“Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day.” ~Robert Caspar Lintner
The seasons have already switched. The dishes are barely done. There are still leftovers in the fridge. Kids aren’t back in school yet, but we have moved on. Thanksgiving is over, and the Christmas season has already been launched. Our national attention to gratitude is ushered out by pre-dawn sales and the rush to make the most out of the next holiday.
Don’t let Thanksgiving go so easily. Hold onto the beauty of a day spent resting in your blessings. Hang onto the contentment you felt in the company of family and friends. Soak in the awareness of God’s hand on your life, His grace on your soul, and His love filling your heart.
Too many times, I flip the pages of my calendar and forget that thankfulness is supposed to be the defining characteristic of a life infused with Christ. Thanksgiving helps me see His fingerprints on my days. Gratitude is the best way to experience the fullness of His presence because it makes my heart tender to His nearness and aware of His gentle tug at my soul.
I am good at counting my problems, naming my burdens, grumbling about my grievances, whining about my work, fretting about my family, fuming at my friends, and cataloguing the circumstances that seem to be against me. Thankfulness is the tool God uses to turn me inside out. Joy flows from discovering the reasons to be grateful in the moment I am in. Love breaks through to my heart when I pause and say thanks. Peace moves in when I turn my eyes from my troubles to His tenderness.
My Jesus Resolution today is to stretch Thanksgiving out. I am going to make it a 365 day event. No, there won’t be turkey every day, but there will be gratitude. I want thankfulness to define the way I see my world. I want it to be evident in the way I treat others, the choices I make, the way I speak, and even the way I celebrate the next holiday on the calendar. Thanksgiving was never meant to be confined to a single day. Be full of thanks and let it overflow into every day.
Casandra Martin 
Hope you had a good day! We sure did. LOve you and we are praying for you often. bk
What blessing this writing is……in fact, i think i can say i am thankful for it. Seems like it speaks to me so much about my need to be a thankful person daily……not to allow myself to just check thankfulness off of my “to do” list, and thus, my life. Additionally, i am so thankful for t writer of this article…..this is my thought so often after i read the lessons that have already been published……i thank my Father for allowing me to realize the need to trust Him, to lean on Him and to be thankful for His gifts, which include the author of these lessons. I pray a prayer of thanksgiving to Him and to you, dear writer, for demonstrating the beauty and the peace that one has when their faith is evident in their thoughts and words. Thank you.