In Everything Give Thanks

In Everything Give Thanks-One day, when I was waiting for them to bring my
supper, the phrase "in everything give thanks" kept rolling around in my
mind. I got to thinking that "in everything" means wherever I am, whatever I
am doing and whatever kind of mood that I am in.

First, let's deal with the places that I need to be giving thanks to God.
The most obvious one, of course, is church. It should be relatively easy for
me to thank God amongst other people who are thanking and praising God as
well,. Most times, it is but there are times that I have to make myself
thank God. At times, through tears.

As soon as I get up in the morning, the nurses put me on the computer and I
start reading the Bible. It is pretty easy to be thankful when reading about
what Jesus has done and is going to do for me. This is my favorite time of
day.

Then I get taken to the dining room for breakfast. The dining room, be it at
breakfast, lunch or supper, is not a place that I am as thankful as I should
be. Even the grace that I do is usually just a hurried thanks instead of
really thanking God for the food that He has provided. I keep reminding
myself that a lot of people in this world don't have food nearly as good as
this but, too often, I still find myself complaining about the food.

After breakfast, I go back to the computer. This time, it is mostly to
write. Mainly e-mails. My thankfulness during this time is rather hit and
miss. Sometimes I do express thanks to God. Especially when my music evokes
thanks to God. At other times, through, I concentrate so much on what I am
writing that I don't express thanks to God or, even, pay attention to my
music.

After lunch, I rest in bed and listen to music. I have learned to listen to
the words of the music and concentrate on thanking God or my thoughts will
wander all over the place and I end up feeling depressed. Christian music is
a real blessing for me as it help to keep me in a thankful attitude. Until I get up for supper.

In the evening,after supper, it is back to the computer. This time,though,
it is mostly to watch tv. By evening, I don't have the energy for much else.
I mostly watch some kind of sporting event. Years ago, the Holy Spirit told
me be praying for those players. So, at the start of each game, I do try to
remember to pray a general prayer for players on both teams. Once the game
starts, though, too often I get so interested in the game that I forget
either to pray for those players or give thanks to God.

One habit that I have had for years is that, once I am in bed for the night, before I pray about other
things or go to sleep, is to thank the Lord for different things during that
day. Admittedly, some days are pretty slim pickings but I can usually come
up with something. When I am awake at night, I do begin thanking the Lord at
times but, too often, I get frustrated because I can't sleep.

I think that it would be redundant to mention giving thanks in everything that I do as I have already covered pretty much all that I do. I will just say this. Even though God is in my thoughts most of the time, it isn't always the giving of thanks. I do my share of griping and complaining.

Finally, "in everything give thanks" must also mean whatever state my emotions are in. It is relatively easy to be thankful when things are going well and I am feeling "sunny". But things change and my "sunny" turns  to depression and discouragement or anger and frustration. Then it is not so easy to maintain a thankful attitude.

As I was writing this, I realized that I need, more often, to make a CONSCIOUS decision to thank God no matter where I am, what I am doing or how I am feeling. I say conscious because there are times that thanking God is about the last thing I think of or feel like doing. But I can make myself until it becomes the automatic thing to do.