Thanksgiving Eve 2025 | Crossroads Church

Yes, so good to have you guys here. You made it, man. This is a really special tradition for our church and so glad you guys joined us for it. My name is Andy Ryder. I lead Crossroads Anywhere. That's the part of our community who doesn't get to come into a building like this, but is joining us online, maybe traveling to see family. But also we've got our Crossroads Oakley crew here. Great to be with you guys. So this is an important night. This has become a tradition for our church for like a decade now for at least a couple of really good reasons. One, Brian talked about this past weekend that Thanksgiving just sort of gets overshadowed, doesn't it? Like, man, Halloween has like the costumes and the candy and Christmas has like sweaters and Mariah Carey. But like Thanksgiving has a bird and the worst pie. It's just, it's not a fair, it's not a fair comparison. But what we get to do tonight is important. We get to practice gratitude. We get to remind our own hearts and minds about the ways that God has shown up for us. There's a comedian that I heard recently and I'm not gonna tell you who it was so you can't judge me, but he has something really beautiful that he said,

happiness and contentment are basically your current situation minus envy. There's something that happens when we acknowledge, God, this is where you have me. Without comparing the grass is greener for somebody else, is that God, you have been good to bring me where I am. And that's what we're gonna do tonight. We're gonna practice gratitude. And don't we just need it too, right? We're about to jump into one of the craziest seasons of the whole year and this is our chance to pause and remind ourselves that God is good, not in the abstract, but that God is good to you and that God is good to me. Psalm 100 says it better than I ever could. It says this, shout to joy. Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before Him with joyful songs. Before Him, know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us and we are His. We are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever. His faithfulness continues through all generations. That's why we're here because God is good and He continues to be good, because God has been faithful and He continues to be faithful.

When we confront our own minds and hearts with the goodness of God, there's no response that makes sense other than just to say thank you. So that's what we're gonna do right now. Go ahead and stand up to your feet with a spirit of gratitude. We're gonna sing these songs to God and fix our attention on Him. Hey! Hey! Hey! Come on, sing these words. Now, it's over, come on, make these your own words. We sing. ♪ Could you bend, make them now to the end ♪ ♪ I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord ♪ Sing. ♪ To where I'm now, it's overwhelming, the more, the more and more ♪ ♪ I see you move all around, we sing ♪ ♪ And I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord ♪ ♪ I can't help but lift up, shout to joy, yes, the way is clear ♪ ♪ And I think of how good you've been, make them now to the end ♪ ♪ I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord ♪ And this is what we say. ♪ I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord ♪ ♪ I can't help but dance cause I'm free ♪ ♪ Got no chains on me, I'm healed everyday ♪ ♪ I can't help but call your name ♪ ♪ That bear in my shame, who opened my shame ♪

Sing it out! ♪ I can't help but dance cause I'm free ♪ ♪ Got no chains on me, I'm healed everyday ♪ ♪ I can't help but call your name ♪ ♪ That bear in my shame, who opened my shame ♪ ♪ I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord ♪ ♪ I can't help but lift a shout today ♪ ♪ When I think of how good you've been ♪ ♪ Lay hold now to the end ♪ ♪ I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord ♪ ♪ I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord ♪ ♪ Oh I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord ♪ ♪ Oh I can't help but praise you, praise you Lord ♪ God, we can't help but praise you for all that you've done. How you've shown up for us. We sing, you're more. ♪ You're more than a story or a song I've heard ♪ ♪ You're righteous in glory, good for your word ♪ ♪ You're loving and patient, you've always been kind ♪ ♪ You brought me back to life, come on sing I don't know ♪ ♪ I don't know how you always do it ♪ ♪ You never change, you're always moving ♪ Come on we shout out who we are. ♪ Great is your faithfulness, yeah ♪ ♪ Great is your faithfulness, I don't know ♪ ♪ I don't know how you always do it ♪ ♪ You never change, you're always moving ♪ ♪ Great is your faithfulness, Lord I'm so grateful ♪ For every single thing you've done, yeah I can never stop you, my mistakes never stop you

