11/26/25 - 2122: 3 Ways to Practice Thankfulness This Thanksgiving - and All Year Long

Jim: Welcome to a special Thanksgiving edition of iWork4Him. Thanksgiving is a great time to make sure that everyone around you knows so much you appreciate them and are thankful for them. This includes people at work, at home, and of course, the Lord of Heaven and earth, who created all of us. So let's be thankful people this time of year and learn to be thankful all year long.

Martha, I thought today we could talk about just three things: being thankful at work, being thankful at home, and being thankful to the Lord.

Martha: Okay. So let's talk about, you said it in your intro, you said, let's be thankful people. What if we could be known for that? I wish I'd have worn my sweater today that says "thankful" on it because it is a good reminder when I wear that to be thankful. I know that to be thankful people, it takes a mind shift, 'cause sometimes that's not our go-to attitude or our go-to posture maybe is a better way to say that.

So you wanna talk about some ways to do that?

Jim: I think saying the words "thank you" is a good way. A lot of us treat work like a drudgery. Like it's just something we gotta get done. And I'm not sure we always appreciate the fact that we have a job, that it pays the bills, that it gives us purpose, that a lot of us have jobs where we are causing the flourishing of other people- whether it's through things we create or things that we do, or projects we complete, but being thankful to the people that write the checks. That's a great start. Being thankful to the people that work for us is another great place to start. Being thankful to the boss that sometimes is great to work for is a great thing.

Martha: But we take that for granted. And we don't say thank you until there's something you know that maybe either causes you to stop and pause about it or something that you're not thankful for makes you realize, man, there's a lot here I really should be thankful for. As we think about that, Jim, I guess we could just list off some things, some practical ways to incorporate that into our daily posture, not just this time of year, but we can use this time of year as a good starting point.

When you think about the places that you go and you hear people say, thank you for visiting, thank you for coming. Thank you for choosing our place over another place, whether it was to rent a hotel, or whatever it might be, we can use that same attitude in, you know what? I am thankful that you got this report to me on time or maybe even ahead of time. Thank you for doing that. That kind of conversation can go a long ways in just making people feel seen and heard and appreciated for what they do, what they're called to do.

A lot of times people say why should I thank 'em? That's their job. That's what they're getting paid for. Yes, but we're all humans, right? And we all still want to be affirmed.

Jim: "They're just doing their job. I don't have to be thankful for it."

Martha: You and I both - words of affirmation. If somebody says something affirming to us , it makes you wanna go the extra mile.

Jim: So I'm glad you brought that up because I was thinking that really, if we recognize people's love languages or language of appreciation, as Dr. Paul White would say, yes, the five languages of appreciation in the workplace, or just regular love languages by Gary Chapman, right?

Martha: Yes. And Paul White.

Jim: And Paul White. All right. If we recognize what somebody's love language is, that's a great way to express thanks. So if words of affirmation are one of those things, speak it. If quality time is one of those things, spend it. If gifts are one of those things, buy it. Get it. If a hug is what they need- be careful, but give a hug. In the workplace, a pat on the back might be more appropriate.

Martha: We just recently watched a TV show, Jim, where they were talking about the open-handed pat on the shoulder is very affirming in the workplace. Now they were going ridiculously like robotic. It was funny in the show, but the point was that, that's noticed and it's appreciated and it can go a long way.

So you're exactly right, knowing the people we work for and knowing what their love language is so that you actually feed into that appreciation in the right way.

Jim: The fifth one is if their language love language is acts of service, do something for them.

Martha: Exactly.

Jim: Wash their car. How random would it be? Now, I like to wash cars. If you went out and washed the cars of your people in the parking lot.

Martha: If they did it today, you would think they were crazy, 'cause it's freezing.

Jim: Might be a little chilly out there today, it's november. What do you expect?

Martha: But you're right, not just doing the things you're expected to do, but going above and beyond, whether that's bringing in pumpkin bread that you've made or saying, Hey, let's have a lunch together to just really enjoy each other's company and set work aside and just tell each other how much you appreciate 'em and being intentional about it.

