It is November the month of gratitude and Thanksgiving. You may have seen the Facebook post of naming something you are thankful for each day of the month. It is a very encouraging and uplifting thing to do. So often we reduce a month and holiday of gratitude to a few spoken words and over eating. How can we express life-giving grattude? The hymns of the Psalms might provide great guidance and examples. Hear the melody of the 100th Psalm: 

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Psalm 100 

1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Worship the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing. 

3 Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name. 

5 For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. 

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The Psalter goes beyond just words. It tells us how to live and express our gratitude. We speak and sing our words of praise. During worship, when gathered with the family of God, our praise is lived out loud. Through our active faith, God is revealed to us again as our creator. We are the sheep of the Good Shepherd, our praises are blessed, and we are surrounded by God’s steadfast love that endures forever. It has nothing to do with how much we have or don’t have, nor the stuff we can list that we are thankful for. It has EVERYTHING to do with who loves us first and most and whose gates we enter to offer our praise and thanksgiving. 

Have a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving. Have some turkey too if you want, but not too much. 

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God’s Grace & Peace, 

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Rev. Kathy