It doesn't matter when I feel like I'm worthless You're calling my blood, you know I'm not insecure Cause your promise is sure, oh your mercy's still undone ♪ I don't know how you always do it ♪ ♪ You never change, you're always moving ♪ ♪ Great is your faithfulness, thank you Jesus ♪ ♪ Great is your faithfulness, you're so good to me ♪ ♪ I don't know how you always do it, I don't know ♪ ♪ You never change, you're always moving ♪ ♪ Great is your faithfulness, you've been so good ♪ ♪ You've been so good to us, you don't deserve it ♪ ♪ But we praise it, God in heaven, who is able to be constant ♪ ♪ To be faithful in every season, no matter the season ♪ ♪ God in heaven, who is able to be constant, to be faithful ♪ ♪ It's only Jesus, nobody but Jesus, oh you're running with it ♪ ♪ God in heaven, who is able to be constant, to be faithful ♪ ♪ To be faithful in every season, no matter the season, oh ♪ ♪ God in heaven, who is able to be constant, to be faithful ♪ ♪ It's only Jesus, nobody but Jesus, it's always you ♪ ♪ It's only Jesus, nobody but Jesus, come on, shout it out ♪ ♪ Come on, shout it out, great is your faith ♪ ♪ Gratefulness, every day, oh Lord, we thank you ♪ ♪ Great is your faithfulness ♪ ♪ Oh, you've been so good ♪ ♪ I don't know how you always do it ♪ ♪ But time after time, you never change ♪ ♪ You're always moving, great is, great is your faithfulness ♪ ♪ Great is your faithfulness, you've been so faithful, God ♪ ♪ Great is your faithfulness, I know it for myself ♪ ♪ I don't know how you always do it, oh, but I'm faithful ♪

♪ You never change, you're always moving, great is your faithfulness ♪ ♪ Not a hand who is able to be constant, to be faithful in every season ♪ ♪ No matter the season, he's with you, yes, not a hand ♪ ♪ He's able to be constant, to be faithful, it's only Jesus ♪ ♪ Nobody, oh, he's been so good to you ♪ ♪ Not a hand who is able to be constant, to be faithful in every season ♪ ♪ No matter the season, he's with you, yes, not a hand ♪ ♪ He's able to be constant, to be faithful, it's only Jesus ♪ ♪ Nobody but Jesus, nobody but Jesus, it's only Jesus, it's only Jesus ♪ ♪ Nobody but Jesus, nobody but Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh, great is your faithfulness, come on, sing to him ♪ ♪ Oh, great is your faithfulness, come on, think of all he's done, sing it again ♪ ♪ Oh, great is your faithfulness, he's always been there for you, yeah ♪ ♪ Great is your faithfulness, on the mountain and in the valley, we say great is your faithfulness ♪ ♪ When it's good and when it's bad, we say great is your faithfulness ♪ ♪ When I'm low and when I'm high, I'll say great is your faithfulness ♪ ♪ When I'm broke, when I'm rich, God, I'll say great is your faithfulness ♪ ♪ I don't know, I don't know how you always do, you never change, you're always moving ♪ ♪ Great is your faithfulness, yeah ♪ ♪♪♪ ♪ Will you be my light when I cannot see? And when I can't take another step, Lord, would you carry me? ♪ This is our prayer. ♪ When I've lost my fight, will you be my strength? Will you set me a table in the presence of my enemies? We say, I shall not want, I shall not want. ♪ Oh, my soul, oh, my soul's got a shepherd in the valley, and I shall not want, I shall not want, I shall not want my cup, cause my cup's running over, running over, and I shall not want. ♪ I will lift my eyes to where my help comes from, and I won't be afraid of the shadow, cause I've seen the sun. No, I will not stop when the way gets hard, because the green only grows in the valley, and that's where you are. Come on, sing! We say, I shall not want, I shall not want. Oh, my soul's got a shepherd in the valley, and I shall not want, I shall not want, I shall not want, cause my cup's running over, running over, and I shall not want. Come on, put your hands together like this. He's been so good. I've got everything that I need. Your goodness, Lord. Send your mercy, sing it with a smile now. I've got everything that I need. You're good to send your mercy.

Sing it with a smile now. I've got everything that I need. You're good to send your mercy. Say, I've got goodness and I've got mercy. And hallelujah, glory hallelujah. Say, I've got goodness. I've got goodness. And I've got mercy. And I've got mercy. And hallelujah. Hallelujah. Glory hallelujah. The good shepherd. The good shepherd. Leads me. Leads me to the water. Hallelujah. Glory hallelujah. Sing that good shepherd again. The good shepherd. Leads me. Leads me to the water. He's so, so good. And hallelujah. Glory hallelujah. And he anoints me. Anoints me with his oil. And hallelujah. Glory hallelujah. Now my cup.

