As we continue this week, focusing on telling the soil of our hearts, today we're going to look at the role of

thankfulness in opening our hearts to receive all that God

wants to give. While scripture is filled with encouragements to be thankful, I

think our own lived experience tells us that being thankful is essential in the pursuit of an abundant life.

So may God remind us of all we have to be thankful for today as we make space to meet with him.

And may our days be better as a result of taking just a few moments to be thankful

for who we are, what we have,

and all God has done for us as his beloved children.

Welcome to the First of Team Podcast. Our script here for today comes from Psalm 107 verse 1.

The Psalmist writes,

Oh give thanks to the Lord for He is good,

for his steadfast love

endures forever.

Thankfulness is one of the most powerful tools

in making our hearts both soft to the seat of God's word and

filled with abundant joy.

Thanksgiving aligns our thoughts and emotions with the reality of God's goodness and a world wrought

with lies about the character of God. It breeds joy and trust rather than

entitlement and negativity.

With each declaration of thankfulness,

you dig a shovel into the hard, rocky soil of your heart

and churn it over until it becomes receptive to the fullness of God

...