Thankfulness is an attitude of gratefulness.  However, thanksgiving is an action, not an attitude.  One can be full of gratitude, and yet fail to give thanks.  To give thanks is to verbally communicate appreciation and gratefulness to someone.  In English we usually use the words; "Thank you for . . .," and then express the thing that we are giving thanks for. 

Of course, in order to engage in the action of thanksgiving, we must have someone to give thanks to.  Thanksgiving must have a recipient.  Thanks cannot be given to no one.

So who ya gonna thank today, Thanksgiving Day 2008?  Here are a few suggestions.  Call your parents and thank them for all they have done for you.  Call (or send an email to) a coach or a teacher and give thanks to her/him for how they inspired you.  Say thank you to your spouse, your neighbors, your friends, your customers, your boss, your coworkers, the clerk in a store . . .  (Thank you for reading my blog!  I really appreciate it.)  Come on, yall, let's turn Turkey Day into a day for giving thanks!

Is there anyone else thank worthy?  Perhaps we should go along with our American Declaration of Independence and thank the Creator who endowed us with the inalienable rights of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." 

I'll start:  Thank You, Lord, for life, for freedom, and for the opportunity to build happiness and contentment into my life.  Thank You for precious relationships with family and friends.  Thank You, God, for food, clothing, and shelter.  Thank You for the freedom to express my opinions.  Thank You for good health.  Thank You, Lord, for all the wise and life-changing books You have allowed me to find and to read.  Thank You, Lord, for loving me and the rest of humanity and allowing me to experience Your presence and Your love.

Now it's your turn: