Today we are talking about thankfulness. But I don't want you to tune this message out just because it's a thing we tend to talk about this time of year. This message today goes far beyond the week of Thanksgiving and goes far deeper than uttering off a few quick "thanks for..." lists. 

Choosing to put on gratitude and thankfulness is an essential element of the Christian faith and it's vitally important to the life of the homemaker. 

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This is an especially important topic in our chaotic, crazy, and fearful world we live in today. Everywhere I turn there is more bad news of a couple I know getting a divorce, my heart is heavy for a family who is struggling to get by, there are new reports of child abuse and terrible things happening around the globe. 

It's enough to make anyone fearful, worried, anxious, or over burdened. So as head wade through the bad news, pray for those who are hurting, and try to piece together a response, where do we turn for HOPE? How can we focus on Christ throughout all of the turmoil, bad news, disappointments, and the everyday heart ache of life? 

By choosing thankfulness.

November is a hard month for me personally as my mom died suddenly three November's ago. It's a time that brings up a lot of grief, anger, and even resentment. Whether you are struggling with a loss, battling anxiety over a new situation, or just wading through the every day struggles and the ups and downs, you desperately need this message. 

Now of course, our natural tendency is to often sit in worry and anxiety. To wonder why God allows certain things. To stew in anger or bitterness. To get so consumed with the small details of today that we can't look forward to the future with joy and hope. That's where I am coming from today. I'm looking at this concept of thanksgiving through a lens of troubled times and anxious hearts. 

So we need to recognize that thankfulness and putting on a grateful heart is a choice and that it can have a profound impact on our lives. 

5 Reasons We Need to CHOOSE to be Thankful Today

1) Gratitude is a matter of obedience

Thankfulness and gratitude are not simply good ideas, God commands us to have gratitude. And the kicker is, we are to be thankful in ALL things! Not just the happy things and the things we often think of as blessings. We are called to obedience and that means learning how and choosing to be thankful in our life.

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." - 1 Thesselonians 5:16-18 

"And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." - Colossians 3:14-17 

If you really want to study praise and thanksgiving to God, then study through the book of Psalms. There are countless examples of turning back to God over and over again in praise and thanksgiving.

In her book, Choosing Gratitude, Nancy Leigh Demoss discusses the idea of finding God's Will. She says:

"Sure, details matter to God. The specifics of what church to attend,