Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things He does for me. (Psalm 103:2, NLT)
I absolutely love this time of year–first my birthday in mid-November, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas!
What’s not to love?
It doesn’t take much to get me in the Christmas spirit. My daughters always tease me because I have my Frank Sinatra Christmas CD playing in my car right at the beginning of November each year.
But, this year I’m feeling especially excited about the season, so much so, that Jeff and I put up four Christmas trees, decorated the mantle, and spruced up the front porch with dashes of Christmas this past weekend. (I know it’s early, but I couldn’t stop myself!)
Of course, while decorating, we played several of our favorite Christmas movies: Elf, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and White Christmas. I love all three of those movies, but my very favorite is White Christmas. I seriously know it word for word I’ve watched it so many times.
And, one of my favorite scenes is when Rosemary Clooney is wandering through the inn, in search of a midnight snack because she can’t sleep, and bumps into Bing Crosby. Remember the scene?
They exchange a little dialogue about how different kinds of sandwiches make you dream about different kinds of things, and then Bing sings to her: “When I’m worried and I can’t sleep, I count my blessings instead of sheep. I fall asleep counting my blessings. When my bankroll is getting small, I think of when I had none at all, I fall asleep counting my blessings…”
You know, there’s a lot of truth in that little song, and it really hit home for me the other night as we were decorating for Christmas. I began thanking God for my wonderful husband who loves me and even helps me put up Christmas decorations when he’d really rather wait until after Thanksgiving.
And, I began thanking God for my two precious daughters and the godly men that He has brought into their lives. And, I began praising Him for my extended family and amazing friends, and a church that we love.
I just kept on thanking God, long after Bing had finished his song. In fact, I was in “the blessing mode” all night and actually did as Bing’s song suggests–I fell asleep counting my blessings.
We all have so much to be thankful for, don’t we? And, we don’t have to wait until Thanksgiving to tell God how grateful we are for the many blessings He has given us. We should count our blessings every single day!
Why not start today?
Take some time to simply thank God for all of your blessings. No matter what’s going on in your life–even if you’re weathering a few storms at the moment–you can always find something to be thankful for. And, once you start counting your blessings, it’s hard to stop!
So, take Bing Crosby’s advice tonight and “…fall asleep counting your blessings.”
