It's the long Thanksgiving weekend over here in the United States of America. A time to come together with family and friends and be thankful. This is my favorite holiday on the calendar. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas and Easter, but to me they're holidays where we are thankful for a specific thing. Christmas is a time to celebrate and be thankful for the coming of Jesus our Messiah. Easter is where we celebrate and are thankful for the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. For me, Thanksgiving is where we are thankful for everything all at once. (As an IT person I can't help but think of this as thankfulness at scale ... this may have something to do with why IT people generally don't have many friends!)

I try to be thankful everyday for the blessings, guidance and protection that I receive from the Lord. Every night, with our youngest one, our prayers include giving thanks for the good things that day. Even if it turns out to be be one thing, I'm going to thank the Lord for it. My personal prayers, include being thankful for my salvation, my family and friends.

I am thankful for my family, my lovely wife, my delightful children and some good, close friends. I'm thankful for my brothers and sisters in Christ, the church that I attend and my pastor. I especially appreciate my pastor. As a former pastor, I know what he and his wife have to go through. I am thankful for the skills and talents that the Lord has given me and that I am able to use them for his kingdom. I am thankful for the connections that I have in my community. There are so many people that I am happy to see when I am around and about town.

It's an imperfect world out there, but there are plenty of good things. Concentrate on them and let that gratitude flow.