This year we're planning fun games like pin-the-tail-on-the-turkey and possibly some surprises--like an Indian tent. In 2006 we were in the States for Thanksgiving, but in 2005 Mom made a big tent in the living room out of curtains she had stored away. Each of the kids were given a paper feathered headpiece to wear, and they ate their dinner under the tent. Afterwards we colored pictures and played games and just had a lot of fun together.
We already have much of the food--the stuffing, creamed onions, squash, and turkey--prepared and in the freezer. The mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and pumpkin pie still have to be made. I'm looking forward to the sweet and spicy aroma of pumpkin pie wafting from the kitchen! Yummy!
I just love Thanksgiving Day! I enjoy all the delicious food and the warm fellowship of loved ones. We have so much to be thankful for, yet, often in the busyness of the day we forget the very reason for this day set apart for celebration. It is for giving thanks. Thanks to God! Someone pointed out, “The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.”
Last Thanksgiving was very special to me; we did something we have never done before. I got the idea to make a sheet of paper listing the letters of the alphabet followed by blank lines. Our family gathered around the living room on Thanksgiving Day, and together we remembered all the blessings God has showered upon our family. Matching the things we were thankful for with their beginning letter on the sheet, we soon had the list filled out and running over onto the back of the paper. I was so glad that I could sit with my family and discuss the good things the Lord has done. Looking back, it was surely the best part of the day! Then, after we had talked for nearly 2 hours, we knelt down in prayer and Dad thanked the One who had graciously given us so many reasons to be thankful. (Dad ended up preaching a whole sermon from our 'Thanksgiving Sheet' the next Sunday! He had only planned to point out a few things on the list, but by the time he finally got to his message, more than an hour had passed! Needless to say, it was a fun service. The following Sunday Mom received yellow roses from somebody in our church because she had listed them as one of the things she was thankful for.) God is good to us, but very often we ignorantly fail to observe our blessings simply because life is too busy. Too busy to pause and ponder. Too busy to stop and consider how truly blessed we are. Sometimes we just need to make time to be thankful!
This year we plan to do the same thing as last year. I've made a PDF copy of our Thanksgiving sheet, and I would like to encourage you join us in our new Thanksgiving Day tradition. Print it off and fill it out. Remember the good things God has done for you! Put your heart and mind into it, and by the time you are finished, the spirit of Thanksgiving will have filled your soul. You may be surprised to find that the food is tastier, the fellowship is sweeter, and the fun is more exciting than you remembered it being in years past. You may be surprised to find it has been the best Thanksgiving you ever had! Why? Because you took time to thank the One who made it all possible.
Click here for ‘Thanksgiving Sheet’ PDF!
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
Psalm 100
1 comment:
We have a LOT to be thankful for!! God is so Good!! :)
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