“What Am I Thankful For”

Episode Description: “What Am I Thankful For”

In this heartfelt solo episode, Shannon opens up about the power of gratitude — not just for the good moments, but for the grace that carried her through the hardest ones. From a son who helped her rise out of the ashes, to a husband who reminds her daily of God’s love, to a family that never stopped believing in her, Shannon shares how thankfulness can transform pain into purpose.

Through honest reflection, real-life testimony, and biblical truth, Unrelated Sisters: Truth & Grace Conversation invites you to pause and see the fingerprints of God in your own story. Because gratitude isn’t just a feeling — it’s an act of worship, a declaration that God has been faithful all along.

💜 Key Verses: Isaiah 61:3, Ephesians 5:25, Luke 15:20, Revelation 12:11
🙏 Includes: Encouragement, reflection questions, and a prayer of thanksgiving

✨ Whether you’re in a season of joy or rebuilding from the ashes, this episode reminds you that you still have a reason to say, “Thank You, Lord.”

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:03

Hi scissors, it's Shannon, and today I just want to pause for a moment. No agenda, no big message, just gratitude. Sometimes the most powerful sermons we can preach is a simple thank you, Lord. Dear Lord Jesus, I want to thank you today. And in this episode, I want to give you all the praise for the things that I am thankful for, for the things that I have fought for, for the things that you have given me, for the grace that you have showed me, for the compassion that you have taught me, Lord Jesus. This episode is all about being thankful, about having gratitude, Lord Jesus, about truly being transparent about where we've come from to where we are today, and the thankfulness that we have. Please, Lord, let these words be yours and let it resonate with the people that listen to the episode. And let them come to you with a thankful heart. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So, you know, um November, you know, Thanksgiving. It's coming, you know, my favorite day of the year because I am definitely a foodie. I love food, right? But, you know, November is supposed to be the month of you know of gratitude and the month of thankfulness and the month of, you know, love. And I want to share just a few things that um that I'm most thankful for. And I want to share the stories behind why I'm thankful for them and why the why behind it, right? And a lot of it has got me to where I am today. And I'm just gonna take a moment and do this. Um, so you know, the first thing that I want to talk about is is um gratitude, you know, and gratitude can shift your focus from what's missing to what you've already been redeemed from. Um when I was lost in addiction and I was searching for something that the world and drugs and the devil was never going to be able to give to me. I believe Jesus was there the whole time. I truly believe that he protected me and he watched over me. He let me have my free will and he let me do what I wanted to do. But I still believe that he protected me. And I believe that he knew that all I truly wanted was for something to love me as much as I loved it. And I believe that God give me my son because he knew that my heart wouldn't allow me to continue to do drugs being pregnant with my son. He knew that I would, my heart would take over, and it would feel a sense of gratitude for this child, and that I had to give this child a chance because it wasn't his fault of where I was at. And I believe that my son was born healthy and without any problems or issues because God has a plan for him, he has a plan for both of us, and that he is going to do great things in this world. Uh I believe God used that to start melting my heart, to start tearing down the bricks around my heart, the love for my son. And I'm not saying I healed immediately, and I'm not saying that I healed graciously because I did not, and I've told the stories many, many times. But in Isaiah 61, 3 to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes. I truly believe that God lifted me out of the ashes by using my son, by giving me my son. You know, uh, you might be in your ashes season, right? You might be almost a rock bottom right now. But God's still living, he's still writing your redemption story, and he can bring you out of the ashes. You just have to be willing to listen. So, what beauty might God be building out of your ashes right now? I want you to think on that question for a minute. You know, um, gratitude for love. Uh that reflects a lot on Christ. Um I didn't really know what love was. I used the feeling of love as a manipulation tool to get what I wanted or what I needed. Um, I didn't really truly understand what love was until I truly gave it all over to God. And when I gave it over to God and I told him that I didn't need a human partner, I didn't need a man. All I needed was him to be father to my son and be husband to me. He blessed me with the greatest husband that anyone could ask for. He reminds me daily that I am loved. He reminds me daily that I am safe and protected, he reminds me daily that I deserve respect and that I am his queen. You know, Ephesians 5.25, you know, it talks about marriage and reflects the love between Christ and his church. And whether you're married and been happily married for two years or five years or 20 years, or whether you're single and still searching for your partner, know that God loves you for you. His love isn't dependent on a person, and his love starts and ends with him. And when you truly give your heart to him, he will give you the things that you need and the things that