Thanks – Michelle Lesley

Top 10 Songs for Thanksgiving

November 23, 2022November 23, 2022 Michelle Lesley

Originally published November 18, 2016

Isn’t Thanksgiving a wonderful holiday? It’s a whole day set aside for feasting and thanking God for all of the glorious things He has done for us. And what’s a celebration without great music? Here, in no particular order, are my top 10 picks for beautiful and joyful songs of Thanksgiving. (Click on the titles of the videos without screen lyrics for a lyric sheet in case you’d like to sing along!)

And if you prefer a playlist format, I’ve compiled all of the songs below into my YouTube Thanksgiving playlist.

Thanksgiving is a whole day set aside for feasting and thanking God for all of the glorious things He has done for us. And what’s a celebration without great music?
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1. We Gather Together

It’s the iconic song of Thanksgiving, and for good reason. Now you might think it’s strange that I picked this particular rendition, but there’s just something awesome about a large group of men singing. I think they did a marvelous job.

2. O Give Thanks

This was a new one for me this year, but it’s already a favorite. With its phenomenal theology and singability, this one is probably already a Thanksgiving staple in many churches.

3. Now Thank We All Our God

“With hearts and hands and voices.” We thank God in our hearts and by singing and praying to Him, but let’s not forget to serve Him, and others, as an act of thanks as well.

4. Give Thanks

This song quickly became a Thanksgiving standard in the 90’s. I love the way it points us to the simple truth of being thankful for Christ.

5. Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

Sit down and read over the lyrics of this one if you have a moment. The hymnist beautifully weaves together the idea of harvest time and God’s provision for us with the idea that we are God’s “crop,” wheat and tares sown together. And one day “the Lord our God shall come, and shall take the harvest home.”

6. Thank You, Lord, for Saving my Soul

Did you know this song had verses? I have to say I feel a little cheated. I’ve been singing this song all my life and never knew of the three precious verses about thankfulness in this song. We need to bring them back!

7. For the Beauty of the Earth

How often do we forget to thank God for the simple things? The beauty of the earth, the love of family and friends, the church, and Christ, God’s best gift of all.

8. I Thank You, Lord

I’m sorry, but if this song doesn’t have you dancing across the kitchen with the turkey, you’d better check your praise thang to make sure it’s not broken. “I thank you Lord. You’ve been so good to me.” Not a thing wrong with that! (Sorry, I couldn’t find a lyrics sheet.)

9. Count Your Blessings

What a lovely treat from the chorale of The Master’s University. When’s the last time you counted your blessings? Thanksgiving is a great day to start, but don’t forget to keep counting (and thanking God) all year through!

10. He Has Made Me Glad

Drawn from Psalm 100 and 118, this sweet little song reminds us of the joy of simply being in God’s presence and thanking Him for who He is.

What’s your favorite Thanksgiving song, or song of thanks and praise to God?
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What’s your favorite Thanksgiving song,
or song of thanks and praise to God?

I have not exhaustively vetted these musicians and songwriters, and I do not endorse any of them whose lives or beliefs conflict with Scripture or my beliefs as outlined in the Statement of Faith or Welcome tabs at the top of this page.

Holidays (Other), Thanks/Thanksgiving, Top 10

Top 10 Bible Verses on Giving Thanks

November 17, 2022November 16, 2022 Michelle Lesley

Originally published November 20, 2015

Next to Easter and Christmas, there’s no better holiday that Christians could celebrate than Thanksgiving. Scripture reminds us over and over that we have a precious Savior and innumerable blessings to thank God for. Here are ten of my favorite Bible verses about giving thanks. Feel free to share them around on social media. You could also print them out to use in your Thanksgiving decor…

As place cards at the dinner table.
As tags on goody bags or doggie bags
Print out two copies of each, scramble them up face down, and let the kids play “Concentration” or “Memory” with them. (Each player takes turns flipping over two at a time until they find two that match.)
Have one person read part of his verse and see who can finish it. Or read the whole verse and see who can guess the reference.

What’s your favorite Bible verse about giving thanks?
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1. Psalm 100:4

2. 1 Corinthians 15:57

3. 1 Chronicles 16:8

4. Ephesians 5:20

5. Psalm 69:30

6. Colossians 3:17

7. Psalm 79:13

8. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

9. Psalm 86:12

10. Revelation 7:12

What’s your favorite Bible verse about giving thanks?

Holidays (Other), Thanks/Thanksgiving

Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart

November 9, 2022November 5, 2022 Michelle Lesley

Originally published November 26, 2008

O give thanks to the LORD,
for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
1 Chronicles 16:34

Thanksgiving is upon us. It’s my favorite holiday. I get “time off” from my job (although as a stay at home mom, my “time off” looks a lot like my “time on”!); I get to visit with family; there’s no mad rush of gift shopping; and, the whole holiday is centered around eating. What could be better?

There’s only one thing I don’t look forward to about the holiday I love best. I’m not happy with the way Christmas has begun to overshadow Thanksgiving. The radio stations started playing Christmas carols before Halloween. The stores put out Christmas decorations earlier and earlier every year. The commercials for Christmas gifts and sales have been prolific since October. You almost get a sense that, aside from the good people at Butterball, retailers consider Thanksgiving to be in the way. They know that Thanksgiving is the “Gentlemen, start your engines!” rallying point for most shoppers, and without it, they could probably push Black Friday back to September and combine it with their Labor Day sales.

But more than my own personal annoyance and my desire to gather up all the retail CEOs and the media in one place and shout at them, “Nobody puts Thanksgiving in a corner!” I’m concerned for all of us as a national community. With everything that’s going on in our country and the world right now, do we really need to skip over being thankful?

We Americans are so blessed we’ve become numb and ungrateful. What a slap in the face to people all over the world for whom simply surviving another day is an almost insurmountable task. How often do we have to worry about having water to drink that’s clean enough not to make us sick? How many of us are starving to death because we have no access to food? How often do we have warring factions marching through our front yards? When was the last time we secretly huddled together to worship, afraid that at any moment we could be arrested, tortured, killed?

In the mad rush of all that is going on in our day to day lives, maybe it’s not such a bad idea to slow down and give Thanksgiving its due.

Thank you, Lord…
…that I can see, hear, move, think clearly, and attend to my own needs.
…that I live in a country that protects my freedoms.
…for the family with which You’ve blessed me.
…for the roof over my head.
…for enough to eat.
…for saving me.

Don’t skip Thanksgiving this year. Don’t push it over in a corner and treat it as though it’s an interruption of your Christmas plans. Relish it. Wallow in it. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

Thanks/Thanksgiving, Top 10