I heard of a man who wished to sell his home. He called a real estate agent and said, "I want to run an ad in the paper to sell my home. I want to get rid of it as quickly as possible. I'm tired of this old place."

                The agent said, "Tell me about your home so I can run a good listing on your house."

                The man told him how many rooms it had. The rooms were carpeted and the kitchen had a nice tile floor. There were expensive shrubs in the yard. He told about some fruit trees in the backyard and many other advantages. He described the home in detail. When he finished, the agent told him, "Listen as I read it back to you and you tell me how it sounds."

                The agent read the ad- about this beautiful three bedroom home with two baths, a good stand of grass and beautiful shrubs, fruit trees in the back yard, new roof, central heat and air, a remodeled carport for two cars. He kept reading until the owner stopped him. "Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Stop! That house is not for sale. All my life I've wanted a place like that, but I did not realize I had it until now!"

                As we approach Thanksgiving this year--- may this story serve as a reminder to us that we need to take some time to sit back and think about what we have and be thankful! I bet if we do we will realize, like this man in the story above, that we have things we have always wanted, we just haven't taken the time to recognize it!

                Here is another thought on being thankful- We need to be like the little old lady who was getting ready to enjoy her Thanksgiving meal. Everybody that was gathered around the table was asked to share one thing for which they were thankful. As she shared, she said, "I thank the Lord for two perfectly good teeth, one in my upper jaw and one in my lower jaw that match so I can chew my food."

                Take time this Thanksgiving to focus on what you do have and how God has provided for you! Read Psalm 136 or Psalm 100 or any number of other Scriptures that will help you focus on God's activity in your life! Doing so will give us cause to be thankful not just around Thanksgiving but every day of the year!