Hello Friend!🌻I love this time of year, don’t you?

Many of us are pausing to count our blessings as we gather cherished recipes for the Holidays. I asked God to help me put together a recipe for a thankful heart, with powerful ingredients that will nourish, edify and sustain us in the new year. And He gave me the following recipe with ingredients using each letter from the word Thankful. I pray this blesses you today … 

Recipe For A Thankful Heart

T – Taste and see that the LORD is good (Ps 34:8)

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him. Ps 34:8 NIV

Have you had a chance to taste the goodness of the Lord for yourself? God invites us to come sit at His table to lavishly feast on His presence and His Word for ourselves.

With such an extravagant invitation, why are we satisfied to snack on just devotionals every day? These have their place but aren’t meant to completely sustain us as they are in essence sweet crumbs shared from someone else’s quiet time with God.

In Jer 29:13, God promises we will find Him when we seek Him with our whole hearts. Let’s begin here to cultivate a heart that is SO thankful, there will be no room for the grumblies to remain.

H – Help Others (Phil 2:4)

Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. Phil 2:4 NLT

When we go through tough seasons, it can be tempting to isolate. But this can lead to more grumbling than thankfulness. Why?

It’s hard to grow up in our faith when the only place we seek counsel is from the no accountability group called me, myself and I.

When we help to ease someone else’s burdens, it can give us a new perspective on something we are going through ourselves.

And Proverbs 11:24-25 reminds us that those who withhold will lose everything and come to poverty but those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. 

A – Abide in Jesus (John 15:4)

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” John 15:4 ESV 

A branch by itself has no life within it. For it to thrive, the branch needs to remain attached to the living vine so the nourishing sap can flow through its veins to produce tendrils, leaves and beautiful fruit.

Our spiritual lives cannot thrive nor be fruitful when we become disconnected from Christ. True life flows from His veins into every branch that abides in Him so it can grow and produce fruit for His glory. 

Let’s be thankful little branches abiding with our Jesus today …

N – Nourish our souls. (John 6:35, John 4:10, Isaiah 55:1-2)

“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35 NIV 

Life is just plain hard at times but can feel 10 times worse when we are tired and running on empty. When Jesus spoke to the woman at the well, He lovingly let her know that He Himself was her Living Water (John 4:10). 

In Isaiah, God invites all the thirsty to come to the waters. “Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to Me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare” (Isa 55:2).

Let’s pause to drink deeply from His cup today …

K – Keep the Faith. (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Tim 4:7

This world is harder to live in as we see signs of the end times drawing near. It’s vital we remain in our lanes to run our races well, all for His Kingdom and His glory.

Fighting the good fight of faith should be the only ‘fighting’ we engage in. Our circumstances may be unsettling at the moment but keeping an eternal perspective will help us remain hopeful and thankful for God’s promises and imminent return. 

F – Fix our Eyes on the Lord –  (Ps 16:8)

“I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.” Ps 16:8 ESV

When our minds ponder, on repeat, all that is wrong in our lives, our problems can seem to grow exponentially bigger until they become this gigantic boulder clouding our vision and paralyzing our courage.

But when we capture our spiraling thoughts for Christ and practice intentionally setting the Lord always before us, He will roll those boulders away or carry them for us.

Jesus will clear the path for us so we can keep running our race of faith. Even if circumstances haven’t changed, we can unapologetically abide in His peace and joy. 

U – Unity (Ephesians 4:3)

“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Eph 4:3 NIV

Whenever I meet up with my good friend Jo, she exclaims how she thanks God for me and prays for me and my hubby every single day. And in many of Paul’s letters, he greeted the Believers in this very same way. 

Paul tells us in Phil 2:1-4 that unity in Christ among Believers made his joy complete. And Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:23-24 to leave our gifts at the altar and go be reconciled with a brother or sister first, if needed.

Living in discord with other Believers will quench the Holy Spirit within us and block any growth in the Lord. In our efforts to cultivate a thankful heart, unity with other Believers is a priority.

L – Lift Up Our Hands (Psalm 63:2-5)

“Because Your love is better than life, my lips will glorify You. I will praise You as long as I live, and in Your name I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.” Ps 63:3-5 NIV 

David didn’t have an easy life but his delight for the Lord overshadowed his miry circumstances and his very life itself.

I want to be so captivated with Christ that everything else in my life fades in comparison. In this passage, we see that living a worshipful life with God brings us the blessings of a rich, fat and fully satisfied soul. And a fully satisfied soul is a thankful soul, amen?

A thankful soul is one with compulsory praise that can’t help but pour out of sweet lips because there just ain’t no time for complaining. 

Happy Thanksgiving Friends …

Hugs and Blessings …

Recipe For A Thankful Heart @freshgracefortoday.com

Are you ready to receive Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?
Please CLICK HERE and I will be honored to pray with you.

Photo Credit: Canva Pro, Deposit Photos