With Thanksgiving approaching, I’ve been thinking about ways to realize how much I should be thankful for instead of taking it for granted.  There are some things we usually don’t think about, like having good health, that we should be very thankful for.

This year I’m considering listing all the things I can think of that I’m thankful for.   It could take a while, but perhaps this could be done while on the road to visit family.  And during this time I don’t want to focus on the things that aren’t quite right — that is, no complaining or wishing.  For example, it’s easier to complain that we’d like a bigger house or a nicer house or to have more decorations, and those things aren’t necessarily bad to want, but sometimes we should be thankful for what we do have.   For almost all of us in America, we have much nicer accommodations than we actually need.  We may think we need another bedroom or more closet space, but that’s typically a want.

I could go on, but you can think of plenty of examples, I’m sure (and I hope you will).  The reason I’m considering listing them out (on my own) is to put it all in perspective.  It’s easy to say I’m thankful for all my blessings, but how much is that?  Am I really thankful for all of it?  If we realize there are hundreds of things to be thankful for, that helps us put our problems into perspective, that we have much more to be thankful for than to complain about (not that we should be complaining anyway).

I encourage you to take some time during the Thanksgiving break to think about all the things you should be thankful for.  That’s what the holiday is about, isn’t it?  You can do that and still have plenty of time for eating, visiting family, relaxing, hunting, watching football, etc.   I think you’ll be glad you took the time to be thankful.   I think God would enjoy it, too, if you say thanks to Him for all the good in your life.

Do you ever see areas in your life that need improving?  (Hopefully so, because unless you’re like Jesus at all times, there is room for improvement.)  I know I need to make changes in some areas.  I’ve also learned that it’s sometimes quite difficult to change.

It can be hard to see ourselves making a big change, but that’s where faith comes in.  We must remind ourselves that by the power of God it is possible for us to change.  And not only is it possible, but God will help us, if we depend on Him and let Him direct our steps.  Of course, we must do our part also, but it’s comforting to know that we don’t have to rely solely on our own strength and willpower.

It’s important that we learn to look at ourselves through faith, to see who God wants us to become, and to believe that it is going to happen.  Many times we want to change, but it never happens.  Part of us wants it, but perhaps we don’t fully believe it will happen.  It can be harder to apply faith to ourselves than to others.  It’s easier to pray with a friend that they’ll have the peace of God than to believe that we will.  And perhaps we pray more for other people than ourselves.  That seems like a noble notion, and it is good to sometimes put other people first, but we must take care of ourselves, too.

If we don’t believe we’re going to change in a certain area, it won’t happen.  Our unbelief will keep us from trying our hardest (or from trying at all), and it will keep God from helping us.  For example, if a person wants to learn to play piano, but they make some excuse as to why they can’t, then they most likely won’t even try, and their failure is almost guaranteed.  And while God can help you, if you don’t get a keyboard / piano and you don’t take lessons and you don’t practice, what is there to help?  It’s similar to how the Holy Spirit will help you understand the Bible, but if you make excuses and don’t read it, what is there for Him to explain and reveal?

I’ve been thinking about this lately, because I need to change in some areas.  Some parts of my personality I’ve struggled with for years, so it can seem like I’ll never change, but I must not give up hope.  (And to my friends, please don’t give up hope for me!  Prayers are welcome!)  One thing I must remember is that things have to change for things to change.  I know, that’s obvious, but how easily do we forget that one, where we want to change — we have good intentions — but we aren’t doing much about it, so things aren’t really changing?  We need to set goals and determine our priorities, and of course, believe that we will change.

You’ve probably seen organic food being sold in stores, that it’s supposedly healthier for you.  A new study — actually a study of 50,000 studies over the past 50 years — says organic food isn’t better than regular food:

Organic food is no healthier or more nutritious than regular food. But it is more expensive.

That’s according to a study commissioned by the British government and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Researchers looked at 50,000 studies conducted over 50 years — and found no significant differences in the foods. They focused on a wide range of crops and livestock raised and marketed under organic standards.

