Movin’ Together – Giving Thanks in 2020

by Sara Vogt - November 30, 2020

Thanksgiving 2020 holiday weekend reminds us of being thankful especially during this time of COVID-19 when most of us celebrated in smaller groups than we normally choose to do for the holiday. Many of us took the opportunity during this time to reach out to family and friends, in person, through Facetime, and even video presentations.

A lifestyle of thanksgiving is certainly a choice, and as we practice it becomes more natural and we see the benefits emerge in our lives. We can model thankful habits to those around us by taking the time to talk about what we appreciate at dinner and on other occasions. It is easy to talk about our problems, and how difficult they are, but if we change from a heart of problems toward a heart of learning from the difficulties, we have more of an opportunity to grow from them.

Recently while Sara was looking out her laundry room window on a very windy morning she watched a woodpecker clinging to a suet feeder. The woodpecker knew that seed was good so he hung on, even in the midst of the storm. This reminded her of Romans 12:9 which says, ‘Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Looking for the good in situations focuses us on the positive instead of the negative.

In 1977 the Star Wars movie entitled A New Hope, the commander of the squadron told the pilots flying toward the target to stay on target. We also want to stay on target and live a life of gratefulness. We want to be a blessing to ourselves, families, friends, and communities during this time; we want to stay on target for good! When our behavior goes off track and we become anxious, ungrateful, unkind, or frustrated this behavior raises the stress hormones that weaken our immune systems so quickly we need to go back to the lifestyle of thankfulness.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:16 -18 the scriptures encourage us to, ‘ Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Our tool of thanks encourages us to approach life with a grateful attitude toward one another. When we express gratefulness and receive the same, our brain releases dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin. These crucial neurotransmitters are responsible for our emotions, and they make us feel ‘good’. The benefits of grateful thinking are changes in our attentiveness, our energy, our enthusiasm, better sleep patterns, and improved immune function. Then overall, we improve mentally, socially, physically, emotionally, and spiritually when we become purposeful about living with an attitude of thanksgiving! Stay on target for loving and caring for your family.

Our Movin’ Together challenge for all of us at this time is to take the time to reflect on five things that we are thankful for. Then take a few minutes to call or write a friend or family member telling them how they have blessed your life.

Thank you for watching the Home Page Network and our broadcast called Movin’ Together … we are grateful for you!