How often are you thankful?
This week is Thanksgiving in America, and many families are preparing for long cooking hours, cleaning responsibilities and incoming relatives. Others are preparing for long work shifts or travel arrangements. But no matter what plans there are for Thanksgiving, it is the one time of year our society encourages one another to remember what they are thankful for.
While giving thanks during these times and showing gratitude to others is not wrong by any means, I propose that living thankfully should be for everyday, not just the holidays.
God does not want us to be thankful for just one day, or one week of the year. God designed us to thrive best in our lives when we live in thanksgiving each and every day.
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with gratitude, make your requests known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will protect your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:6-7).
Now understand, life is not going to make you want to be thankful every day. Being thankful is a choice.
This year my family and I have been given several opportunities to not be thankful:
- I had to have extensive surgery on my hand.
- My wife became very sick.
- My son was diagnosed with cancer.
But we never stopped giving thanks to God, and He came through!
- My hand is healed.
- Marsha is getting stronger every day.
- Jon is now cancer- free.
- I was able to publish my first book through Charisma.
You may not always feel like being thankful, but through your thanksgiving, God will always come through!
This Thanksgiving, let's not just focus on what we are thankful for, but let us learn how we can bring thanksgiving into our everyday lives! 
Mikel French has challenged spiritual awakening all across America, where many celebrations extended into multiple weeks, and has conducted celebrations in France, Sweden, Russia, Romania, Poland, Ukraine, Moldova, Serbia, Germany, South Africa, Malawi, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Haiti, Japan, Singapore, India and Thailand. He conducted an outreach celebration in Manila, Philippines, reaching 200,000 teenagers with the book of hope. Through the generous support of partners, he has presented the message of Jesus Christ to millions of people in the nation of Russia through televised citywide soul-winning celebrations. Mikel considers it an honor to assist in conducting the annual pastor's conference, where thousands of pastors from Russia's 11 time zones come for training, teaching and equipping. Mikel and his wife, Marsha, reside in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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