HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM THE ANDERSON FAMILY

~ Happy Thanksgiving ~



Today is one of my favorite holidays and yet it is a Holiday that is so very ignored :(

Thanksgiving is a day where one can truly sit back, if they want to of course, and look at what their life has been. Now, here's the part that I like: if I, looking back, see that when a situation comes up and I mostly think the negative, I realize that I have been looking at life in the wrong eyes. God's eyes are the ones I want to be looking through! It is an opportunity to get back on the right path in this area!

This year, for me, went by fast, but God accomplished A LOT in this quick year. He brought me through so many things, opened my eyes to things that He wants to deal with, opened my mind to a different way of thinking in situations...I really could keep going. I could cry the tears of joy because God is good ALL the time. These words really mean nothing until God brings you through situations where at the end those words are flowing out of your mouth! One can tell themselves 'God is good all the time', but one should ask God to bring them to the place where they truly believe it.

I want: thankfulness to be manifested in me everyday! I want to get to the place where God can use me to show others true deep thankfulness and to work it into their hearts. I thank God for those who tend to make things difficult because I know that God has brought them into my life to show me something. Weither it be a lesson to learn, an area to be strenghtened or an area that needs to be removed. God can use anyone and I want to be used by God in a way where He is pleased with me!



It is hard to always be thankful in America because everything is at our reach. We are able to borrow money so that we can get what we want. We keep borrowing and borrowing and we get into so much debt that we work our whole life trying to pay it off and somethings leave the debt and our kids have to pay it off. What do we see in these products that causes us to desire them so much? I know not. We have SO much...we want a cookie right now just go to the store and buy one. Want a meal without making it? God to fast food or restaurants. Want clothes? Go to the mall and buy the newest fashionable apparel. Want water? go to the sink. Shower everyday, open your fridge to food, watch TV, surf the net, heat your food in a microwave, want to talk to your friend about gossip use your cell, want milk go to your fridge. The list really goes on. I have taken multiple trips out of the country and these are only a few of my observations! I honestly dread coming back to America because our attitude and mind set stinks! We are so unthankful of how much God has blessed this land.

When I see someone at my work who does a no call no show or shows up late I want to ask them why? Aren't they grateful for their job? I know it isn't going to be their career for life, but go to a third world country and you can find people who work and work hard and for what? They only will get paid two weeks out of the month and maybe $100.00. We get so mad when people from another land comes over here and they get jobs. Why do you think employers sometimes hires them over Americans? Maybe it's because they see that they will be committed, work hard, and be thankful for what they shall receive. My concluding thought in this is: I love thanksgiving and I pray God will manifest a deep thankfulness into my heart and not let the bad attitudes of others rube onto me!

I am so thankful for my family and the Peace that God has brought into this home!

Please feel free to share you thoughts and what you are thankful for :)

Have a Wonderful & Blessed Thanksgiving!

Proverbs 17:1

"Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife."

"Better is a dry morsel"  what does this mean?
"Morsel" means - a small amount of anything.

"...and quietness therewith..."
"Quietness" is a state of peace and "therewith" means immediately after.

"..than an house full of sacrifices with strife."
Sacrifices involve a great lose of something precious to you and strife is the lack of harmony.

Putting these three broken parts together:
"It is better to have a small amount of anything, for immediately after there shall be the state of peace, than an house full of great loses with little harmony"

Thoughts

I. What are Mans thoughts? ( Mt 15:19)
A. Prosperity
- We look at a situation and we tend to see ways that benefit ourselves. At times this is healthy, but if we don’t set boundaries, our minds will explore and feed on prosperity.

Psalm 10:4 “The wicked, through pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all
his thoughts because that means there must be a death to them and life to Him."

- Prosperity is dangerous and can take over us if we are not careful. God wants us to be prosperous in Him and not this world. His treasure is greater and longer lasting then all the money in this world!”

Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

- Ex: When Eve was in the garden. She looked at the fruit and saw prosperity and her mind changed. It stepped out into dangerous territory. The enemy had an open door, with no boundaries blocking him.


B. Vain and Prideful
Psalms 94:11 “The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.”

- Pride and vanity is apart of our old man. We feed it by asking others questions about ourselves to get the answer we want to hear. It feeds it and after a time it grows like weeds. They say it in there mind and begin to shut correction or other peoples opinions away. They are set there thoughts on themselves and shut everything that contradicts it away. This opens up a door to the enemy. Once he has fed you pride and you liked it, he is now able to feed you words that lift yourself up and shuts God out.


C. Prone to wander
- Each mind thinks differently and it likes to wander. The mind tends to wander and we catch ourselves. We want to make sure that when we find our minds wandering we stop it and put our shield up. If you listen you will eventually believe and find it attractive. You are walking towards evil which is against God.