Now my cup. My cup is running over. Thanks to you Lord. Hallelujah. Glory hallelujah. Oh. And I won't steal. No. No. Oh, hallelujah. Glory hallelujah. And I will dwell. I will dwell. This house forever. This house forever. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Glory. Come on, fill this place. Hallelujah. Let it ring now. Hallelujah. Let it sing now. Hallelujah. Glory hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

Let's keep that going. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. We'll sing it again. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Glory. Hallelujah. I said I'm not one. I said I'm not one. And all my soul's got a shepherd in the valley. And I said I'm not one. Say it again. I said I'm not one. I said I'm not one. Oh my soul's got a shepherd in the valley and I said I'm not one. I said I'm not one. I said I'm not one. And all my soul's got a shepherd in the valley. I said I'm not one. Come on, say it. I said I'm not one. I said I'm not one. Oh my soul's got a shepherd in the valley and I said I'm not one. I said I'm not one. Man.

This is one of my favorite nights of the year. I look forward to Thanksgiving Eve every night, every year with you all. It's crazy. Just take a look around you. I want to just say thank you, God, for what you've given me. I want to take us back to what my buddy Andy said to us a little earlier, because maybe if you're like me, your body shows up, but your mind comes later, you know, especially after the day and the traffic and all the things. Psalm 100 says this. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. And serve the Lord with gladness. Think about that. When you're glad, when your face lights up, when your heart lights up, you serve the Lord. If it's sincere right now for you, just smile. Be glad. You bless the Lord when you do it. It says, come into his presence with singing. So know that the Lord, he is God. For he's the one who made us and we are his. Everybody say, I am his. Say it again, I am his. And we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. That means he's the shepherd and I'm the sheep, right? He's caring for me, he's caring for you. And then it says, enter his gates with thanksgiving. And you wanna know the password to the presence of God? It's just thank you.

Thank you, God. That's how you come close to him. It says, enter his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name. You know that word praise, there's another word in the Hebrew language for that word praise. It's not the exact one used here in Psalm 100. It's used later in the Psalms. But the word for praise is this word, halal. H-A-L-L-E-L. Everybody say halal. It's where we get hallelujah. Say hallelujah. So what you just sang over and over again, what just filled this space up was praise for the good shepherd who walks with you. So I want you to close your eyes if you're willing. We're not gonna drop any turkeys on you, I promise. Maybe mashed potatoes, but not turkeys. Just with your eyes closed. I just want you to think of where you've been this year. Dr. Seuss said, oh, the places you will go. Let your mind go back. Where have you been this year? Where are you today? Where are you tonight? And can you know and can you see that a good shepherd walked with you the whole way? That a good shepherd had you in his sights

and in his care, you were in his pasture? And from where you've been this year, can you just say, thank you, God? Maybe if you can, with a smile, just offer praise. Another meaning of that word hallel is to shine. So let gratitude right now shine on your face and your heart and your mind. And say to your good shepherd, hallelujah. ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Just remember where you've been, where your good shepherd walked with you. Know you didn't walk alone through it. ♪♪♪ ♪ All my words fall short, I got nothing new ♪ ♪ How could I express all my gratitude? ♪ ♪ I could sing these songs. ♪ As I often do, but every song must end, and you never do. Come on, let's sing. So I... So I... So I... So I... So I... Hallelujah Oh yeah

I got one response I got just one move With my arms stretched wide I will worship Let's sing that again. One response I got just one move With my arms stretched wide I will worship Just pause there for a second. I don't know if this is your favorite song or not. I don't care. It's not about that right? It's not about that. It's about you to your creator. With sincerity of heart. With your memory intact going. Thank you for walking with me. So I just want to set you free. If your heart is full of gratitude because your shepherd has been here with you. And put both hands in the air. Whether you're extroverted or introverted. This is about you and your shepherd and your creator. Whether you're expressive or not. Say to your creator. You have my heart. You have my heart because you never left me. Sing it again. I got one response I got just one move

With my arms stretched wide I will worship you So I throw up my hands And praise you again Hallelujah Hallelujah And I know it's not much I'm nothing else Be it for a king Except for a heart singing Hallelujah Hallelujah You've been so good to me Lord You've been so good to me Lord You've been so good to me Lord So come on my son Don't you get shy on me Lift up your song Cause you've got a lion inside of those lungs So get up and praise the Lord Whatever you walk through So come on my son Don't you get shy on me Lift up your song Cause you've got a lion inside of those lungs Get up and praise the Lord So come on my son Don't you get shy on me Lift up your song Cause you've got a lion inside of those lungs

