Today, I reach the end of my '
Thirty Days of Thankfulness'
series, but by no means have I reached the end of my blessings. I
barely scratched the surface of all the people, places and things I'm
grateful for. Each morning when I wake up, I'm thankful for my life, my
family, my friends, ... the list is never ending.
I
had grand ideas to post an appeal for world peace in this final entry,
beseeching each of us to 'Just Love' each other. And I don't mean the
people who are easy to love, like your family, your spouse, your kids,
your friends. I mean the people who make you boiling mad, who make you
foam at the mouth, the stranger (or country or ethnicity or religion or
political party ... you fill in the blank) that you verbally abuse or
berate via status updates. It's not enough to wait for them to change
or extend the olive branch. It must start with us. It must start with
you and it must start with me first.
As much as I detest admitting
it, the Beatles (and John Lennon in particular) got something right
with 'All You Need is Love.' Jesus, though, is a hard act to follow:
He
said, "That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer
and muscle and intelligence - and that you love your neighbor as well
as you do yourself."
To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst.
I
never said it would be easy (and neither did He). I can do my small
bit to bring about peace and hope in my small corner of the world.
And
as we approach the season where we celebrate the Greatest Gift ever
given to such unworthy recipients, I would like to share two final
quotes. The first I consider my 'life verse' and refer to it frequently
when I need a reminder of where to keep my thoughts and the second is
an excerpt from the lyrics of a contemporary Christian hymn that often
plays as a soundtrack of thanksgiving for my mindscape.
Summing
it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and
meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling,
gracious - the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things
to praise, not things to curse.
Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks unto the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son
And now let the weak say, "I am strong"
Let the poor say, "I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us"
Give thanks.
Give Thanks by Don Moen
* * *
And
I wish to thank all of you who stayed with me through this month of
blogging. I assure you I will now return to my regularly scheduled
programming, meaning the occasional book or movie review with an
occasional odd tidbit tossed in for some added vim and vigor. I
sincerely appreciate that you took the time from your busy lives to
peruse my musings. I pray each and every one of you has a wonderful
life and spreads good cheer to all you meet.
Oh, one final suggestion. I thought I'd share our family tradition (since the mid 90s) of re-watching the
Muppet Christmas Carol each year around Christmas time. How can you go wrong with
Dicken's classic Christmas story,
A Christmas Carol,
and Muppets? The music isn't half bad (I even bought the songbook) and
the narrators are always good for a few laughs. Once Derek, Royna and
Rachelle arrive (two before and one after Christmas), we'll sit down one
evening and re-live the 'good old days' with Scrooge and Bob Cratchit.
So I'll close with the lyrics to my favorite Muppet Christmas Carol song, written by Paul Williams, called '
A Thankful Heart':
With a thankful heart, with an endless joy
With a growing family, every girl and boy
Will be nephew and niece to me (Nephew and niece to me)
Will bring love, hope and peace to me (Love, hope and peace to me)
Yes and every night will end, and every day will start
With a grateful prayer and a thankful heart
With an open smile and with open doors
I will bid you welcome, what is mine is yours
With a glass raised to toast your health (With a glass raised to toast your health)
And a promise to share the wealth (Promise to share the wealth)
I will sail a friendly course, file a friendly chart
On A sea of love and a thankful heart
Life is like a journey, who knows when it ends?
Yes and if you need to know the measure of a man
You simply count his friends
Stop and look around you, the glory that you see
Is born again each day, don't let is slip away
How precious life can be
With a thankful heart that is wide awake
I do make this promise, every breath I take
Will be used now to sing your praise (Used now to sing your praise)
And to beg you to share my days (Beg you to share my days)
With a loving guarantee that even if we part
I will hold you close in a thankful heart
I will hold you close in a thankful heart
