Living Grateful

Nov 27, 2012 by Jim and Jerolyn Bogear

As we have just come through a wonderful Thanksgiving and prepare for Christmas season we wanted to pause and say thanks.

We are thankful first and foremost to God who gives us our blessings including such wonderful relationships of family and friends. President Abraham Lincoln was so correct when he wrote the proclamation in 1863

“…To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God… No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.”

Read the rest of President Lincoln’s Proclamation here…

For many of us to get together with family and friends is always a special time.  But sometimes we have heard people say that we shouldn’t wait for Thanksgiving, or we shouldn’t only do this one-day out of the year to stop and be thankful. It should be every day.

We couldn’t agree more with a thankful, grateful attitude, and not simply on some holiday, rather more of an attempt at everyday. BUT, what a great reminder Thanksgiving is to us in the United States to do just that. Now it is celebrated all over the world in different times and ways…see Wikipedia.

Thanksgiving is hitting the pause button on the DVR of life to be reminded of the life that is flying past us so quickly. How many of us cannot believe that once again we are into the Christmas season? Life does move fast, and days like Thanksgiving are a great time to hit pause, reflect, and give thanks. Let’s celebrate these opportunities.

Now, maybe we should get together more often, take those moments of pause and reflection, but let’s not beat ourselves up over the fact that we can, first, live a life of gratitude and thankfulness, but also celebrate the opportunity to take extended times from the normal routine of life, reflect, re-connect with family and friends as we build those relationships, and say thanks.

Allow these days like Thanksgiving, and other gatherings, to give us a reason to stop and say thanks.

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to check us out and we hope that we can encourage you in your relationships. Remember, it is all about relationships!

• Who do you need to send a text, Facebook message, old school email, make a phone call, visit, or dare we say actually write a handwritten note to say thanks?
• What attitude adjustment do we need to make to celebrate the fact that we have Thanksgiving and those pause moments in life? Let’s not be ungrateful for not being more grateful. Let’s be thankful for these pause button moments.
• With whom do you need to reconnect or reconcile that relationship and be thankful for their influence in your life?

What other ways can you hit pause to reflect, reconnect, and be grateful?

~Jim and Jerolyn