Get up and praise the Lord No matter what it costs you He's worthy of it So come on my son Don't you get shy on me Lift up your song Cause you've got a lion inside of those lungs Get up and praise the Lord So come on my soul, don't you get shy don't you lift up your skull Cause you've got a lion inside of those lungs So get up and praise the Lord You're worthy of my hallelujah, Lord You're worthy of it all, Lord So I throw up my hands and praise you again So come on my soul, don't you get shy don't you lift up your skull Cause you've got a lion inside of those lungs Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah Let me pray for us Father There's something that happens in my heart and my mind When I say thank you There's something that happens Because I believe my heart and mind actually get in line with my soul With the depths of who I am That remembers I'm not in control I'm not my shepherd To be able to walk with a heart and mind and a soul that says I give everyone and everything to you including myself

I love you God And I'm so grateful for you I pray all this because of you Jesus Amen Amen Thank you Hey why don't you turn to somebody around you that you're already family with in this place Say hey, glad you made it Way to show up Glad to be here And you can have a seat Well hey everybody, happy Thanksgiving Eve, how we doing tonight? Hi, I know what you're thinking, hey that's not Greg That's not my community pastor No, I'm not Greg I'm Brody, the community pastor of Crossroads Uptown Which is coming back online January 18th Coming back at ya Crossroads Uptown is coming back in January And I'm filling in for Greg I'm filling in for Brody I'm filling in for Greg I'm back in January and I'm filling in for Greg I'm very thankful this Thanksgiving to have more hair than your community pastor Thank God Thank you God Hallelujah Hey I'm excited to be here tonight So thrilled that you showed up And I'm also especially thankful that we have some guests tonight

in the house tonight. Do we have any kids in here right now? Any kids? Make a little bit of noise kids, I need you. I need to hear you. All the way up there in the third balcony. Very good, very good. Okay, listen. Kids, I have a job for you. Are you ready? I have a job for you. I need your help, okay? You need to do your job so that I can do my job tonight. You do your job so I can do my job. Lock in here, okay? I need you to do your job so I can do my job. I have an arch nemesis and he's here tonight. His name is Terry the turkey and he is going to try and interrupt our service all through the night at the worst possible times. Okay, this is where you come in, kids. Are you ready? Are you ready? This is your job. Anytime you see Terry the turkey anywhere in this room, you need to scream your loudest. You need to scare Terry the turkey away. Okay, get him out of here. Just say, Terry, get out of here. We don't like you. No one likes you, Terry. Go home, Terry. Okay, so maybe he's here right now. I don't know if Terry is actually here. There he is. Hey, come on. Do your job. Get out of here, Terry. Nobody wants you here, Terry. Go eat your pasta. Okay, good job. Give yourselves a round of applause, kids. Thank you, thank you. Do your job. Help me out. Get Terry the turkey out of here. Well, hey, tonight we're talking about terrains. We're talking about terrains. We're obviously going to talk about gratitude. The type of terrain that we're talking about tonight is a terrain that we're calling the valley. The valley terrain. The type of season in your life when everything just is bad and it keeps getting worse. That's what a valley is. When it rains, it pours. Life just continues to kick you when you're down. That type of life circumstance and season is the valley, and it's the terrain that we're going to talk about tonight. Now listen, there's a reason why every single year at Thanksgiving, there's always an awkward pause around the Thanksgiving dinner table when grandpa asks everybody, so what are you thankful for this Thanksgiving? That's my grandpa impression out there for you. What do you think? There's always an awkward pause. Everyone's like, I have no idea. Well, I think there are two big reasons why there's always the awkward pause at Thanksgiving dinner. One is because a lot of us find ourselves in a valley. We find ourselves in a valley, and when you're in a valley, it's impossible—nearly impossible—to find anything you're grateful for because everything sucks. That's what being in a valley is like. Now the other reason why it's hard to think of things to be grateful for on Thanksgiving dinner is because scientists believe our brains are actually working against us. Our brains are hardwired to think about negative things. Neuroscientists call it the negativity

