Nov. 19, 2025

Thanksgiving Gratitude Over Tradition in the End Times

Send us a text A nation can feast and still miss the feast’s heart. We open the door to a deeper Thanksgiving—one rooted in remembrance, forged in hardship, and sustained by a God who has been faithful in every generation. From Plymouth’s fields to a divided Civil War, gratitude wasn’t about plenty; it was a public act of praise in the middle of pain. That same posture still transforms homes today. We explore how hurried routines and vague “thankful” posts have stripped the holiday of its sp...

Send us a text

A nation can feast and still miss the feast’s heart. We open the door to a deeper Thanksgiving—one rooted in remembrance, forged in hardship, and sustained by a God who has been faithful in every generation. From Plymouth’s fields to a divided Civil War, gratitude wasn’t about plenty; it was a public act of praise in the middle of pain. That same posture still transforms homes today.

We explore how hurried routines and vague “thankful” posts have stripped the holiday of its spiritual center, and we make a case for bringing the Giver back to the table. Drawing from Scripture—“Be thankful in all circumstances”—we frame gratitude as both a command and spiritual warfare. Bitterness starves in a thankful heart. Comparison loses oxygen when we name real blessings. Entitlement breaks when we remember who provides breath, bread, and belonging. You’ll hear a tender story of quiet mercies—a father who wakes early, sees the ordinary glow again, and leads his family in a simple, steady prayer. Nothing flashy. Just faithful love, seen at last.

By the end, you’ll have clear, practical ways to lead your home: speak Jesus’ name over the table, remember answered prayers, count open doors you didn’t earn, and thank God for the protections you never saw. Gratitude warms cold love and sets a people apart in noisy, uncertain times. If He was faithful then, He’ll be faithful now—and a grateful church can spark renewal that no trend can match.

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The Intro/Outro music is Are You Ready? by Floodgate. From the Album, Are You Ready? copyright 2002 OffBeat Ministries, Inc.
Floodgate is available on Apple Music and iTunes.
Music used with permission.

Thank You. I Love You!

SEE YA!

Rick

Be An Encourager...Not A Discourager!

Chapters

01:53 - Roots of Thanksgiving

03:02 - Thanksgiving Through American History

03:56 - Thanksgiving Today

04:58 - God's Place in Thanksgiving

05:58 - Thanksgiving in the End Times

07:11 - Return to Gratitude

07:51 - The Thanksgiving Table

11:55 - Closing

Transcript

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Today on Renewed Mindset, it's strange how the whole nation can celebrate a holiday and still miss the heart of it.

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We gather around tables, we carve the turkey, we laugh, we travel, we post pictures of food.

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But if we're honest, a lot of people celebrate Thanksgiving without ever stopping to thank the one who gave the breath in our lungs.

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I think that's why God keeps calling his people to come back to remembrance.

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Because gratitude is not just a holiday, it's a mindset, it's a spiritual weapon.

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And in these end times, when the spirit of entitlement is rising all around us, the children of God must fight back with grateful hearts.

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Let's go, boys.

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Hey, welcome back to Renewed Mindsets.

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I'm Rick and I'm so glad you're here.

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But today we're going to take a journey.

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We're going to go from the fields of Plymouth to the modern Thanksgiving table.

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We're going to look at what God intended then, what God desires now, and why gratitude is so much bigger than a single day in November.

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Today is about remembering who we are and remembering who He is and who He's been through every generation.

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A lot of people don't know the depth behind the first Thanksgiving.

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This was not a celebration of comfort.

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It was not a feast because things were easy.

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It was a feast because God carried them through things that should have destroyed them.

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Half of the pilgrims died the first winter.

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Disease, cold, starvation.

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But instead of abandoning faith, they leaned into it.

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They gathered together, not to celebrate their strength, but to thank God for his mercy.

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His faithful love endures forever.

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That is the heartbeat of the first Thanksgiving.

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Not abundance, but gratitude in the middle of survival.

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God was present in those early days.

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He was the reason they made it.

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Thanksgiving was never meant to be about plenty, it was meant to be about praise.

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And as the nation grew, presidents and leaders continued the tradition of pausing to acknowledge God.

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George Washington declared a national day of thanksgiving, calling the people to humble themselves before the Almighty.

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Abraham Lincoln set Thanksgiving as an annual observance during the Civil War.

