Don’t forget.

Thanksgiving comes before Christmas.

Don’t get me wrong I love Christmas time: setting up Christmas decorations, listening to Christmas music, going to festivities that display thousands of lights to see, going to see live nativity scenes, Christmas plays, and just the overall spirit and meaning of Christmas. But I feel that Thanksgiving always gets overlooked. And we forget to “count our blessings”.

I treasure Thanksgiving and the time that is spent with my family breaking bread with one another, and thinking through all of the reasons I am thankful and thinking through the year of all that God has blessed me with. It is a time to reflect on how truly good God is. It’s like the hymn, “Count your many blessings sing them one by one. Count your many blessings see what God has done.”

Don’t forget to be grateful.

It burdens me whenever I feel that people are not grateful or appreciative of things that I do or have done for them, and I am sure that there have been times where people have questioned my sincerity as well, when it comes to being grateful for the things that they intentionally and voluntarily do for me. Or even just simply taking advantage of the amazing people that God has placed in my life.

I always kick myself for when my no filter self comes out in these moments. I will never forget the Christmas’s where I have acted out verbally when I did not get the exact pair of shoes I wanted or the right football jersey or didn’t get something on my list. Or the times where people go out of their way to help me with something and because it wasn’t the way that I would have done it or it isn’t exactly what I wanted, I forget to be grateful. And I can’t even begin to express the times where I have forgotten to thank God for answered and unanswered prayers and just simply for who He is!

Don’t forget to be grateful!

1 Chronicles 16:34 — “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever.”

I am going to list 5 things that I am grateful for.

I am grateful for God! Because without Him I would not have hope or strength or joy to get through every day. I am grateful for His love that has taught me how to love. I am grateful that He is a listener and hears every cry of my heart even when it’s selfish and insignificant. I am grateful that He is always guiding and guarding me through His plans and my future. I am grateful that He has blessed me with gifts and talents that I can use to choose Him every day…

I am grateful for my husband! It wasn’t an accident that God put us together because I always knew it would take someone very special to put up with me! He is the most compassionate, caring, kind-hearted, selfless person I have ever met. I am honored that I get to go through life and forever with this man by my side.

I am grateful for family! We have all been through so much together, loss and tragedy and fun times. Through prom dress shopping, movies, holiday meals and birthday parties, weddings, and funerals; we have always been there for one another through it all and have given each other strength and joy. I am so blessed that God gave me such a wonderful group of people to call my family.

I am grateful for friends! God knows what He is doing when He brings and takes people in and out of our lives. Without my friends listening to me vent for hours which usually turns into crying, and being there for me through some of the loss and bad news I have faced I wouldn’t be where I am today. And I definitely would be at a loss for memories without the fun times and exhaustive and painful laughter that I have shared with all of you! I am so blessed to have you!

I am grateful for my church! My church serves as my home and my work place. They are my family and I appreciate that feeling every time I am there. I love being able to expose my God-given talents as I lead worship and volunteer my time in the youth program and in other areas of the church. People always ask how we ended up here, but again it is always the same answer.

The preschool brings me such joy. Those adorable little 2 year olds are so precious to me, and I love having the opportunity to pour into their lives at such a young age and help them grow into beautiful children of God.

You see everything that I am grateful for always points to the same answer: God! He is good! His love endures forever!

Now it is your turn to make a list of at least 5 things that you are grateful for.

Let us not forget to celebrate the beauty behind Thanksgiving and sharing in our blessings and giving our thanks to Almighty God who is more than deserving of it!

But also don’t forget to be grateful. Even when Thanksgiving passes we need to remember to be grateful for all of the blessings that God gives us and for who He is. Don’t forget to let people know how much you are grateful for them and appreciate them in your life. And don’t forget to express how grateful you are for intentional and generous acts towards you!

I hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving! I am so grateful for you!

Yours Truly,

Tara Branstetter

“Give thanks with a grateful heart. Give thanks to the Holy One. Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ His Son. Because of what the Lord has done for us. Give thanks.”