Do you have favorite recipes? I sure do.
Whether it’s our favorite foods or trying something new, recipes assist in the desired result. And it’s fascinating how all the specific ingredients work together to make a tasty food.
Every Thanksgiving, I gather the ingredients and follow a special recipe to make my Grandmother Clarkston’s lemon pie.
Yum! It’s my favorite dessert of all time!
With our thankful holiday this month, this mouth-watering pie is always a must have for me.
Recipe Measures and Ingredients
Recipes always call for measurements—a cup of this or a tablespoon of that. Likewise, we often make other measures in life.
In the last few years, we experienced the pandemic and other life-altering events. Currently, the world is in a state of chaos. So now, more than ever before, putting the right measures in place help stir up a thankful heart.
Stirring up a Thankful Heart
But where do we find the recipe for a thankful heart? What ingredients work together to make a heart full of thanksgiving?
A real thankful heart never comes easy. Because we don’t have to look far to see devastation, need, loss, hurt, lack and hopelessness.
You see, these factors only affect our heart if we allow it. We decide whether our hearts turn hard toward God or thankful.
Our circumstances never dictate true thankfulness in our heart.
So here are eight ingredients to stir up a T-H-A-N-K-F-U-L heart.
Thankful Heart Ingredients
T – Taste and see that the Lord is good. (Psalm 34:8)
The first bite of lemon pie always reminds me of its goodness. Similarly, God reminds us over and over He’s a good, good Father. God alone is reason enough to give thanks.
H – Help others. (Philippians 2:4, Matthew 25:42-44)
Kingdom principles rarely make sense to our limited minds. When we look to the interests and needs of others; and when we help the least of these, it grows a thankful heart.
A – Accelerate praise and giving thanks to the Lord. (Psalm 7:17, Psalm 69:30)
As our voice sings praises and gives thanks, and raises Hallelujahs!, our heart naturally overflows with thankfulness. Praise + giving thanks = a thankful heart.
N – Nourish our soul. (Isaiah 55:1-3, John 6:35)
Holidays and special occasions find most of us nourishing our body with nutrients and vitamins (and other stuff we won’t mention here). But replenishing our soul with spiritual nourishment brings spiritual vitality and life! We go to the bread of life, Jesus, to satisfy our hunger and thirst.
K – Keep the faith. (2 Timothy 4:7)
Like straying from a recipe botches the dish, straying from the foundations of our faith leaves us open to worldly perspectives and a less than whole heart devoted to God.
More Ingredients
F – Form an attitude of gratitude. (1 Timothy 4:4, Hebrews 12:28)
An attitude makes all the difference. Forming a specific one doesn’t happen overnight. Hebrews 12:28 encourages us to “be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.” (ESV) And 1 Timothy 4:4 says, “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.” (ESV)
Attitudes of gratitude connect thanksgiving to our heart.
U – Understand God’s blessings. (Ephesians 1:3)
We’ve heard it said to count our blessings. And we know we are blessed with every spiritual blessing. While it’s not an exhaustive list, these include: amazing grace, never-ending mercy, unconditional and undying love, unsurpassed peace, real hope, authentic faith, unwavering truth, overflowing joy and God’s fullness for our emptiness.
L – Lay up treasures in heaven. (Matthew 6:19-21)
Many of us lost earthly treasures over the last few years. Perhaps income, home, retirement, investments, insurance, or other.
One sure-fire way to cook up a thankful heart? Lay up treasures in heaven. A place treasure is never destroyed or stolen.
What’s one of your favorite food dishes at Thanksgiving? Which of the ingredients for a thankful heart speaks the most to you?
Also see, What if Thanksgiving is About Thanks-living.
Featured photos courtesy of our YouTube channel, Friday’s Forever.
Karen, this is a beautiful list of ingredients for us all, but the norish one resonated with me the most. It’s something that Papa has been reminding me of. To feast on him, and not waste time on things that do not edify! My favorite food at thanksgiving is the green bean casserole 🙂
Thank you, Diana. Same here, what would our lives and souls look like if we found spiritual nourishment in Christ and the Holy Spirit. Happy Thanksgiving. And I like green bean casserole too.