Dear ATI Families,

For some people, Thanksgiving is often synonymous with turkey, gravy, and all the trimmings. However, Thanksgiving is not just a day out of the year to gather around a wonderful meal. Believers have reason to give thanks every day of the year! Yet the Thanksgiving holiday is a great time to demonstrate gratefulness. I love the operational definition for gratefulness: “Making known to God and others the ways they have benefited my life.” A heart full of gratefulness toward God cannot but help spill over to others in our lives.

Many times in Scripture we are commanded to give thanks. In I Thessalonians 5:18, we read that giving thanks is God’s will: "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." Psalm 107:22 states, "And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing." As we personally commit to give thanks to God and others for their benefiting our lives, our gratefulness will overflow and positively impact those around us.

We can show our gratitude in many practical ways. How about doing menial tasks that go above and beyond your ordinary ones? Another way to show gratitude is to simply say "thank you" for the often overlooked ways others bless us, such as making a meal, cleaning a room, or providing for the necessities of life. When we express our gratefulness, both God and those who hear us are blessed. Expressing gratefulness is not just limited to one day of the year. Remember Ephesians 5:20, which says: “giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

May God bless you today with a new sense of gratefulness to Him and for all those around you. Thank Him for the ways you have been blessed, and may this Thanksgiving season continue beyond just one calendar day in your home, in your family, and in your heart!

In Christ,

David Waller
Director, ATI