Philippians 4:8
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Sandwiched between Thanksgiving and Christmas, there always comes an onslaught of holiday movies, old and new. To be honest, these days I’d rather watch any of the old holiday movies as opposed to many of the more modern alternatives. Every Christmas season I make it a point to tune in to the 1954 movie, “White Christmas,” especially since one of the stars, Danny Kaye, reminds me of my dad who, as a young man had an uncanny resemblance to the red-headed actor, though he lacked the singing, dancing and comedic talents of the Hollywood star.
Out of the movie came a hit song, “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep” written by Irving Berlin. The composer wrote the song when his doctor suggested he try “counting his blessings” as a way to deal with insomnia brought on by stress. In a letter to a 20th Century Fox executive Berlin wrote: “I’m enclosing a lyric of a song I finished here and which I am going to publish immediately… As I say in the lyrics, sometime ago, after the worst kind of a sleepless night, my doctor came to see me and after a lot of self-pity, belly-aching and complaining about my insomnia, he looked at me and said, ‘Speaking of doing something about insomnia, did you ever try counting your blessings?’” The song was incorporated into the film, sung by Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney, and its sentimental theme reminds listeners to remember how much they are blessed instead of fretting about short-term problems:
When I’m worried and I can’t sleep
I count my blessings instead of sheep
And I fall asleep
Counting my blessings.
When my bankroll is getting small
I think of when I had none at all
And I fall asleep
Counting my blessings.
I think about a nursery
and I picture curly heads
And one by one I count them
as they slumber in their beds.
So if you’re worried and you can’t sleep
Just count your blessings instead of sheep
And you’ll fall asleep
Counting your blessings.
On the surface, the words seem simple but they hold a deeper truth—acknowledging that our blessings come from God, and thanking Him for those blessings changes our focus from inward to upward. Long before the Thanksgiving holiday began to draw near this year, the themes of giving thanks and counting my blessings has been consistently on my heart as I reflected on God’s faithfulness and provision in my life, and many of those reflections have been shared during this month’s “Season of Thanksgiving.” The Lord encourages us in Psalm 103:2 to “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits,” and there are so many:
• His creation of our earthly home
• His creation of each of us as individuals
• His gift of His Son, Jesus, the Light of the World
• His spiritual blessings bestowed so graciously upon us
As our national day of Thanksgiving approaches, may we once again be reminded to offer our praises and thanksgiving to God as we gather with family and friends. But let us not do it just one day a year, but every day, from the rising to the setting of the sun. Let us praise God from Whom all blessings flow!
Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that carrying our worries around is foolish and takes our focus off of You. May our hearts be yielded to You, the Blessed Controller of all things, the One we can trust with our cares and concerns. Thank you, Lord for all of our blessings, too numerous to count. In Your gracious name we pray. Amen.