Jim: And a hint, hint. These things work all year long.

Martha: They do, but it's a good launching point, if you've never done it before. It's nice when you have an excuse to say I'm doing this because of Thanksgiving, but now I have an opportunity now in the future you can, it can be more natural because you've done it. Sometimes we need that good excuse.

Jim: It's sets a standard. Yep. And speaking of being really thankful, we're thankful for Krystal Parker and the US Christian Chamber of Commerce as they're making an influence across the country for Christ followers who are active in business, active in the marketplace.

And we invite all of you to join Martha and I next April in Orlando, the 22nd through the 24th at SWC2026.com, which is Spiritual World Citizens 2026.com. It's the expo for the - annual expo or the biannual expo - for the US Christian Chamber, and we'll be MCing the event. It'll be incredible. But we're thankful for what Krystal Parker and all of her team does every day, making it easier for us to live out our faith while doing business with other believers across the country.

Martha: And I would just say, you don't have to wait until April to get engaged with the US Christian Chamber of Commerce. You can join today, become a member, and start participating in some of the virtual events that happen on a weekly basis. There's something for everyone.

Jim: Absolutely. So let's talk about being thankful at home. I think all of us, yep, all of us - and me I think, yep. Everyone doesn't really appreciate the people at home. So often we just take people for granted. Now, I'm really good about thanking the Lord every morning for my wife, but I don't always thank her for doing the dishes or when she does the laundry and when she makes the pumpkin spice cake, which we have one right now on the kitchen counter, which I had delightfully for breakfast today.

Being thankful for how much Martha takes care, in taking care of herself and in decorating our house and in making it a great place. And she's also a phenomenal cook. But to be thankful and we don't have kids at home anymore, but to be thankful for - we're in the caregiving stage with my parents. To be thankful for my parents, who for 91 and 92 years have given of themselves to us. And so to be able to give back to them and express thanks to them.

Martha: And I think even just being thankful that we have a home and not taking for granted, like you said, the things that we're surrounded by and the people that we're surrounded by. And the same goes for you, Jim.

Every time you mow the lawn and every time you blow the leaves, which I know you love to do because you have this new powerful leaf blower.

Jim: My brother-in-law gave me a Husqvarna. Super powerful. 400 mile per hour. It's okay to have fun. Just so you know the background, this is literally across the street from where we, if you're watching the YouTube video, if you're watching the YouTube video. This is literally the leaves in Marionville where we live today. But by the end of the day, most of those will be gone, and then I'll be using that Husqvarna power blower to move those leaves into a pile.

Martha: And munch 'em up with your lawnmower. That's the thing. Just being grateful for each other, being grateful for the things around us, being grateful for what we do have, not necessarily focusing all the time - it's really easy for people to get in that pit where they focus on what we don't have and what we wish we had, or how we wish things were different.

But in this season right now, what can you be thankful for? There is a practice that people do where every day they write down three things that they're thankful for and they can't repeat them in the future days. But I have heard that the longer that you do this, the more you actually find to appreciate.

You think you're gonna run out of things. You don't, because, my goodness, you can appreciate and be like, wow. I am thankful that God created leaves to change colors in the fall because it makes it so beautiful on our eyes and something that we can just, I actually, with this background, will refer to it again. I stopped my car and took this picture because it just was, the tree was just perfect. And it just made me my heart so happy. I'm like, I need to take a picture of this and record it.

And little did I know we would use it for today, but things like that. Being thankful that God gave me eyes to see the colors of what he has done in our creation, 'cause he does it all for a purpose and with a purpose and we get to enjoy it. So what else can we do to be thankful at home?

Jim: Again, in context of love languages, express your thanks to those people that you hang out with, your friends, your family, your neighbors, in a way that they can receive it, in a way that they recognize that's love. Because Thanksgiving is an expression of love. So find out what your love languages are, the people that you'd live with, the people that - and if you don't know, go to five love languages.com. Take the test. Or you get your neighbors to take the test too.

