What do you do with the rest of the year, when your set goals for the
year is achieved on the first day of the
year?
Michael Dean
adviced I should switch from Thanksgiving to “ Thanksliving”, he said
parents
Teach their kids to
say “please” when they ask for something. And when they receive something, they are to
say “thank you.” Teaching a child to say
“please” is relatively easy.
You just
withhold whatever they ask for until they say “please”. If
they want it badly enough they
will eventually get around to saying it. Getting kids to say “thank you” is a
little harder. Parents lose their leverage on the kid(s) when they
have what they want in their grubby
little hands . He also retorted the difference in saying “thank you” and expressing
gratitude. Gratitude is an attitude. One can say “thank you,” but not really be thankful. It’s a profound shift in ones outlook on life when one truly
begin to feel gratitude in his heart for what has been given to him. This is
when “thanksgiving” turns into “thanksliving.”
Thanksliving
happens when one is overwhelmed with the realization that he is blessed… that he is a recipients of great
kindness and grace from God and from other people.
Then, you have
gone from thanksgiving to thanksliving when you want to give something
back.
Thanksliving comes in many shapes and sizes:
• God has blessed me financially; I want to use my
financial resources to bless God and others.
• My parents sacrificed for me; I want to return the
blessings and sacrifice for them.
• Someone took the time to tell me about Jesus; I want
to pass my faith along to others.
• People have gone out of their way to say kind words
of encouragement to me; I want to do the same for others.
• Saints in my church invested their lives to build a
great fellowship for today; I want to
invest my life in building something special for the
next generation.
It’s great to say thanks. It’s even better to live
thanks.