you deserve. You know, who is God placed in your life to show you a glimpse of his love, whether it be a teacher or the little old lady that sits next to you at church or a guy that holds the door for you every Sunday, that you just think of as a friend, because that was my husband. Uh, we had worked together for 10 years. Um, and I'd told people that he was too good for me, um, and that uh he could never love somebody like me when and before I'd truly given my heart to God. Um, but God showed me differently. You know, He He showed me that I am worthy of His love, which means I am worthy of the mate that He sent to me. Uh I have gratitude for uh for grace for my family. You know, my mom and my sister they stuck with me through it all. They they um they loved on me when I needed to be loved on, they give me space when I needed to have space, and then they were um they were very patient with me. They were very, they, you know, when I truly needed them there, they were there for me. Um, they didn't turn their back on me. My mama let me move in and disrupt her life and then leave because I wasn't getting what I wanted, you know, and my sister, um she was there uh when Dylan was born, and she she was there when I needed a babysitter, and she was there when you know I just needed to cry. And she was, you know, even though all the things I'd done to her, she was still there for me when I needed her the most, you know, and I don't know if I've ever truly thanked her for it, and I don't know if I've ever showed her any gratitude for it. And I love my mom and my sister, and I love the grace that they have given me over the time, and I know now, and it's taken me a long time to get to this point, that they see the different me, that they know I am truly different, and that you know, I have a love of God inside of me. You know, I guess my story is like the one in Luke 15, 20. I'm the prodigal son that has returned home. You know, I encourage you to offer the same grace to someone that has loved you or you have loved that's hard to love. Sometimes, you know, we have to just sit back and and pray for them silently. And then sometimes they have to know that we're praying for them. So who in your life needs grace instead of judgment today? Who is that person that was you 10 years ago that that deserves the grace that you were given? And then I guess um the last thing I want to be thankful for is uh is my story. You know, I have openly talked about my past in every episode that we have done on this on this podcast. I have openly talked about it with people at work, I have openly talked about it with strangers who don't know me. Um and, you know, at once, at one time I seen shame and and and disgrace, and I seen guilt and all of that. But when I once I realized that my testimony, that my story was gonna touch one person, was gonna help change one person's life, that was gonna give one person a moment of hope, you know, then it was so much easier to tell the story. You know, it was so much easier to talk about hitting rock bottom, you know, and about finding Jesus, and about how his grace and the things that he placed in my life, my son, my mother, my sister, you know, those things that he give me is what made my story. You know, in Revelation 12, 11, it says they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. So once I asked God to cleanse me of the blood, cleanse me by the blood, and I started to share my testimony, it matters, it matters to somebody. So remember, you don't have to be perfect to be powerful in God's hands. All you have to do is listen. So, what part of your story is God asking you to stop hiding and start healing today? I want you to reflect on being the hands and feet of Jesus. I want you to think about serving, loving, and listening. You know, sometimes it's about buying a meal because someone can't afford to feed their kid. Sometimes it's just about sitting and listening. It's not about fixing, it's not about being, it's just about being there. You know, I challenge you to find one way this week to show your gratitude through action, a call, a prayer, a simple act of kindness. I challenge you to be the hands and feet of Jesus and to show your gratitude. And you shouldn't just do it because it's November. You should do it because you feel the Spirit of God pulling you or tugging at you to do it. Just like in the episode before this one. That's where we were. Heavenly Father, I thank you for every gift that has that often goes unnoticed. I thank you for your children, our spouses, our families, and even our stories. You take what the enemy meant for harm and you turn it into beauty. You teach us to live with thankful hearts even when life feels heavy. May our gratitude draw others to you. May the love that we show help someone find their hope, Lord Jesus. Maybe the gratitude that we show teaches someone that the world isn't as mean as we think it is, Lord Jesus. Touch every heart in here to Lord Jesus to do one nice thing this week, to do one nice thing next week, and to let it be a part of their everyday life, Lord Jesus. Teach them to have gratitude of what you have given them. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen. I want y'all to remember this, and I want you to listen tight. Gratitude doesn't mean life is perfect, it means we see God's fingerprint in the middle of it all. Whether you're in the ocean today, or you're on top of the mountain, or you're hanging out in the valley, or you're planting seeds. Stay thankful, stay grounded, and keep being the light wherever you go. Thank you for listening to Unrelated Sisters Truth and Grace Conversation. Always, always be the truth and the grace.