Martha: It's actually something you could do after your Thanksgiving dinner. Ooh, sit around the table. Everybody could get their phones, their tablets, whatever. It doesn't take very long and it could actually spark a huge conversation and maybe some goal setting that you could have for 2026 as a family or as a group of friends to say, I really wanna, I wanna be more intentional about how I show my love and appreciation to you. So there you go. Special extra little tip and plug right there.

Jim: That's right. So not only being thankful at home, we're thankful for the ministries and the businesses that support iWork4Him on an annual basis. Our biggest supporter is SaferNet online at SaferNet.com. They provide a phenomenal service for businesses and organizations and families across the globe.

A VPN based, internet filter, website filter, antivirus, everything you need to protect yourself while operating online, including programmable controls, things to block, things to unblock. It's a phenomenal service and we're thankful to Brad Hawkins and his entire team at SaferNet as we head into this year. They are a phenomenal ministry partner of iWork4Him, and we're very grateful for them.

And just a little free plug right here. Brad and I just launched a brand new podcast, the Power of Or on Apple Podcasts and all your podcast platforms and on YouTube as well, the Power of Or Podcast with Brad Hawkins and Jim Brangenberg. Thankful for you, Brad.

Martha: All right. So being thankful for the Lord and to the Lord is a huge thing. We talk a lot about Thanksgiving being in the physical. We're thinking about the people around us what we have and all that we're thankful for, but who are we thankful to? And it's really, all things belong to the Lord and he's given us all things. So it's him that we should be focusing on.

Jim: You know what I think is amazing, Martha, as I thank the Lord for you every morning, as I sit and watch you sleep while I'm waiting for you to wake up, is I'm just amazed at and thankful to the Lord that he started weaving our lives together as 13 year olds.

And then when we met at 16 and started weaving our lives together as friends and then as 17 as more than friends, dating, and at 19 getting married and now almost 40 years later, 40 years of incredible marriage, I am thankful to the Lord that he orchestrated all of that. He paired us together as an incredible ministry team, and that never could happen without our faith in Jesus made possible because of our Heavenly Father' s sacrifice to let his son die for us so that we could have life.

Martha: Yeah. And I think that's so critical to actually articulate and to find time to make sure that we're expressing that to our heavenly father because he has done so much, and to the people. You just said a whole lot of very affirming things to me that you're thankful for, but it's really, God orchestrated it and we recognize that, and we acknowledge that without him, each day would be purposeless.

Jim: Every day we thank the Lord for our kids and our grandkids and we thank the Lord for the challenges that come. And we're just so thankful to be able to talk with you today as we share some of the things we're thankful for. But the Lord is at the center of all that. We wouldn't do any of what we did or what we do, or what we're gonna do, without our heavenly Father being over all of that.

Martha: So as we think about these three things, being thankful at work and for our work, at home and for our home, to the Lord and for the Lord, those are powerful things for us to be focusing on, especially this week as we really focus on Thanksgiving as a whole and our country, which we didn't even, really talk about. But that's really what this comes down to is the freedoms that we have and our ability to be able to worship our heavenly Father. Boy, we need to be thankful for that.

Jim: Absolutely. We will say goodbye for today's show. We wish you a very happy Thanksgiving. Don't spend it alone. Make sure you find somebody you can share a piece of turkey with or ham, as our daughter and her husband have with his family on Thanksgiving. Traditions are traditions. It's what you do.

But whatever you do, make sure you take some time to be thankful. Let everybody know that's around you, how much, how thankful you are for them, even if sometimes they drive you crazy.

 (to Martha)

Jim: That's when you're supposed to say, I'm thankful for you, Jim, even when you drive me crazy.

Martha: Oh, okay. (laughing)

Jim: So from Martha and I to all of you, Happy Thanksgiving from iWork4Him and us.