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Now think about that.

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In the darkest, bloodiest, most divided time in our nation's story, the president asked the people to stop and thank God.

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Gratitude in the middle of national pain.

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That was the spirit behind it.

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From the beginning, Thanksgiving was not a celebration of what we had, it was a reminder of who held us.

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America has never been perfect.

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But she once knew she had a provider.

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Now, here we are, modern times.

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A nation full of blessings but starving for gratitude.

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Families gather but leave God out.

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People pray over the meal, but they forget to pray over their hearts.

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Social media posts talk about being thankful, but they met they never mention who they're thankful to.

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We replaced humility with hurry, reflection with routine, worship with tradition.

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And in the process, we disconnected a national holiday from its spiritual foundation.

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But here's the good news the church can bring it back.

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You your home can bring it back.

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Your heart can bring it back.

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Thanksgiving is not lost, it just needs to be reclaimed.

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God never moved, He's still waiting on his people to return to gratitude.

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You see, gratitude is not optional for the believer, it's a command.

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1 Thessalonians 5 says, Be thankful in all circumstances.

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This is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

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Thanksgiving is it's spiritual warfare.

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The enemy cannot thrive in a grateful heart.

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He wants bitterness, comparison, entitlement.

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He wants division.

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Gratitude destroys all of that.

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When we thank God, we remind our soul who's in charge.

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When we praise him, we shift our thoughts from what's missing to what's already provided.

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When we slow down and name the blessings, the burdens get smaller.

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Thanksgiving is not just a holiday, it's a discipline that strengthens your spirit.

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Jesus said in Matthew 24 that the love of many would grow cold.

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Cold love is a sign of the end times.

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Cold love produces cold gratitude.

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People stop seeing God's goodness because they stop looking for it.

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But the faithful remnant, the ones who keep their hearts warm with worship, they will shine brighter as the world grows darker.

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Yeah.

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Gratitude is a way of standing apart.

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It's a way of saying, I still see you, God, even when society is blind, even when the world is noisy, even when the future looks so uncertain.

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Thanksgiving reminds us that God's been faithful in every generation.

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He was faithful to the pilgrims, he was faithful to the early colonies, he was faithful through wars and droughts and storms, he was faithful through your own life.

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If he's been faithful then, he'll be faithful now.

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I want you to take a moment and really think.

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What has God carried you through this year?

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What prayers has he answered?

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What doors has he opened that you didn't deserve?

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What protection did he give you that you didn't even see?

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Thank him today.

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Not because it's a holiday, but because he's been good.

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Sit with your family, pray out loud, say his name, bring Jesus back to your Thanksgiving table.

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Let your home be one of the few that remembers the giver, not just the gifts.

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Here's something I wrote about Thanksgiving.

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The year had been long, harder than most.

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Bills had piled up, work had worn him down, several friendships had shifted, and even though God had been faithful, life just felt heavy.

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On the morning of Thanksgiving, Mark woke up before the sun.

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The house was quiet.

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The kids were still sleeping.

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The smell of coffee drifted through the kitchen.

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He sat at the table and whispered a simple prayer.

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Lord, I want to feel grateful today.

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But I feel tired.

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Help me to see your goodness again.

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He didn't hear a voice.

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He didn't see a sign, but something happened.

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His eyes opened to what had been right in front of him all year.

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First he noticed the sunlight coming through the window.

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Warm, gentle, a reminder that God gives a new morning no matter how yesterday felt.

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Then he heard his daughter laughing in her sleep down the hall.

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That sound snapped him back to the truth that God had protected his home.

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When his wife walked into the kitchen a few minutes later, hair messy, eyes half awake, but smiling, she wrapped her arms around him and said, Happy Thanksgiving, babe.

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And in that moment, he remembered every trial that they'd walked through together and how God held them through it all.

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As the morning went on, the house filled with the sounds and smells of Thanksgiving.

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The oven door opening, the rattle of pans, kids running, football playing in the background.

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Nothing dramatic.

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Nothing extravagant.

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Just life.

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Blessed life.

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When the family finally gathered around the table, Mark looked at the food: turkey, mashed potatoes, rolls, pumpkin pie.

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He realized something.

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Last year they didn't have this much.

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Two years ago, they almost gave up hope.

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Three years ago, they were praying for a breakthrough that looked impossible.

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But here they were.

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God had provided again.