The few differences they found were about the kind of fertilizer used — like nitrogen or phosphorus — and how ripe the crops were when harvested. They say these differences are unlikely to provide any health benefit to consumers.

Of course, this depends on what you consider “regular food”.  Some of the processed non-foods served at some fast food restaurants may be worse for you, along with some of the healthy microwave dinners that look like regular food but have had the flavor sucked out of them.

There may still be reasons to buy organic foods — but apparently it’s not more healthy than “regular food”.

Do you understand how your TV works?   Even the older cathode-ray tube (CRT) technology may seem complicated to most of us, but scientists continue pushing the boundaries for future technologies.  You’ve probably heard of LED TVs, which are currently high-tech, but now there are OLED (Organic LED) TVs.

The video at this link explains how it works, using a pickle.   (No, that’s not a typo, and I’m not being silly.)  OLEDs are made of organic materials, and even a pickle is subject to the same properties used in an OLED TV.  Basically, electrons are sent to it, creating an electric current in it, and then when positive and negative charges hit the same molecule, it releases a proton, which makes it look like it’s glowing.  In the video, the pickle becomes a giant pixel.

Not only is the source organic, which would presumably be better for the environment, but it also uses 50 percent less power than LEDs.  And this technology allows TV screens to be very thin (as shown in the video).  It’s already being used in some new (high-dollar) cell phones, which is a great use for it.

Can you imagine how people figured this out?   Try to picture someone figuring out how electrical current affects organic materials and then realizing they could make TV screens with it…

I’ve noticed that sometimes we can get complacent, even when we’re trying to do what’s right.  We can still be in love with God, doing what He called us to do, and attending church regularly, yet still get somewhat complacent.  I realized this had happened to me recently.  Thankfully God showed me how I need to raise the bar, to aim for more and expect more.

Part of the reason this happens is just our human nature, that we’re battling our own self-will and crucifying it.   But we all have a ways to go.  We may have made great progress in becoming like Christ, and maintained that progress, but then if we stop growing, we plateau — we stay at the same level.  Getting to where we are now might be a huge achievement, looking at what we’ve overcome and how we’ve changed for the better.  But we must not stop, because there’s still a lot more to change.

Another reason we tend to slow down in our spiritual growth is because of the standard of “Christianity” around us, and that we naturally compare ourselves to others (which we shouldn’t do).   I think this is a big problem in America (and I’m in the “Bible Belt”).   What does it mean to be an on-fire, sold-out Christian?  What is a great church like?  Think about those questions.  If your church has a few people getting excited during the services and it sees a few people get saved each year, is it doing really good?  If someone gets emotionally excited about God and actually talks about Him to other people, are they fired-up?   How high are we setting the bar?

This is what I’ve felt convicted about lately.  I still love God and am serving Him, but how high am I aiming?   I know, the standard is supposed to be Jesus Christ, to live like Him and be like Him and to know Him.  And the standard for the Church is the book of Acts.  It’s easy to acknowledge these things, but sometimes it’s harder to see it happening.   It takes faith, which seems to be more difficult to believe for ourselves, because we know all about our own shortcomings and failures.   But God wants each of us to be very intimate with Him, and to walk in His power.   Can you picture yourself walking in the power of God, seeing supernatural miracles worked through your ministry?  That’s what we should be aiming for.   Can you see your church in revival, with services lasting hours longer because the people are so passionate about God they don’t want to leave, and thousands of people getting saved each year?  That’s what our churches should be aiming for (and then some).

Like I said, this can be hard to believe for ourselves and our church.  But we must remember it’s not by our power and might that this can happen — it’s the power of God.  We just have to believe and do our absolute best.  And speaking of doing our absolute best, that means there’s a cost to us.   We have to give up things — even things that aren’t sinful in themselves — to grow.  We’ll have to make some changes to how we think and see things and what we do.  Our life won’t be about us anymore — it’ll be about God and ministering to others.  Are we willing to pay the price?