A Declaration of Thanksgiving.
To say "I am blessed" is good;
To say "God is good" is better;
To say "Thank You God" is best of all.
The latter transcends the former two
by acknowledging God for no greater
reason than He is God.

O gracious and holy God,
In your presence and with thankful hearts we offer to You this Sacrament of gratitude.
We acknowledge You as the Giver of all good things and the bestower of our manifold blessings,
We are aware that your goodness is great and your blessings are numerous, too many for us to enumerate one-by-one.
Yet, O God, in this prayer of thanksgiving, at this particular time, we want to thank You for some specific gifts You have showered upon us:
We begin with life, our lives, we are still among the living,
The health and strength that we possess,
The food, clothing, shelter and safety we enjoy today and have enjoyed in days gone by.
For all these we joyfully proclaim, not just with our mouths but with our lives, Thank You God.
We are mindful of the compassion we have known:
Our mothers' tender-loving care expressed in more ways than we can say,
The strength and protective eyes of our fathers,
The knowledge and wisdom we have
received from teachers in schools and beyond the school walls.
The ministers and spiritual leaders who proclaimed good news to us and by their examples let us know
how to be responsible and live righteous lives.
Our playmates who helped us to know the beauty of laughter and how to be spontaneous,
The moving stories we have heard, sometimes sad but mostly happy ones, that helped us to better
know the storytellers and understand ourselves,
Those from many walks of life who revealed to us the power of faith and prayer,
The tears we have shed, both tears of joy and tears of sorrow,
For the suffering that has empowered us in ways that only suffering can, making us strong and able to endure life's challenges.
For all these we joyfully proclaim, not just with our mouths but with our lives, Thank You God.
We have confidence and assurance that You who have brought us this far is not going to leave us now or as long as we exercise faith and hold fast the gift of salvation,
We know Who You are and Whose we are, You are our Father,
In your presence we will abide and with eternal hope claim victory.
For all these we joyfully proclaim, not just with our mouths but with our lives, Thank You God.
And so it is.

Copyright 2006 by Uriah J. Fields