bias. Our brains think about negative things around us 24-7, and if you couple that with being in a valley or you have some unfortunate things going on in your life, you can spend your entire day, your entire month, your entire year thinking about only negative things in your life. It's very hard in a valley and with a negativity bias to find any gratitude. And yet, God tells us what to do in these circumstances. He gives us a very simple command in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. He says this. This is what he says in the book of 1 Thessalonians. He says, Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances. Now kids, help me out here. Does it say give thanks in some circumstances? No. Does it say give thanks in the circumstances that you want to give thanks in? Does it say that? No, it says give thanks in all circumstances. All circumstances. In the valley, on the mountain, when things are going well, when things are going very, very poorly, God tells us give thanks in all circumstances. And it's very difficult, especially if you find yourself in a valley. I want to tell you a story of a time when I was in a valley and how I epically failed at showing gratitude and giving thanks in all circumstances. This story is one of the biggest valleys of my life. This time of my life, I was newly married. We were a young, good-looking couple that just got married. We had great jobs. We had just bought a house, our very first house. So we had financial commitments. We had responsibility. We lived near our families and all our friends. Our life was amazing. We were on a mountaintop in our life. Life was very, very good. And then one day, I lost my job. I got laid off. I laid off. Obviously, I was not expecting it. I did not plan that year to get laid off. It wasn't on my bingo card, but here I was unemployed with a new wife, a new house, financial responsibility, expectations put on me. as a young man, I was sitting there, to be totally honest, totally captivated by fear, fear and anxiety. How in the world am I going to pay my mortgage? How am I gonna pay my bills? How am I gonna provide for my family, for my new wife? This is all of a sudden become a valley circumstance and valley terrain in my life. And that's what happens in valleys. Sometimes you don't know that they're coming.

All of a sudden something happens in your life and you're on a mountaintop and then you find yourself in a valley because your circumstances can change just like that. My circumstances changed. I was unemployed, unemployed. There is the one silver lining to being unemployed. If you've ever been unemployed, you're gonna get this. The good thing about not having a job is you get to sleep in. That is the best part about being unemployed. You don't have to set an alarm. So you better believe that very next morning, your boy did not set an alarm. I was gonna sleep all day long. I stayed up till 2 a.m. playing video games because I didn't have work to go to the next day. But somehow at 7 a.m. that next morning after I lost my job, somehow I still woke up to my phone going off. So I'm like, you know, groggy, sleepy. I'd gotten like three hours of sleep because I stayed up and played Madden all night. And I'm like, what is happening on my phone? My wife, Megan, she was calling me. I'm like, okay, answer the phone. Hey honey, what's going on? And she's in a panic. And she goes, honey, I was on the highway, I was heading to work and I just told him my car.

Right, right. Talk about a valley moment. Life kicking you when you're down. I'm just going, really? Are you serious, God? Like how could things turn so quickly? I now have no job. My wife is told with her vehicle. We have to go and find another vehicle. We've got to pay for something that we weren't expecting to pay for on my $0 salary, by the way. It's a valley. It's a valley. There are only things around me in my current environment that I could look at and go like, life is not good. Life is not good. I don't have anything to be grateful or thankful for right now. Well, similar to being unemployed and there being a silver lining and being unemployed, there is also one silver lining to totaling your car. If you pay for good insurance on your car, like we did for our car, the insurance company will allow you to have 30 days of a free rental car. There's a little silver lining. And at 21 years old, I had seen all the movies. I knew what getting a rental car meant. This was like, I knew, I knew.

I was about to get at a minimum, a Tesla, at least. I knew I was getting a Cybertruck, okay? Are you kidding me? For 30 days, I was going to get a free vehicle. So on the ride to the rental car parking lot, my wife, Megan, and I, we're just throwing cars back and forth to each other. We're like, oh, maybe we get a Jaguar, maybe, maybe. If it's not a Jaguar, it's at least going to be a Corvette, at least, okay? And we get there and we get to the rental car facility and the clerk working at the rental store or at the rental car desk looks me in the eyes and she says exactly what I knew she was going to say, what the movies have trained me to believe. She looked at me and she said, sir, you're in luck. And I thought, here we go, baby, here we go. This is where my life turns around, okay? I've lost my job, I've lost my car, but she's going to at least get me the Cybertruck, at least. But she doesn't say that. She says, you're in luck, sir. We have one car left in our lot and it's yours if you want it. I thought, all right, all right. Yo, bet, let's go. Let's go see that car. Let's go see that car. So all the cars that I've been planning on are running through my mind.

In fact, kids, help me out. What's the coolest car that you can imagine? The coolest car that I could have gotten? A Lamborghini, a Corvette, a Ferrari. Yes, all of those cars, all of those cars were running through my mind. Those were the cars that were running through my mind. But do you want to see the car that she showed me? Okay, let's see this car. Actually, hold on, hold on. I need my friend, Chris. There's Chris. Chris and all the kids in the room. Can we do a drum roll to see this cool car that Brody got? Here we go. Chris, take it away. Let's see this very cool car that Brody got. Let's see it. All right, hey, come on, come on. Get out of here, Terry. Get out of here. Nobody likes you. Get stuffed, Terry. No one wants you here. Okay, I'm sorry for that interruption. Thank you, kids, for helping me out. Chris, one more time. Drum roll, let's see this car. Let's see the cool car that Brody got. A minivan.

