We are told to “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.” (Psalm 100:4) And when you obediently do this what happens is that you are lovingly looking to the Lord, focusing on His goodness instead of your immediate surroundings of struggles, pain, heartache, etc. That then means you are freely choosing to rise above your earthly situations, circumstances, or experiences and are ready to see His glory, His victory, which you are freely choosing to believe that they are there! That then opens you up to being able to receive from your Heavenly Father because you know His goodness is greater than all things negatively experienced in the flesh. Doing this with thanksgiving and praise then keeps your focus steady on Him because only He is good, and it heals your heart and mind because thanksgiving and praises keep your focus sharp and steady on Him. You then find that as you do this, the Holy Spirit establishes within you, hope (strong expectation) in His mercy, thereby fulfilling Psalm 147:11, “The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear (worship; reverence) Him, those that hope (have strong expectation) in His mercy.” May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow and spend a little extra time, alone, with your Savior; thanking and praising your Abba (Heavenly Father) for who He is~your loving Creator greater than all things! What a powerful, free-will choice you have chosen to make.