giving thanks

So, I have started a new habit.  Being thankful... I have started to say out loud the things that I am thankful for.  Or I write them down...  So, even when I don't FEEL thankful, I am practicing the discipline of giving thanks.

Here's some reasons why... (in relation to "material things.")

1- I've noticed there's a tendency of mine and of people in the church (maybe just my church, who knows) to feel guilty about their stuff, their blessings.  Almost like it's bad to have stuff.  So we give things away and sell things because we feel like we are spoiled or something.  (I'm all for radical generosity.)  The problem is that I don't think God wants us to give out of guilt... or walk around feeling spoiled and bad about the fact that we own a car and a house...  Plus, what does our sacrifice of stuff even mean if we are only sacrificing so that we don't have to feel bad about being blessed?  If we are thankful, our giving is much more enjoyable and meaningful.  So, instead of feeling like I don't deserve anything I have... or feeling like I "should" just (legalistically) give it ALL away... I'm starting with the "sacrifice of thanksgiving." (That's quoted bc it's somewhere in the Psalms.)  I think God will take it from there.

2-  Next.  The other tendency of mine (yes, at the very same time as #1) is to wish that I had better stuff, ie a bigger house, a different car, my pre-mom body.  (If you want to use an ugly word, it's "coveting.") But of course because of what I previously mentioned up in #1 I wouldn't necessarily feel the freedom to just go chase after that stuff... get what I mean?  Plus, I am commanded to be content.  So, my solution when I start to think about how convenient a minivan would be and how convenient it would be if we lived in a different neighborhood, I stop dead in my tracks and start finding things about my current car and current house to be thankful for.  I say thanks to God, in faith, believing that he will give me a thankful heart as I continue to choose to be thankful.

So, the end result of all of this in my life right now feels like FREEDOM.  The freedom to enjoy the things that God has blessed me with, the freedom to give them away in a second for the sake of the gospel, the freedom to ask God for more while being content with what I have.


Of course, my stuff is the least important to me, and the things I am most thankful for cannot be bought or sold.  But this is just one aspect of thanksgiving that is really impacting my life right now.