A minivan. Are you kidding me? A minivan, and I didn't even have kids. So here I am, unemployed, having no clue how I'm going to pay for my bills, no cool car, no kids, and a minivan. We have a word for this type of guy. We call these guys losers. I was a loser. And I knew it. I felt it. I felt it in my bones. I'm like, you've got to be kidding me right now. Like, this is as bad as it possibly could get. It was a valley for me. As low as I could get. I lost my job. We lost our car. I'm driving around in this stupid minivan, and I've got to pay for a new car too. So if you're like me, if you're like me, and you've been in seasons like that, you've been in the terrain of a valley, you ask yourself this question all the time. What is there even to be grateful for? That talk track goes through our minds when we're in the valley. But there's another question that we ask that I think is more honest, it's more truthful, and it gets really to the core of what we suffer with when we're in a valley. More honest question that we ask ourselves is why would I even be grateful at all? What's the point of me being grateful? Because everything in my life right now is in shambles. So why be grateful? Even if I could find something, what's the point? Because we all know the truth.

We know this. We know this truth. That no matter how grateful you are, no matter how much thanks we give, our gratitude does not have the power to change your circumstance. It doesn't. You can be the most positive, joyful, happy, thankful, grateful person, and that gratitude and thanksgiving that you have has no power to change your circumstances. We know that. So what's the point? What's the point? Well, God tells us to give thanks in all circumstances because He knows the truth. He knows that our gratitude has the power to change something much more important than our circumstances and our terrain. God knows that our gratitude has the power to change something way more important than the circumstances that we find ourselves in. God knows that our gratitude has the power not to change our terrain, but to change us. And when we're grateful and when we're thankful, our terrains don't change, we change. We change. And what happens is we change in a way that allows us to walk through and navigate the terrain in a totally different and more powerful way. That's what happens. Now, for me, I failed. I failed at this miserably in the minivan story. And maybe for you, you're sitting there and you're going like, bro, do you think your valley was bad? If only you could hear what I'm going through. You think you had it bad? Well, I just found out that my dad is diagnosed with cancer. You think you have it bad? I just found out that, you know, I didn't get the job that I like, or you were unemployed.

I've been unemployed for two years. I get it. I get it. It's much easier said than done. But the power of gratitude is not to change your circumstances, but it's to change you and me. You and me. And I think the greatest teachers for us to learn from, to learn this gratitude, to learn the mechanism for gratitude that changes us and revives us, the greatest teachers are actually sitting amongst us. There are kids. There are kids. They get something that God says in the book of Psalms that we just don't get. This is what God says about thanksgiving and gratitude. Book of Psalms 69, book 69, verse 30 and 32 says, I will praise the name of God with a song. I will magnify him with thanksgiving. When the humble see it, they will be glad. You who seek God, let your hearts be revived. Be revived. Our kids model this more than we even like to know or even acknowledge. They get that there's a mechanism with gratitude that revives us when we seek God. Our kids are our greatest teachers. And I have a video of my daughter that I want to show you because I think it's a great example of a child modeling the mechanism of gratitude. This is a video of my daughter, Elliot. Yeah, here we go. Get your feet up, girl. Oh my. Hey, hey, she drives like her mama.

Okay. I love you, Meg, I love you. Listen, it's a funny video. I love to show it, I love to show it. I wish we could pause it on the final frame because Ellie, my daughter, does something that I think is a great teacher for us when it comes to gratitude. And if you have kids, you've seen this before. Our kids do something every single time. They bump their head, they skin their knee, they fall down. What's the very first thing? Every kid's the same, it's baked into their DNA. What do kids do before they cry, before they whine? What's the first thing that kids will do when they bonk their head? They look at their parents. They look at mom and dad. Ellie falls off the pink unicorn, she's face down. She's in the first valley of her life in 18 months. She's face down and it's in her DNA to look up to dad, to see what does dad think about what's happening right now. And if you watch the video again, I'm laughing. I'm laughing. And if the video keeps going on, guess what Elliot does right after the video ends? She starts laughing. See, there's a mechanism to gratitude and our children display it all the time because our children teach us

