{"id":507,"date":"2018-11-24T15:42:17","date_gmt":"2018-11-24T15:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shop.honestreflections.net\/?p=507"},"modified":"2019-12-10T08:43:35","modified_gmt":"2019-12-10T13:43:35","slug":"mindful-thanksgiving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2018\/11\/24\/mindful-thanksgiving\/","title":{"rendered":"Mindful Thanksgiving"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“Out of the fullness of His grace He has blessed us all, giving us one blessing after another.” John 1:6 GNT<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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There’s a video I saw recently on my Facebook page that has gone viral.\u00a0 It’s a great reminder of all we have to be thankful for each day.\u00a0 We take so much for granted in our lives, focusing on what we don’t have instead of what we do.<\/div>\n
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Mindful thanksgiving is being aware of all of the blessings we do have.\u00a0 A blessing actually means “good word.”\u00a0 God’s word is a blessing.\u00a0 He wants to bless you.\u00a0 \u00a0It’s God’s favor being poured out into our lives.\u00a0 We have so much favor in America we don’t even realize it.\u00a0 It is truly a blessing from God.<\/div>\n
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There are six truths related to God’s blessing.\u00a0 I was reminded of this in my devotional this morning.\u00a0 I am taking time today to reflect on how they impact my life.\u00a0 I’m being mindful in my thanksgiving this holiday weekend.<\/div>\n
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God blesses us even though we don’t deserve it.\u00a0 When I turn on the water to brush my teeth, I think of Marisol whom I met in El Salvador.\u00a0 I had the privilege of going to her home where there was no running water.\u00a0 Just a large cement cistern full of rain water they used for cooking and cleaning.\u00a0 Their bathroom was an out house, no place to wash your hands.\u00a0 \u00a0When we arrived that day at her home she welcomed us as if to a palace.\u00a0 I still see her smiling face as she so eagerly shared what she had with us.\u00a0 I’m no better than Marisol, yet God blessed me with running water.<\/div>\n
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He blesses us because He enjoys doing it (Jer. 32:41).\u00a0 When I feel the sun on my face, it’s one of the times I feel God’s enjoyment in blessing me.\u00a0 God truly does love to bless His children.\u00a0 His biggest blessing was sending Jesus to make a way for us, yet we take it for granted like it was nothing.<\/div>\n
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God blesses us when we are obedient.\u00a0 \u00a0When we do what God tells us to do, He does reward us.\u00a0 When we take time to rest, as He tells us to do we are rejuvenated.\u00a0 When we wait as He asks us to do, we are rewarded.\u00a0 I waited for my husband for a very long time.\u00a0 There were times I didn’t think I would ever find him.\u00a0 Yet now that we’ve been married six years, I’m so grateful I waited.\u00a0 God’s blessing to me in him is beyond words.\u00a0 Small or large, God always blesses us when we are obedient to Him.<\/div>\n
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He blesses us so others can see what He can do, but also so we can be a blessing to others.\u00a0 \u00a0When people who don’t know God see good things happening in our lives it opens up an opportunity to talk about Him to them.\u00a0 When people ask me how I met my wonderful husband I can’t answer that question without giving glory to God.\u00a0 When my business continues to grow beyond anything I have done, I give the credit where it belongs, to God.\u00a0 Both of those blessings allow me to bless others.\u00a0 Being married to my husband allows me to volunteer more than I could otherwise.\u00a0 My businesses allow me to give more to others.\u00a0 God’s blessings allow me to glorify Him, as well as share them with others.<\/div>\n
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God’s blessings carry on from generation to generation.\u00a0One of my favorite family stories is of my grandfather, a devoted man of God.\u00a0 He read the Bible nightly.\u00a0 He would always read it front to back.\u00a0 When he finished, no matter what time of year it was, He would start again in the beginning.\u00a0 I didn’t know him well, he died before I was 10 years old.\u00a0 I do however feel his prayers being answered in my life.\u00a0 Prayers he never lived to see answered.<\/div>\n
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Knowing and understanding how and why God blesses us leads to mindful thanksgiving.\u00a0 Taking time to reflect and be aware of God’s blessings always leads to being thankful.<\/div>\n
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Take time over this holiday weekend to reflect on God’s blessings in your life.\u00a0 Be mindful in your thanksgiving.\u00a0 If you don’t know where to start, maybe this will help:<\/div>\n

 
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