Thanksgiving

Let's not overlook it. I know it's just one day, one meal and then it's gone ushering in a very exciting season of celebration but we can't overlook Thanksgiving! I like the fact that we have this day to remember where all good gifts come from. There seems to be this attitude out there about thanksgiving that it ought to be a life style and not just a day. I totally agree but there seems to be an abundance of negative messages to make you feel guilty that you are not living a life of gratitude. Forcing someone to be thankful doesn't get the job done. Reminding my kids to say thank you when they get something from us or anyone doesn't make them feel grateful it just breeds good manners and maybe a guilty feeling for not actually being thankful.

My wife Lori has on occasion provided a lesson in gratitude to our children (and to me). On Thanksgiving Eve we sit down to a dinner table with one candle in the middle and a small bowl of rice to eat. The kids are reminded that roughly half the world lives on that one bowl every single day. We then pray over the meal and thank God for our lives and the many things He has given to us. It seems to me, the most grateful people are the ones who have done without at some time or another. To be without a home or a family makes one so thankful for a home to live in and a family to share life with. To be without a meal or clean water or heat or electricity sure makes one grateful when those basics are readily available. The list goes on and on. I guess the point is to really be thankful for things, to recognize the good gifts God has poured out on you, just think what life would be like without them. What would life be like without food, without friends, without laughter? Think about not having a bed, a coat, a hot shower or coffee:)! What about a bible or worse yet a Savior?

We've celebrated Thanksgiving, have you given thanks, really? Try the bowl of rice tonight and count your blessings. Trust me on this, it really works! I have never seen kids so grateful when the pizza was finally delivered to our door:) Blessings, Pastor Greg