Choosing Thanksgiving

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                                                        Choosing Thanksgiving
 
Judd Zeigler tells a great story that occurred in his life when he was a boy of about 10 years old.  Every morning at 5:30AM, Judd’s mother would come into his room, turn on light and say “JUDD GET UP, IT’ S GOING TO BE A GREAT DAY.”
 
It was Judd’s job to get up every morning, go get some coal and build a fire in the stove and warm the house up.  One morning he got to thinking about having to get up in that cold house and all the chores he had to do.  He thought, “YOU KNOW THIS ISN’T’GOING TO BE A GREAT DAY AT ALL.”
 
That morning when his Mom came in, she said the same thing, “JUDD GET UP, IT’S GOING TO BE A GREAT DAY.”  He looked up at his Mom and said, “THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE A GREAT DAY.  I DON’T WANT TO GET UP.  I WANT TO JUST STAY IN BED ALL DAY.”
 
His Mom said, “OK, IF THAT’S WHAT YOU WANT TO DO, THEN JUST STAY IN BED ALL DAY.”  Judd rolled over went back to sleep.  About 8:30 he woke up again.  The house was nice and warm and he could smell bacon cooking.
 
He got up and thought to himself, “BOY THIS IS GREAT.  I DIDN’T HAVE TO DO MY CHORES.  THE HOUSE IS ALREADY WARM.  THIS IS FANTASTIC.”
 
He went in and sat down at the table ready for his breakfast.  But his Mom, said, “I’M SORRY JUDD, BUT YOU DON’T GET ANY BREAKFAST THIS MORNING.  REMEMBER, YOU WANTED TO SPEND THE DAY IN BED.  SO GO BACK TO YOUR ROOM AND SPEND THE DAY IN BED.”  To make a long story short, Judd’s mother made him stay in bed all day long.
 
He didn’t get any lunch or any supper.  By the time bedtime came, he’d slept all he was ever going to sleep.
 
Judd Zeigler said he thought 5:30 the next morning would never come.  When his Mom came in that next morning, before she could say anything, Judd was out of the bed and he said “MOM, THIS IS GOING TO BE A GREAT DAY!”
 
You see, Praising the Lord is always a choice.  We can choose to be positive.  We can choose to be grateful and full of joy, or we can choose to be negative and complain.  The apostle Paul encourages us to “16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (I Thessalonians 5:16-18)
 
Let me encourage you this morning to make the right choice.  Find something good to Praise the Lord for.  And don’t keep it to yourself.  Share with those around you some of the things you are grateful for.  It might just help them get their day pointed in the right direction.
 
Have a blessed, thanks-filled day!
Pastor Barry
 
If you would like to comment or if you have questions for Pastor Barry you may direct those to bglawson75@gmail.com.   We would love to hear from you.