Inside Links

Wayne’s World

A short collection of monthly news and notes...

4squares_sm

NOVEMBER
2004

Dear West Sunbury Friends,

There is nothing harder than to be consistently thankful. All of us have a hard time maintaining an attitude of gratitude, that mind set, that demeanor, that disposition of thanksgiving. And yet, there is not greater resource for living than a thankful heart.

Maybe the reason we have such a tough time with being thankful is because we put so little emphasis on it. We don’t hear much about thanksgiving, small “T.” And for many, the holiday Thanksgiving is just a day of feasting, football and falling asleep. It’s the start of the Christmas rush.

Thanksgiving isn’t just a once-a-year celebration. Thanksgiving is an attitude. That’s why I believe we must make Thanksgiving a holiday for every day. But how do we do that?

First, we must learn to rejoice always. Gratitude has always involved rejoicing. Rejoicing somehow puts us in a better position to be thankful. When we learn to rejoice, we will soon discover that being thankful is not so hard.

Secondly, to make Thanksgiving a holiday for every day, we must learn to pray without ceasing. Prayer and thanksgiving are our soul mates. Show me a prayerful person, and I will show you a thankful person. I assure you that there is a crucial relationship between unceasing prayer and thanksgiving.

There was a pastor who had a parrot. All the parrot would say was, “Let’s pray. Let’s pray.” The pastor tried to teach him other things but to no avail. The pastor learned that one of his elders had a parrot. All the elder’s parrot would say was, “Let’s kiss. Let’s kiss.” The pastor decided to invite the elder and his parrot over to his house. When the elder arrived, the pastor put the parrots into the same cage to see what would happen. The elder’s parrot said, “Let’s kiss. Let’s kiss.” The pastor’s parrot said, “Thank you, Lord. My prayers are answered.” There is a definite connection between unceasing prayer and thanksgiving.

Finally, to make Thanksgiving a holiday for every day, we must learn to be thankful in everything. Here is yet another counsel form God we do not believe we cannot live up to. A few things, yes, in good things, yes, but in everything, that’s another matter. Nevertheless, the Bible is clear. We are to give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for our lives.

A man, wanting to sell his house, called a real estate agent. He said he was tired of his house and wanted a new one. The agent asked him to describe the house so that a good ad could be put in the newspaper. The man began to tell the agent about the new carpet, the added room, the new roof, the great yard, and the fruit trees. The agent wrote the ad and called the man back to read it to him. The man interrupted the agent half way through the ad and said, “All my life I’ve wanted a house like this. I just didn’t realize it until I thought about it.” If we really think about our lives, we may discover just how luck and fortunate we really are. Have you been selling Thanksgiving short? It is such a powerful resource for living, and yet we relegate it to one day a year. But if we learn to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and be thankful in everything, we can make Thanksgiving a holiday for every day!

Peace,
Wayne

Copyright WSUPC and MATRiM - 2004