We spend a lot of time asking this question when things are not going our way.

"Why ME?" we wonder as we lose our house to foreclosure, our car is totaled in an accident, or our children become lost in a world of drugs.

Sometimes we even ask, "Why ME?" when God calls us to serve Him in a less than comfortable way.

One day I heard someone on the radio say, "Why NOT me?" All of these things are opportunities for my personal growth, and all offer ways to strengthen my relationship with God.

This does not really make me WANT to be uncomfortable, yet it does put my puny struggles into perspective.

I mean, after all, what if MARY had said "Why me?" instead of "Let everything be done to me just as You have said."

What a difference a little bit of perspective can make!

Lord, even if I am not willing to say Why NOT me, I am willing to have my heart be made willing!
Amen

As I sit here sipping hot apple cider and eating homemade ginger snaps made from my grandmother's recipe, I'm enjoying the view from my back porch because it reminds me of an Autumn drive through the Appalachian Mountains many years ago with the fog hovering in the low-lying areas. It makes me feel nostalgic. I love fall! I love all of the seasons, really, and am so thankful to live in a place that displays each of them so beautifully. But there is just something about fall that makes me start to feel cozy. It's the idea of getting ready to nest in, and sit down with an afghan, a good book, and a cup of hot cocoa.

It's the time to be Thankful.

When my little ones start to ask how long until Christmas, I love to tell them, "First we are Thankful, then we get presents!"

In Ann Voscamp's book "One Thousand Gifts," she talks about how many times throughout the scripture that Christ gives thanks to God before He performs a miracle.

I wonder how many miracles and blessings that I have missed out on in my life because I have been ungrateful? 

Because I have not taken the time to purposely thank God for what I have already received from Him...

Or I have been too faithless to accept what has been promised to me...

This Thanksgiving I want to focus more on being truly thankful.

What about you?