THANK THERAPY
​Want a cure for the holiday blues? Some need a little strategy for coping with what others find to be the happiest time of year. Perhaps, for you, even before winter rolls around you’re already singing with Billie Holiday, “Good morning, heartache, sit down.” While there is no panacea for depression, “Thank Therapy” has some serious anecdotal testimony behind it (for what it’s worth). Perhaps you’re familiar with it, but I'd like to add a little “Thanksgiving twist” in honor of this month’s most celebrated family holiday. Do this: trace an outline of your fingers on paper to make a Thanksgiving turkey. Each finger is a feather (your thumb is the turkey's head), which you can then begin to count off. But with each finger you count, think of something for which you're grateful to God (e.g., family, a roof, wheels, functioning fingers, forgiveness, etc.). It can actually be fun. More importantly, it can lift your spirits and start you out on the right foot (or hand) each morning, if you choose to do this just before getting out of bed. Some swear it has converted them from grumbler to grateful. You’ll also find scriptural support in such verses as 1 Thessalonians 5:18, "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." No one likes a grumbler - not even God who condemned a whole generation of them to die in the wilderness (Nu 14). But complaining is not the unforgivable sin (even as God declared in that same account, v20). Jesus’ death on the cross is for ALL sinners (even grumblers), as well as for depressed souls everywhere. Now, that is truly something to be thankful for!  - Pastor Mike

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