It's sort of a shame that our calendar only affords us one day a year with a clear directive to focus on thankfulness. Of all the people who have ever walked the earth, if you're able to read this post now, you are among the most elitely blessed ever. The blessings in our lives are endless and, oh so easy to take for granted.

I am thankful for Lisa and Evan, for other family members, for wonderfully inspiring and encouraging friends (who I grow to appreciate more each day), and for all of the "stuff" and "things" which make my life so incredibly comfortable. But, most of all, I hope that I am thankful for God's promise and for His unending faithfulness to me.

How do we live out such thankfulness that, as richly blessed as we are, ought to permeate every cubic inch of our beings? Words are one thing -- words of thankfulness, and of praise. But talk is cheap as they say. Words can either be empty and hollow with no substance nor action to back them up or they can be sincere, rich, and full, backed up by actions.

Serving others is the best form of thankfulness for blessings that I can possibly imagine. This is a hurting world. Opportunities for service abound. I pray that I can live a life of service, showing love to others, responding to God's call, even down to things like picking up litter in the street when I see it. But, it is so tough. Keeping an eye on our thankfulness -- keeping that in front of us all year long instead of just at Thanksgiving -- provides the inspiration and the drive to serve. Again, it's unfortunate that our calendar only has one official day of reminder for thankfilness each year. We must make it last throughout the year.