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Yppah Gnivigsknaht!

No, I didn't let one of the kids title this post.  That's "Happy Thanksgiving!" backwards, unless I made a mistake that obviously spellcheck couldn't pick up on.  If you grew up in church, and possibly even if you didn't, you have likely heard these few verses numerous times throughout the year and especially around Thanksgiving:

"Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

While I truly believe that our actions (outside) come from our heart (inside), sometimes we have to train our heart how to feel and subsequently act.  If we simply turn these verses around and work from 18 to 16, would that have a different impact?  Let's see...

Give thanks in everything.
This does not mean that we are thankful for everything, rather that we are thankful in everything.  As children (immature beings), most of us were taught to express thanks for items we received.  When someone did something nice for us or gave us a gift, our parents taught us (pinched, kicked, threatened -  whatever it takes to look nice right) to politely say, "thank you."  But as we grow, as we mature, we learn to be thankful in spite of the circumstances, in the midst of the trials.  We no longer have to get a toy that we love to be thankful for, we are just thankful to be in the moment.

Pray constantly.
This verse does not mean to bow your head and close your eyes to have a talk with God 24 hours per day.  That'd be really bad for the passengers in your or for anyone else on the road with you.  It means to pray persistently and continuously.  Men, pray to God the way your wife asks you to do that yardwork you've been putting off for 6 months.

Rejoice always.
One writer stated that, "Joy is appropriate at all times."  While I agree with his statement, that is much easier said than done.  How are your joyful when you're watching a spouse, a parent, or another loved one suffer from a debilitating illness?  Where's the joy in watching a wayward child to harm the themselves, or worse, their children?  It's hard, if even possible, to find at times.

When we follow theses verses in order - when our joy leads to prayer which leads to thanksgiving, life is usually going pretty smoothly.

But unfortunately, that's not the case a lot of times.  Sometimes we have to manufacture that joy by being thankful in the moments we have for the memories we're making - by praying constantly for comfort or healing.  And then perhaps once we can sense the presence of Christ, then, we will be able to truly rejoice in the midst of the pain.

Sometimes we have to solve a problem backwards to get it figured out.  Thankfully, I serve a God who's patient with my learning struggles.  Happy (early) Thanksgiving!

Enjoy our "backwards" family photo from Thanksgiving 2018.

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