that before we make any decision, any judgment, before we render a decision, we need to look up to our dad and ask, what does he think about this? What does he think? Instead of looking down at our valley and asking, what do I think about this right now? The mechanism of gratitude is looking up and asking, what does God think about this right now? And that gratitude, that mechanism that helps us practice gratitude, it has the power according to God's word to revive our hearts, to revive our hearts. I did this wrong. I still do this wrong. When I was driving around that stupid minivan, I did it wrong. I decided to keep looking down at my valley and asking myself, what do I think about this right now? And guess what? What I think, what I think is that life sucks right now. That's what I think. But Megan and I, over the course of the 30 days of having that rental car, we decided, you know what? I think we need to start practicing some gratitude. Life is hard. Things aren't going our way. But let's just be grateful for what we can. We decided to start looking up a little bit and asking God, God, what do you think

about what's happening right now? And this is what happens when we do that. Our hearts change in dramatic ways because at the beginning of the 30 days, I hated that minivan. And at the end of the 30 days, Megan and I bought the same exact minivan because we found out we love that thing so much. We didn't have kids, but we knew, hey, listen, we can fit a full four by eight sheet of plywood in this thing if we put the seats down. This thing is sick. Our hearts change. There's a transformation. Our hearts are revived. And that's what happens. See, now when I look at that minivan, I don't see the epitome of my valley. I don't see the thing that reminded me at one point of how my life was in shambles. I don't see how my life could only, you know, had gotten to a point where I had nothing, no one, and no hope. That's what the minivan used to represent for me. But when I look at that minivan that we still own, by the way, right now, when I look at that minivan, today, this is what I see. This is what comes to mind. I think of my family. I think of my kids.

Because what I didn't know, what I didn't know until I started practicing gratitude is that God intended to send me a blessing in a really unconventional way in my valley. He decided to send me a blessing in the form of a minivan that he wanted to fill with blessings for me and Megan. He wanted to fill that car with kids. And if I didn't practice gratitude, if I didn't have that mechanism of looking up and asking God, what do you think about this? I could have totally missed it, completely missed it. And what I would have been missing is I would have been missing my heart's revival. I would have been missing an awakening and a revival in my heart. That's worse than missing just about anything. And yet that's what God has for us. That's what he has for you this Thanksgiving. You see, this Thanksgiving could be a lot more than football. in awkward conversations around the dinner table for us. This Thanksgiving, if we practice gratitude, God is simple and he says, if you practice gratitude and you look up at me and you ask me, what do I think about your life? What do I think about what's happening right now? If we do that this Thanksgiving, we could have our hearts revived. And does anyone in here need their heart to be revived a little bit?

I know I do. And I want it. I want it. This Thanksgiving, tomorrow when we're sitting around the table, it's a time not for us just to go over the talk track year in and year out. I'm thankful for my kids. I'm thankful for my job and I'm thankful for my house, which all might be true, but there's a chance for us to look up at God and give him some gratitude and thanksgiving. And he sends back to us the gift of revived hearts. Come on, that is a gift. That's a gift to be thankful for. And we're gonna start practicing that gratitude together, right now. When you walked in, you should have gotten some cards. Does everybody have these cards? On this card, it's a very simple prompt. It says, God in the blank, I'm thankful for blank. During the next couple songs, I want you to think about your answer to this fill in the blank question. I want you to write it down. But here's my challenge to you before you write anything down. My challenge is do not be vague in your answer, but instead be petty with your thanksgiving. Be petty.

If you don't know what being petty is or you don't know somebody that's petty, it's probably because you're the petty one. But being petty means you just nitpick on all the little things. Guess what? When we're practicing gratitude with God, it's good to be petty. It's good. Let's be specific. So instead of writing down God in the valley, I'm thankful for Chipotle, which like doesn't work that way. Okay, that's not gonna give us a revived heart. It's not gonna work that way. Instead, let's be specific about the thing in your valley right now that if I don't choose to look up, will only make me negative, will only drag me down. It could sound something like this if you're in a valley. God, in the cancer, I'm thankful for my doctors. Maybe you're on a mountaintop. Maybe life's going great right now. God, in the promotion at work, I'm thankful for a more flexible schedule and time with my kids. Let's be petty. Let's be specific. And let's just see if God's word comes back true. Let's just see if he'll deliver to us revived hearts

when we give him some gratitude. Now, this moment for us isn't just for people in the room, it's for you wherever you are, watching online, if you're on YouTube, if you're on the app or on the website, hey, we'd love for you to participate in this. God wants us to be specific. God loves our specific prayers and he loves our specific gratitude. So for you, grab your phone, open up the notes app, grab a post-it note, grab a index card or a scrap piece of paper that you will be reminded of. Say, God, in the blank, in the diagnosis, in the promotion, in the job loss, but be specific. I am thankful for blank. God loves specific prayers and he loves specific gratitude. Let's take a moment to do that together right now. ♪ I long for God's desire and I long to worship him ♪ ♪ You alone are my strength, my shield ♪ ♪ To you alone make my spirit heal ♪ ♪ You alone are my heart's desire and I long to worship him ♪ ♪ Desire and I long to worship him ♪ ♪ And as the deer panted for the water ♪ ♪ The water saw my soul, longed that to be ♪ ♪ You alone are my heart's desire and I long to worship him ♪ and I long to worship Thee. You alone are my strength, my shield. To You alone make my spirit yield. You alone are my heart's desire, and I long to worship Thee.

