impossible to keep inside, and even if it was I shouldn't hide it away. It is a blessing in itself. We should be verbal with our joy, to the point of overload. 
• Psalm 100:2  This verse makes a point to say that we should serve the Lord with gladness. We shouldn't just do what we feel is our part, and then check that off our to-do list. We should be constantly searching for a way to tell about the Lord, to love our neighbor and our enemy, to help those less fortunate, and to keep the building that houses our church running smoothly and drawing the lost to it. And if that is a person's goal when they serve, then I don't see how they can walk away with anything other than a large grin on their face.
• Psalm 100:3   Know that the Lord He is God. This one is pretty simple: give credit where credit is due. None of the things happening in my life are due to me. I ran my own life for many years, and it went TERRIBLY. I was a chain-smoking, cussing, people hating, drinking, over-eating, crying, depressed, hide in the corner until everyone went away kind of person. Now that the Lord is running my life, I am a singing, loving, laughing, outgoing, joyful, church attending, free of addictions, praying, bible reading, participating in life person and I couldn't be happier, so I better make sure He gets all the praise for it! 

To sum up, I am so thankful for everything the Lord has done for me and given to me, and my biggest wish is that I always remain the same. Even if life treats me like Job and I lose everything, I still want to wake up every morning grateful to the Lord! Hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving, and are enjoying the start of the Christmas season! Till next time!   Angela