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He cleared his throat and said, Before we eat, I want to say something.

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Everyone turned toward him.

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He swallowed hard.

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This table is covered in God's goodness, not because we deserved it, but because he has been faithful even in the hard seasons, even when we did not understand.

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Every blessing on this table is a sign that God never left us.

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His wife wiped her eyes.

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His kids bowed their heads.

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He prayed, Lord, thank you for being steady when life was not steady.

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Thank you for guiding us, protecting us, and giving us strength.

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Thank you for this food.

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Thank you for this family.

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And thank you for being good always.

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When he said amen, the room felt different.

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Lighter, warmer, holy.

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That was the moment Mark realized something important.

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Thanksgiving was not a holiday, it was a reminder.

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A reminder that God has been faithful all along.

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A reminder that blessings often arrive quietly.

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A reminder that even tired hearts can find joy when they stop long enough to see the hand of God.

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And that night, as the house settled and the dishes were done, Mark whispered one more prayer before bed.

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Thank you, Lord.

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Today I saw you again.

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Pray with me.

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Father God, I come before you with a thankful heart.

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You've carried me through things I didn't have the strength to carry myself.

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You've been faithful in every season, in every battle, and in every quiet moment when no one else saw what I was facing.

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Today I pause to give you the gratitude you deserve.

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Forgive me for every time I've rushed through life and forgot to thank you.

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Forgive me for the moments when I complained more than I praised.

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Teach me to walk with a grateful heart.

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Teach me to see your hand in everything.

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Thank you for my family.

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Thank you for my church.

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Thank you for the breath in my lungs.

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The strength in my body.

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And your presence in my home.

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Thank you for the blessings I see and the blessings I never noticed.

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Lord, fill my heart with joy today.

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Let Thanksgiving rise up in me.

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Let my attitude honor you.

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Let my life point others back to Jesus.

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I choose to praise you.

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I choose to trust you.

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I choose to thank you.

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You have been good and you will continue to be good.

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In Jesus' precious name.

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Amen.

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God is not waiting for a perfect nation.

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He is waiting for a grateful people.

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People who remember, people who worship, people who say, Lord, you have been faithful and we see your hand.

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Thanksgiving started with revival, and I believe it can still spark revival today.

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A grateful church is a powerful church.

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Happy Thanksgiving.

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Seriously.

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Happy Thanksgiving to my Renewed Mindsets family.

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May your hearts stay full.

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May your homes be filled with the presence of the one who deserves all the glory.

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See you next week.

00:14:11.429 --> 00:14:15.750
The executive producer of Renewed Mindsets is Christy McCurry.

00:14:17.509 --> 00:14:24.309
That's all for today, but I'll be back with more unfiltered biblical truth and undeniable prophecy.

00:14:24.549 --> 00:14:26.549
The time to wake up is now.

00:14:26.870 --> 00:14:30.949
If today's episode challenged you, don't keep it to yourself.

00:14:31.110 --> 00:14:34.469
Tell someone, please, text them a link.

00:14:34.709 --> 00:14:37.029
Share the truth while there's still time.

00:14:37.269 --> 00:14:42.389
Visit renewedmindsets.com to stay connected and to listen to past episodes.

00:14:42.549 --> 00:14:46.230
And check out our merch at renewedmindsets.store.

00:14:47.429 --> 00:14:49.750
Jesus is coming soon.

00:14:50.149 --> 00:14:51.589
Stay watchful.

00:14:51.909 --> 00:14:53.110
Stay holy.

00:14:53.589 --> 00:14:55.189
Stay renewed.

00:14:55.589 --> 00:14:59.269
Until next week, I'm Rick.

00:15:01.189 --> 00:15:03.990
Be an encourager, not a discourager.

00:15:06.789 --> 00:15:07.750
I love you.

00:15:15.750 --> 00:15:22.149
The intro and outro music for the Renewed Mindsets podcast is Are You Ready by Floodgate.

00:15:22.309 --> 00:15:24.389
From the album Are You Ready?

00:15:24.949 --> 00:15:29.350
Copyright 2002 Offbeat Ministries Incorporated.

00:15:29.990 --> 00:15:33.750
Bloodgate can be found on Apple Music and iTunes.

00:15:34.469 --> 00:15:36.230
Music used with permission.

Thanksgiving Gratitude Over Tradition in the End Times

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