Does gratefulness show itself in your life?

It's Thanksgiving week. I just left a meeting and everyone had that same blank stare on their face. You know the one, the one that says that you have already checked out of work this week and that your mind is everywhere but focused on work. There's turkey and ham to cook, not to mention all the special requests that go with them. There's planning the Black Friday shopping excursion. Many of us wait till the weekend after Thanksgiving to officially hang our Christmas decorations, and so much more. Yep, everyone in this meeting had checked out for the week already. And in the midst of all the idle small talk prior to and following the meeting all that could be heard was the hectic schedules, the tension over the holiday meal when families come together, and where to put everyone. Those that were traveling were trying to figure out when to leave, how soon they can come back, and why they can't seem to just relax.

Wow, it can become so easy to get caught up in all this that we forget that thanksgiving was designed to be just that, a day of thanksgiving. I purposely took some time out this morning to list the things in my life that I am thankful for and what a list it turned into:

I have a God who loved me enough to send His Son to die for me.
I have an incredible wife.
3 great daughters.
We have our health.
Awesome friends and a great church family.
We have the home of our dreams in a wonderful historic neighborhood.
Great jobs with open possibilities.
Food (an abundance of food) on our table.
Clothes (nice clothes) to wear.
Good cars to get us where we need to be.
The ability to do things that other people will never be able to do in other parts of the world.

Well, you get the idea, the list just got longer and longer and I became more and more embarrassed over the whining and complaining I had almost given into. I discovered that if I cannot take time out to express my thankfulness this day (and really it should be every day) then this day is not worth celebrating.

How about you? I know it is a hectic week and life throws stressers into the holidays like no other time. But I challenge you to refocus your perceptions this week and make a list of your own of all the things you have to be thankful for. No mater what is going on in your life I bet you find the list is much longer than you originally thought.

Just something to think about.

Lead Strong this Thanksgiving week,
Shawn