* Again Eve as an example: She listened and what was being said eventually became attractive to her. She did have her shield up, but she continued to listen and confusion came over her mind. She eventually gave into the temptation.

- The wandering mind attracts the enemy. This opens up a door for the enemy to plant confusion in your mind. God’s thoughts are pure so you are rejecting the pure mind when you wander.


II. What are God’s thoughts? - Ph 4:8
A. Pure

B. Discerning
Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

C. Righteous
Proverbs 12:5 “The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit. ”
D. About us

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. ”

- His thoughts are for His people. He wants to give us an expected end, an end that He has planned before the earth was ever made. He wants to prosper us in Him! His thoughts are what can help us to fulfill our goal of becoming more Christ-like Christians.

III. What is the importance of having Godly thoughts?
A. How do we maintain pure and true thoughts? By continually reading God’s word and feeding on it. You will begin to learn God’s thoughts and begin thinking the same.

B. As we become more mature the discernment of other peoples thoughts grows. As we ask God, He can reveal to us the true meaning of their thoughts.

C. We want to have the righteous thoughts. This is important especially during a time like the present. We want to make sure that we are taking the righteous counsels so that we do not listen and believe deceit.

- Prophecy at convention: Many will hear and believe lies! God is warning us and we need to make sure that we are protecting our thoughts. Being careful of the opinions we make during our trials. Our thoughts, during trials, are when the enemy likes to deceive us. We, at times, are weaker during the trials and he likes to bring us down lower and lower by feed us lies. Feed on the word and it puts death to the deceit!

D. The thoughts of iniquity lead down to destruction and the destruction of others around them.

- This is why, when we have friends or family who are walking down this path, we must be careful and have a certain distance from them and maintain that distance. They are walking down a path that can destroy what God has done in your life if you continue to fellowship with them. It can be a slow process, but you must distance yourself from them. It may be hard and we all don’t want to see them go to hell, but if you continue to walk with them you will most likely steer down that road. Why do I say that, because Satan can now use them to poison your mind and put bitterness or offense into your mind.

IV. What are keys to having Godly thoughts?
A. Having boundaries and staying within them.

B. Feeding continuously on the word of the Lord

C. Continually praying that God would cleanse your mind and give to you pure and clear thoughts!

Proverbs 15:26 “The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD: but the words of the pure are pleasant words. ”

- Everyone has thoughts and whenever we have an opportunity to share them, we do. God wants our thoughts to be pure so that when we speak them they may be pleasant to his ears.

- This is something the enemy tends to get us all. That something is called fear of man! We have thoughts, but that fear seems to be so powerful at times. When one is put in that situation he should tell himself “Do I want to offend my Heavenly Father to please man, or do I want to please God even though I know it might offend man?”

Sacrifice

This is a word that when heard sends shivers down ones spin. No one really likes to sacrifice and it is actually sad. In today's time our views of value/or worth of things has taken a turn for the bad. Adults would call off work to play video games, stay home on Sundays to watch the football game, or go to the bar instead of staying home and being a parent to their kid(s). Not many take the sacrifice of staying home with their kids and having family nights, or waking up before noon on Sundays to go to church, or even going to work: on time and without a hang over.

We rather stay up til two o'clock in the morning watching TV, playing video games, or getting drunk when we know we have to go to work the next day. We are so willing to make time for that TV or those video games, but not for our kids or for spouse. We have been given time and we just waste in on the mall, video games, technology that we'll only use until something newer comes out, then we'll buy that one.

Christ desires a relationship with us and in order to strengthen it sacrifices must occur. Getting up earlier to meditate on His word, ending your days activities a little earlier so that you can sit down and pray in the secret or with your family, or even teaching your kids about that Christ you believe in. Sacrifices are seen in Gods eyes and He will reward you for those sacrifices. Sacrifices are hard to do and it must start out little by little and day by day, but eventually that sacrifice eventually no longer become a sacrifice, but a necessity.

I hear continuously from Christians that they long for revival, but you know what when revival comes we must be equipped and in order to be equipped we must have those sacrifices. When revival comes, Christ will need those wise stewards all over the nations. All those who sacrificed little by little and dug those ditches. The parable in the Bible where there was drought and one day the people were told to dig ditches because water will come. Some sacrificed a lot and others just a little and some not at all. The next day water came and those who obeyed and sacrificed their time to dig their ditch received much water. Revival is like that water. When it comes those who sacrificed shall be used by God. There will be people who will want to be used, but will realized they didn't sacrifice time for God to manifest His gifts in them.

Sacrifice is so very important especially now! Sacrifice your time, dig your ditches and when the reward comes it will be great and worth it all.

God Bless!