For the month of November I have begun giving thanks for something every single day on my Facebook.  To keep me accountable I post it as my status update.  You can check out my profile here (feel free to friend me if we are not already friends).  I can be hard to think about all the positive things in our lives and to think of things to be thankful for.  It is during this time of the year more than ever do we stop and think about all the things we are thankful in our lives.  We begin our holiday run with Halloween and we don’t stop until after the New Year.
During the holiday’s we surround ourselves with family and friends we are thankful for that.  So many times in our lives it is easy to think of the negative instead of the positive.  So in order to think of the things in our life that we consider blessings we should not focus on what we don’t have, but focus on what we do have.  For example: “I’m thankful to have a warm place to sleep in the winter.” Or “I’m thankful to be able to see the beauty around me.”

Like I said, it can be hard to think about the positive things in our life.  So to help you I will give you some suggestions to think about:

1.      Think about the special people in your life– Who makes you happy?  Think about the people who have made a difference in your life.  They can be family, friends or simply people that you’ve read about or seen on television. We interact with so many people on a daily basis (especially thanks to Twitter and Facebook) it makes it a little easier to think about the special people.

2.      Think about the people who have made life a little harder for you– Now it might not make sense to think about these people.  But even if you have experience some negativity through these people there can be hidden blessings in those relationships.  Think about the things you accomplished because of them. Did you finish something because they said that you couldn’t? Did you get better at something because they criticized you when you did it badly? Did their cruel actions make you vow never to treat others that way? Some of these interactions might of turned out positive.

3.      Think about the places that are special to you: On my blog as well as other places I have talked about how summer camp is a special place for me, especially Camp Calumet. Are there special places in your life?  A favorite hangout, a wooded trail, an exciting city, a great spot from which to view the sky, or a place where you just feel closer to God?

There is so much in our life which we can be thankful for.  My suggestion to you is to take some time everyday for the next month and to give thanks for those things which God has blessed us with.  It will change your perspective on your life.

The first reading is Malachi 4:1-2a.  We do not hear too much from Malachi during the year.  Malachi means “my messenger,” and that is just the point. When we read this book (as in any book of the Bible) we need to remember that the words we are reading are not necessarily the thoughts of the author but words from God that seek to strengthen our relationship with God, with one another and with the world. One of the dangers with this reading is to place “us” vs. “them” — When God comes who is God coming for?  Well that is for God to judge – what I understand from this reading is that when God comes, God is coming with healing and love and forgiveness.  What healing would God give you if God was to come to do you today?  What are you seeking from God this week?

The second reading is 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13. One of my favorite Biblical professors in seminary use to say often “everyone’s got to eat right?”  He said this in response to the crazy jobs out there that people have in interpreting texts and looking at the Bible.  This came to mind when I was looking at the second reading today.  The author of the book of Thessalonians is encouraging the people to do what’s right and to work hard.  It is so easy for us to get off track in our lives especially when we have pressure from other people.  How much are you influenced by other people?  Are you influenced more or less when it comes to your faith practices?

The Gospel reading is  Luke 21:5-19.  A few weeks ago two of my neighbors who are a part of the Jehovah Witness came to my house.  I don’t know this couple and I don’t think they knew that I was a pastor.  They found out pretty quickly when they came to my house (I was still in my Sunday morning clothes).  All they talked about was the “end times” and how we need to repent.  They wanted me to tell them that this is what I preach every week on a Sunday morning.  I do not preach about the end times every Sunday.  I will preach about it and talk about it when it comes in the lectionary (like this reading) but I told them that the God that I preach about is a God of love and mercy and forgiveness, not a God of judgment, wrath and violence.  What is your God image?  When do you think about the end times?  What comes to mind after you read Luke 21? Do you think this should be highlighted more in worship?

photo credit † David Gunter