Happy Thanksgiving!!

Friends of Faith:

Happy Thanksgiving! This week we celebrate Thanksgiving, an “annual” cultural reminder to say THANK YOU for what God has given to us, for our earthly treasures.

But should our “attitude of gratitude” only be celebrated during this week of Thanksgiving?

And does our Thanksgiving only say thanks for “all that we have?” Or does our Spirit of Thanksgiving include “all that we are?”

“Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus”. Phil 4: 6-7

Does our thanksgiving acknowledge that as “imitators of Christ” (Eph 4) God will guard our hearts and minds so that we can BE the person God is calling us to be? Are we “without anxiety” because we are “in Thanksgiving?”

Does it feel right when we thank him for everything we are and everything we have because everything we have and are, and everything we do, honors of him?

“I give thanks to my God always on your account for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, that in him you were enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge, as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”1 Cor 1: 3-9

Thank you for reading God’s word in these reflections and for sharing them with your friends. But more importantly thank you for using this time to reflect and to become more like Christ himself, to become what God is calling you to be, so that we are firmly enriched by the Spirit and in the end we will be “irreproachable”  to God.

Heavenly Father, Thank You for being the ultimate hope and power in my life. Thank you for the many gifts and blessings found in the richness of friends and family.  May I graciously serve you by sharing my time and talents with them, and with those I don’t yet know, in an attitude of gratitude, knowing that everything I have is yours and that everything I have should rightly be given back to you. Amen.

And now, bless the God of all, who has done wondrous things on earth; Who fosters people's growth from their mother's womb, and fashions them according to his will! May he grant you joy of heart and may peace abide among you; May his goodness toward us endure in Israel to deliver us in our days. Sir 50: 22-24

I am thankful that God is in each of our lives for “he has done wondrous things on earth.” May you continue to find hope, peace and joy by fashioning yourself thru Him with an attitude of gratitude.

Make every day a day of Thanksgiving!

Blessings,

Charlotte

 

Give Thanks from your heart!

Women of Faith:
Someone asked me these questions this week:

What if you woke up this morning to only those things for which you gave thanks for yesterday?

What if you gave thanks for as many things as you complained about? (Am I failing to see or look for the good?)

Appropriate questions for Thanksgiving week, a week of spending: family time and “shopping” time.

And the readings of the last few weeks made me think even more: have I used my talents for God’s glory (Mt 25: 14-30); and to serve “the least” of His people (Mt 25: 31-46)?

'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.' … He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.' Mt 25: 43-46

I have so much I don’t appreciate, and I have so much I don’t really need—things that I wouldn’t even miss if they were gone. And I have been given so much that others would like to have—that others need, want and even pray for—certainly not just possessions, but the gifts of the Spirit and the love of spouse, family, and friends.

So in this week of Thanks and in this week of “shopping mania” let us give
God THANKS for His plan: in a vocation which allows us to give as a spouse, in the blessings of being a parent, and in the trust that His gifts of Eucharist and Scripture will be the only “daily bread” that we need to sustain us.

Let’s SPEND our time and GIVE our hearts to serving and changing our hearts and priorities to trust in God’s plan.

God does not judge me on the possessions I have or do not have, but rather on what I choose do with the gifts He has given me: physical, spiritual and emotional.

What is in my heart and to whom have I given it? For what do I give thanks to God today? Where am I spending my blessings, both time and money? Where will I “give” my heart, my time and my money this week? How am I “blessing” someone else this week? Am I more concentrated on “spending” love (that of God) or money (that of the world)?

Am I “complaining” about what I don’t have or appreciating what I do have?

Do I feel blessed for what’s in my heart (that which is a gift from God) or for what’s in my home (that bought with money).

Heavenly Father, Your glory is in things not of this world, but in what You SEE in my heart. Thank you for the blessings You give me that are not of this world, but those that are of life itself. Thank you for the talents I have—help me to share them with others. Thank you for the lives around me—help me to love without judging. Help me to spend my time this week shopping for what will fill my heart, not that which will fill space. Amen.

May your Thanksgiving be filled with blessings and your shopping be FOR a change of heart.

In Thanksgiving for HIS season,
Charlotte

Give Thanks

Sunday’s readings for the feast of Christ the King serve to remind us that Jesus Christ is the King for all nations and all people( Daniel 7:13-14) and that his role here on earth was not to be king of the earth, but the king of heaven—an eternal kingdom of peace, justice and love.

“When Jesus affirms that His whole purpose is to testify to the truth, Pilate cynically asks, "What is Truth?" May those words serve to melt all pessimism, doubt and despair about the ultimate triumph of good over evil, and of the effectiveness of our witness through prayer and suffering, as we struggle to live the Truth that the "Pilates" of our day so freely reject!” USCCB Meditation on John 18:33b-37

God tells us that his Truth will triumph over evil and that our witness of the Truth thru prayer and suffering will gain us the eternal kingdom. How would the division between our families and churches look to the people in Daniel and John’s time?

Would they see us as all being of the same kingdom, following the truth that Jesus Christ spoke, or would we be seen as “political” kingdoms following politics and ideals of a human nature instead of Jesus’ teachings?

What about the “truths” being taught in our schools and homes—do we tell our children one thing and live our own lives differently? Are we speaking and teaching the truths of the commandments? Do our children hear and see the truth of God’s teachings, or do they see laws being made which “legalize” the politics of the day (legal abortion, legal living together without marriage, legal gay marriage, legal divorce, or an everyone does that/“me” attitude)? It gives me hope to know that God will ultimately conquer with good over evil in the light of our current political and moral decay.

The past weeks Christian radio programming has focused on “Thanksgiving.”

So here is an “unordinary” list of Thanks—I hope you all have your own “lists” to add not only on Thanksgiving Day, but on every other day for all that God has given us.

Dear God, Thank you for giving us your son here on earth to teach us the truths, to live and die for us.

Thank you for dying on the cross so that we may be forgiven for all of our “human” interpretations, errors, actions, hypocrisies, and misunderstandings of your truth.

Thank you for giving us the sacrament of marriage to teach us how to be unselfish and to depend on our faith in you.

Thank you for the sufferings in my life that have brought you nearer to me and my family.

Thank you for teaching me to pray so that I can give you my burdens.

Thank you for putting me in a place here on earth where I am not prosecuted for speaking your name, but have the ability to spread your word/truth by my actions and speech.

Thank you for giving us friends who share our values/your truths and who are willing to inspire us with their wisdom.

Thank you for giving me comfort when I am lonely or sad, hope when I am discouraged and peace when I am worried.

Thank you for parents, grandparents and great grandparents (those older than us) who teach us love, perseverance and courage from days past.

Thank you for the hugs, smiles, and innocence of children and grandchildren, our own and those that are shared with us, for they are God’s greatest blessings and our future.

Thank you for the ability to share my bounty: time, talent and treasures, with those less fortunate.

Thank you for every moment here on earth I am given to spend with my loved ones.

Thank you for the time I was allowed to spend with the loved ones that have gone before me.

Thank you for giving me hope in the Word that by living as your servant and following your Truth I will reach your eternal kingdom in heaven. Amen.

Blessings and Thanks for Your Friendship—
Charlotte