When our pastor, Steve Rice, preached a sermon about “Thanks-living” instead of “Thanks-giving” decades ago, I teased him mercilessly. We were dear friends; it’s what friends do. It was “Happy Thanks-living” this and “Happy Thanks-living” that. (I wasn’t nearly as mature as I am now.) I worked the word “Thanks-living” into every conversation.

In his sermon, he suggested that instead of a day of Thanksgiving, followers of Christ should live a life of Thanksgiving. Guess what. It stuck.

Instead of waiting until the fourth Thursday of November to be thankful, we should thank the Lord every day, all year long, for the blessings He bestows. He is good, you know.

Some mornings I like to go through the alphabet, making a list of all the things God is. I can start with the letter A – amazing, B – beautiful, C – caring… He is kind (the letter K). He is gracious (G). He is merciful (M). Around Thanksgiving, I also make an alphabetical list of things I’m thankful for. It gets me started and then explodes.

All through the Bible, men spoke and wrote about being thankful. When the ark of the LORD was brought to Jerusalem, David gushed, “Give thanks to the LORD, call on His Name, make known among the nations what He has done. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him, tell of all His wonderful acts.” (I picture him dancing a little.)

Psalm 136 was a written history of victories God had given the people of Israel. It begins, “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the LORD of lords: His love endures forever.”

After meeting Jesus, the Apostle Paul lived a life of thanksgiving. In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17, Paul challenged the church of Thessalonica – and believers everywhere – to “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances…” That’s every day. Paul knew a thing or two about “all circumstances.” He had been flogged, mocked, criticized, shipwrecked, in danger in the country, at sea and from false believers, yet he still had a heart of thanksgiving. The Lord had brought him through each hardship.

To the Philippians, Paul wrote, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Even when we are worried, he encourages us to strive to pray and be thankful BEFORE the prayer is answered, before anything changes.

To the Ephesians, Paul penned, “Be filled with the Spirit…sing and make music in your heart to the LORD, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything…” (5:18-20). Always giving thanks. That sounds like Thanks-LIVING to me.

Thanks-living is also one of the reasons I feel free to put my Christmas tree up early. Some might say I’m forgetting or overlooking the Pilgrims. Not so. I’m very thankful for the Pilgrims (the letter P). Their courage inspires me. But I am most thankful for the Promised Messiah who came to save me and the whole world.

And so it is with a grateful heart, I am glad to say, “Happy Thanks-living to all y’all!”