[/caption] “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” -1 Thessalonians 5:18 At our Sunday gathering here on the farm we listened to a short sermon on the power of thankfulness. It struck me because my wife and I were just discussing this morning how we (and mostly me) grumble about everything. It is easy to forget the LORD’s goodness sometimes and I far too often find fault even in the good gifts GOD gives us – but what a transformation that can take place when we commit our hearts to the practice of gratitude. In the coming days we are committing to thankfulness as a spiritual practice – an intentional habit that we weave into our day to day activities. I hope you’ll consider with us the overwhelming weight of Scripture that invites all of us into this reality of responding to GOD’s goodness by expressed thankfulness. With Thanksgiving a few days ago it was a special time as we also celebrated our youngest son Elias’ first birthday the same day! What was so incredible about his first birthday is that six months ago he underwent open heart surgery for a congenital heart defect that is a result of Down Syndrome. At the time it was hard to look past the crisis – not knowing if he would survive. In the days and months after though we have slowly stumbled into a new place of grace from the LORD as we watch Elias grow and celebrate the power of GOD in his life. There are so many gifts to be thankful for (our children, our friends, a good job, a house, this farm, etc..)- my list goes on and on but I also want to thank all of you for joining us as we flesh out the Sustainable Traditions project and cultivate ways to more faithfully embody Jesus’ presence in our lives and His coming kingdom. We have many new ideas and sprouts that we are (and will be) cultivating in the coming days I hope to continue to connect with many of you out there as our path unfolds. May we all be transformed by thankfulness in GOD’s unique goodness to each one of us.]]>