Reading today’s Thanksgiving Devotional, I loved the reminder of Colossians 3:15: “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”
While it’s easy to skip over Thanksgiving and dive headfirst into Christmas and all the stress, frantic gift-buying, and planning that comes with it, I’ve always found it important to rest in thankfulness during November. We’re not often good at doing that, and I find it especially hard in a world that is always telling me I “need” more. Sometimes I find it helpful to stop and think about where I am and everything I do have already. I am grateful that I’m currently living what was just a dream once—I have a beautiful marriage and a baby boy who is the joy of my life. What a blessing. What are you thankful for today?
I’ve been thinking about how gratitude can be as simple as noticing what’s already steady in our lives.
Today I’m thankful for the people who consistently show up with kindness, the ones who don’t make big noise about it, but just live it quietly. Those relationships feel like a gift I don’t want to take for granted.
Colossians 3:15 is a beautiful reminder that peace and gratitude go hand in hand. It’s true, we’re so often pulled toward what’s next that we forget to thank God for what is.
Today, I’m thankful for quiet mornings, for the faithfulness of God through every season, and for the chance to point my children toward His Word. Psalm 103:2 says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.”
I’m thankful for my family and the privilege of being a mother, even though it’s hard, for the beautiful fall colors, and for good and meaningful work to do.
I love this season of Thanksgiving coming up because it always reminds me to pause and reflect and realize just how many ways I can see God’s blessings in my life, both tangible and intangible.
“The whole assembly of Israelites gathered at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there.” Joshua 18:1
I’m grateful for Shiloh
From God’s commission to build the tent of meeting at Mt. Sinai, and through the carrying of that holy place in their wilderness wandering, it is now settled in Shiloh. The name means a place of rest and here it will remain. It’s the place where sin is atoned for, and offerings of fellowship are made. It is the place where God and man can come together, if only for a time. Over 300 years later, Solomon will build a permanent temple in the city of Jerusalem. Shiloh, the home of the temporary dwelling will cease, and Jerusalem will be its new home.
And so it is for us. This is our Shiloh. Right here and right now we live in our temporary home. It is our place of rest for we rest in the completed work of Christ. The wilderness wanderings of life came to an end when we put our faith in Jesus. A new Jerusalem awaits us. It too will be our permanent home. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, He will call us, and we will leave Shiloh behind.
In the meantime, there are the refugees of this world to minister to. They have no home save that which will perish. They wander the wilderness still and find no rest for their souls. We have the message they need to hear and the map to lead them home. We must tell them that ‘Our Father’s house has many mansions. If you are weary, He bids you come. If you are burdened, He offers you rest. The Builder and Maker of the city invites you. The Spirit and the Bride say, come! ”