Pam and I have been excited about thanksgiving for the last two years. That may sound strange, but it was about two years ago when Pam and I discovered that one of the most liberating forms of Worship is - Giving God thanks in everything. So for two years, Pam and I have changed our behaviors, thinking, and worship style to be almost 80% focused on thanksgiving.  We have found that this form of worship is extremely liberating to our hearts, mind, emotions, and relationships. In essence we are stepping out in faith and giving thanks for all things; including our past, present, and future. What is even more ironic is that we have been most thankful for all the mistakes, misfortunes, challenges, issues, and disappointments that we have experienced in life.

The process of giving thanks to God for all things, both good-and-bad is a profound way of making a person whole, or liberated.  This thanksgiving process that Pam and I repeat frequently, is our method of letting God know that He is truly our creator, maker, redeemer, provider, counselor, Savior, as well as the author and finisher of our faith.  In our personal life we have taken worship to a whole new level, allowing us to Thank God for all things, as if He is in charge of all things, both good and bad.  

We have taken the verse "In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus, concerning you," very literal.  (I Thessalonians 5:18) Pam and I have verbalized our thanksgiving for all that God has allowed us to enjoy as well as endure, as well as suffer. By doing so, we are admitting that God can turn all 'good and bad' things into positive things; should we show our love to the Lord.  In fact this is the very verse found in Roman's chapter 8:28.  "All things work together for good to those who love the Lord, to those called according to His purpose."

We encourage you to examine your willingness and own ability to worship God with an attitude of thanksgiving for not only the provisions this Thanksgiving, but also for your entire life of mistakes, challenges, sufferings, and blessings.  When you allow God to receive ultimate thanks for 'everything' that has happened in your life, you will be liberated. Much of the guilt, shame, stains, scars, doubts, worries, fears, and failures of the past will be released.

Pam and I have completed an audio recording on this type of Worship and Thanksgiving. You may want to listen to the recording to find out how this type of worship occurs. You will also learn why only one of the 10 lepers that Jesus healed actually came back to thank Him.  You will find that only the thankful one who came back, was allowed to be made 'whole' or 'complete.'  The other nine were healed but not made whole. I would venture to guess that this one leper came and gave Jesus thanks for everything in his life, even the experience of being a leper. I would also venture to guess that the other nine were thankful for the healing, but they also immediately wanted to find issue with the lost years of their life when they had leprosy (Luke 17:11-19). The lepers may have also felt shameful, guilty, or useless because of their past circumstance. We believe that God was desirous to make them all whole and remove all past issues, but they first had to learn to be 'completely' thankful.

The recording called 'A special Thanksgiving, a pure and liberating form of worship,' can be heard at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/focusonheaven

May each of you have one of the most thankful Thanksgivings by experiencing the wiliness to be completely thankful that God does 'all' things well!