I returned home on Friday from another week of travel; I was San Antonio doing a little work for the US Army. I used to average two weeks of work each month with the Civil Support Training Activity about four years ago. I traveled to every state west of the Mississippi in those years; I met a lot of great people and trained a lot of incredible soldiers and airmen defending our nation on the homeland. Budget cuts throughout the years have taken their toll on military contractors and now I find myself working with them about three or four times a year. I am very thankful for the opportunity that I had and the great people that I still “call friend” when I see them. It’s the only place outside of the fire station that you could develop those types of friendships. Thanksgiving is this week and if I tried to tell you everything or everyone that I was thankful for, you’d be reading this for hours. My wife and I spent ALL weekend together shopping for supplies or working on small projects; we haven’t done that in the last year or two, I’d guess. We started to talk about how grateful we were for the huge blessings in our lives and what we’ve been able to accomplish under difficult circumstances at times. We never let things set us back; we kept talking about the hard times building character for us. We, once again, sat amazed by the work of God in our lives – even when we didn’t know it. Take time this week to reflect on all that you have to be thankful for and look at how God has moved your life, even when you faced struggles, He was there. Thank Him for His work and then thank someone in your life that makes things just a little bit better. Happy Thanksgiving!

¹⁵ “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful… ¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:15,17

In our house Thanksgiving Day is the start of the Christmas season. We start listening to classic Christmas music, decorating the house finds it way onto the calendar, preparation for baking begins, Christmas card lists are printed and the peace of the season is in the air. The year will end soon and we all start thinking about how thankful we were for so many things and we look forward to what the new year will bring. No matter what has happened in your life let God’s peace, given to us through His son Jesus Christ, be with you and comfort you. It’s hard to think about telling God “thanks” for sending us a savior who had to die before we’d figure it out. God knew what it would take to save us and all He asks is that “whatever we do, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus and to give thanks to God through Him.” A simple “thanks” is all He wants. Through all of the mess in our lives, the frantic pace that we live and the set backs we have, we still have a lot to be thankful for. Our faith in Jesus Christ and God’s grace has guaranteed us eternal life; free from all these worldly problems. Even when you struggle, be thankful. God has a place for you in heaven, which is something to be thankful for!