Summary: You can have a turkey on the table but not have thanksgiving in your heart!

Psalm 50:14-Offer to God thanksgiving, And pay your vows to the Most High.

A large dog walks into a butcher shop carrying a purse in its mouth. He puts the purse down and sits in front of the meat case. "What is it, boy?" the butcher jokingly asks. "Want to buy some meat?" "Woof!" barks the dog. "Hmm," says the butcher. "What kind? Liver, bacon, steak ..." "Woof!" interrupts the dog. "And how much steak? Half a pound, one pound ..." "Woof!" The amazed butcher wraps up the meat and finds the money in the dog's purse.

As the dog leaves he decides to follow. The dog enters an apartment house, climbs to the third floor and begins scratching at a door. With that, the door swings open and an angry man starts shouting at the dog. "Stop!" yells the butcher. "He's the most intelligent animal I've ever seen!" "Intelligent?" says the man. "This is the third time this week he's forgotten his key."

He wasn't thankful.

Offer-It is your choice to give thanks!

It’s your choice to give something back!

It’s your choice to have thanksgiving in your heart!

You can have a turkey on the table but not have thanksgiving in your heart!

God, would rather you have thanksgiving on your lips, than those calories on your hips!

Sacrifices cost us our time, money, and it requires us to die to ourselves.

In other words, to do things different than we usually do them, to give up something that we have grown accustomed too, something that we do normally!

So I’ve been asked by your family and friends, to challenge you this week to do something!

Something out of the ordinary, something that maybe strange to you!

To give it rest, take the week off! Take the week off of complaining!

Instead of talking about what hurts on you, talk about all the years you didn’t hurt!

Don’t talk about your defeats, talk about your victories!

This week don’t talk about the valley’s you been thru, talk about the mountains tops you been on!

Everybody’s heard about your ills, your pills, your feels, your bills, how about something different!

But be careful, people might actually think, your thankful for all that God has given you!

How this week, using that mouth of yours, to praise the Lord, instead of gossiping about someone.

And using that mouth of yours to build someone up, instead of tearing someone down!!

How about, that to end this year different!

To end this year with the right can of attitude!

A lawyer had successfully handled a difficult law case for a wealthy friend. Following the happy outcome of the case, the friend and client called on the lawyer, expressed his appreciation of his work and handed him a handsome Moroccan leather wallet.

The lawyer looked at the wallet in astonishment and handed it back with a sharp reminder that a wallet could not possibly compensate him for his services. "My fee for that work," acidly snapped the attorney, "is five hundred dollars."

The client opened the wallet, removed a one-thousand dollar bill, replaced it with a five-hundred dollar bill and handed it back to the lawyer with a smile.

1 Thessalonians 5:18-In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

If you can’t think of anything to be thankful for, then be thankful for this:

If you can’t be thankful because you haven’t got what you want; be thankful you didn’t get what you deserve!