Here is where I lay it down, every burden, every crown. This is my surrender, this is my surrender. Here is where I lay it down, every lie and every doubt. This is my surrender. So I will make room for You to do whatever You want to, to do whatever You want to. I will make room for You, Jesus, to do whatever You want to, to do whatever You want to. Come on, sing it again. Sing, here is. Here is where I lay it down, every burden, every crown. This is my surrender, this is my surrender. Here is where I lay it down, every lie and every doubt. This is my surrender. So I will make room for You to do whatever You want to, to do whatever You want to. I will make room for You, Jesus, to do whatever You want to, to do whatever You want to. I will make room for You, to do whatever You want to, to do whatever You want to. I will make room for You, Jesus, to do whatever You want to,

to do whatever You want to. I will make room for You, Jesus, to do whatever You want to, to do whatever You want to. So we say, shake up the ground of all my tradition, break down the walls of all my religion. You're always better. You're always better. Come on, sing it out. Shake up the ground of all my tradition, break down the walls of all my religion. You're always better. You're always better. You're always better. We say, shake up. Shake up. We say, you're always better. I say, shake up. You're always better. You're always better. I will make room for You. To do whatever you want Come do whatever you want It's our hearts prayer And I will make room for you To do whatever you want To do whatever you want to I will make room for you To do whatever you want

To do whatever you want to I will make room for you To do whatever you want To do... Sing that again I will, I will make room for you, Jesus To do whatever you want to To do whatever you want to I will make room for you To do whatever you want to Come do whatever you want to When you opened up my eyes Your light broke through the night I was walking dead, I was breathing in new life When your song filled my lungs I was singing all my days I finally found something worthy of my praise Anything, anything that's good Is good, it comes from you We thank you Anything that's good Is good, it comes from you If all I have is just a preview game I'm giving it to you Anything that's good That's good, it comes from you It comes from you And I'm so thankful Help me to remember It's only by your grace

It's not my hands And not my words that say It's only by your power, God The power of your cross Mercy on display You never tore the veil in two Oh, because you love me And now I see the author of my praise Oh, I say Anything that's good That's good, it comes from you Oh, anything that's good That's good, it comes from you If all I have is just a preview game I'm giving it to you Anything that's good That's good, it comes from you It comes from you Why don't you just say thank you Why don't you just say thank you Oh, thank you Oh, thank you You're the alpha, the omega You're the author, the creator You stand alone You're the living God You are righteous, full of justice In the valley, you are witness You stand alone Oh, you're the living God

Yes, you are You're the savior, the redeemer The living one You're the healer You stand alone, you do You're the living God We're forever grateful You're the life You're the lamb You hold it all You take your hands You stand alone What do you do? You're the living God Oh yes you are, yes you are Oh God, we thank you, we love you Oh yeah, anything, anything that's good That's good, it comes from you Anything that's good, it's good, it comes from you With a smile on my face If all I have is just the bread you gave I'm giving it to you Anything that's good, it's good, it comes from you Oh you're the author, the amazing You're the author, the creator You stand alone, you're the living God You are righteous, you are righteous Full of justice, in the valley You are with us, you never left, Lord You're the living God, thank you for saving me You're the savior, my redeemer

You're the living water, you're the healer You stand alone, you do You're the living God, yes you are You're the lion, you're the lamb You hold it all, we thank your hands You stand alone, you're the living God So many thank yous For all he's done For how good he's been For all he's taken For all he's given Thank you so so much For all he's given For all he's given For all he's given Hey, thank you so much for watching and joining us for Thanksgiving Eve We hope that today's an incredible celebration for you And that tomorrow, man, is a chance that is for you to celebrate with family That is marked by gratitude We'd love to pray for you We'd love to encourage you You can email us at anywhere at crossroads.net Or just hit the chat button or join us on YouTube Thanks so much We're praying you have a blessed day And that God encourages you and pushes you in your journey and adventure with him Thanks for watching We'll see you guys