Tag Archives: thanksgiving

Happy Holidays To You!

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Happy Holidays! Are you ready for the holidays? Yes, holidays. I know that some people have a problem with saying “Happy Holidays”, but in my opinion that’s an all inclusive blessing. During this time of year, we celebrate several holidays–Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve.

As quickly as Thanksgiving comes and goes, Christmas and the New Year seem to rush right up behind it and there isn’t a lot of time to separate the greetings. It’s like celebrating three different birthdays that’s close together at the same party.

When we have the kids over to do a birthday party, we usually have two or three of them celebrating at the same time, and although they all get their own cake, we only sing “Happy Birthday” once. And “most of them don’t feel slighted because we didn’t say their individual names, they just appreciate the celebration.

Oh, I know some people make a big to-do about saying or not saying Merry Christmas, but what makes that greeting acceptable? After all, the true reason for Christmas isn’t so we can all be “merry”, even though there is a song that heralds, “God rest ye merry gentlemen…”. But Christmas certainly isn’t a restful time, is it. And the purpose isn’t to be merry.

Christmas, just like all other traditional holidays, was celebrated for one reason and has slowly evolved to something different today.

And what about Halloween which was All Saints Eve, or Celtic’s harvest (or visa versa), or like I used to tell my kids, “the devil’s birthday”. I was kidding, but to hear them tell it, it was a practiced belief! (sheesh)

The 4th of July was set aside to celebrate America’s independence and show patriotism, but now it’s all about backyards, BBQ, and bathing (well, swimming, but I was forming an alliteration) J

What about Martin Luther King Day, or President’s Day (which was Washington’s birthday until someone decided to squeeze Lincoln’s in there), or Valentine’s Day (that was sweethearts day — not everybody you love day)? And don’t even get me started on Mother’s day, Father’s day, or Grandparents day!

Thanksgiving day commemorates the Pilgrims and Indians celebrating a bountiful harvest in the 1600’s, after the civil war President Lincoln suggested it as a time to unite the country (although the Congress gave us the official day as the last Thursday in November), and now we are scheduled to celebrate God’s blessings, gathering of family and friends, the consumption of an ungodly amount of food, and the beginning of the Christmas shopping season.

And speaking of Christmas…what’s your reason for celebrating? (I’ll tell you mine in another post.)

The point is that we don’t have to take offense over this simple greeting, but be glad that someone has actually taken the time to wish us well, and understanding that most who say “Happy Holidays” are doing just that. So when you hear me say “Happy Holidays”, you know I mean:

Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Wish you a blessed Christmas!

And may your New Year be blessed!

And an extra bonus is that those who think they are taking away the “Merry” out of Christmas by being Politically Correct, will unknowingly be blessing all three celebrations! (sneaky huh?)

 happy holidays

Being Thankful

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It’s here again! Thanksgiving is just a couple of days away, so now I need to get busy preparing for it. We have almost 50 people at our house each year for Thanksgiving (actually the day after). I kept telling myself that it was November, and reminding myself that Thanksgiving was coming, but I guess it never really sunk in. Fortunately, I began receiving phone calls and texts from my (grown) daughters about preparations for the meal; otherwise, I would have procrastinated to the last minute (which is a bit redundant).

When I sat down to prepare my to-do list, I began thinking of Thanksgiving—it’s meaning, family time, past memories, and of course, a post for my blog. And instead of finishing my grocery list, I began writing (I would rather write than shop).

Thanksgiving

Since the beginning of November, I have seen people all across social media making lists of what they are thankful for. Most are doing one a day, so in 30 days they will have listed 30 blessings they personally recognize. This is a great idea, and we should all be numbering our blessings continually. However, yesterday at church, the preacher (who happens to be my nephew) [wow! That makes me sound too old or him sound too young…] Anyway…back to the point… he brought up the idea that Thanksgiving wasn’t about the things that we should be thankful for, but Who we should be thankful for. He brought up the idea that Thanksgiving should be less about the things we have and more about the Provider of these things.

The Bible tells us that all things were made by God, and that every perfect gift comes from the Father of lights. If you have health, wealth, and affluence, you should be thankful for God. If you’re sick, poor, or friendless, you should be thankful for God. No matter what state our finances, our family, or our influence is, we should be thankful for God.

It’s easy to be satisfied and happy when all is going well, rather than when we are facing trials and tribulations. However, there are many examples of people throughout history who have had the integrity to stand when all is lost, and probably the most familiar example in the Bible is Job.

Job lived the life of health, wealth, and prosperity. He had it all according to everyone’s standard. He was a successful farmer, a great father, a loving husband, and a faithful friend. He also had a testimony of one that worshiped God and avoided evil. But one tragic day he lost everything. His animals were all stolen, his children were all killed, and he even lost his health to the point that his wife begged him to “curse God and die”. Even his friends were condescending and critical, falsely judging Job because they perceived his devastation was due to some deep, dark sin.

But Job did not waver in his faithfulness to God. He didn’t base his thankfulness upon his possessions, his family’s health, nor his well-being. In the first chapter of the book of Job, he clearly shows what he’s made of: “Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, and said, ‘Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’”

He had gut-wrenching sorrow from his losses, but through it all he never blamed God nor accused God of being unfair. He continued to praise God for Who He is. No matter what we as Christians go through, our first reaction to all situations should be “blessed be the name of the Lord”.

Give Thanks

Give thanks for His Power— God has the power to give eternal life. “As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him”. (John 17:2)

Give thanks for His Person— The Father creates (Isaiah 44:24), the Son redeems (Gal. 3:13), and the Holy Spirit sanctifies (Rom. 15:16).  “Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord”.

Give thanks for His Provision— “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” (Matt. 6:25-26)

So this Thanksgiving, amid the turkey and the pumpkin pie, I encourage you to count your blessings, but more importantly, meditate on the greatness and holiness of God.

Have We Cancelled Thanksgiving?

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Image of empty Thanksgiving table

Why Should We Celebrate Thanksgiving?

With Black Friday starting on Thursday, and Cyber Monday turning into Cyber Week, the time to celebrate Thanksgiving has almost been lost. Christmas decorations go up before Halloween and Christmas music begins to play shortly after.

Why should we celebrate Thanksgiving, anyway? If we got rid of that day, then the holidays wouldn’t be so crunched. We could go to Halloween parties, pumpkin patches, and trick or treating in October, in store shopping, online shopping and office parties in November, and squeeze in a plethora of gift exchanges in December, without the crunch of a Thanksgiving gathering.

Too Busy to Be Thankful

Well of course, I’m being facetious. Like others, autumn is my favorite time of year. The trees turning shades of yellow, red, and orange; the smells of drying leaves and wood-burning stoves; the sounds of leaves crunching under foot and acorns dropping to the ground; there’s even something about the cool bite of the autumn air early in the morning that brings a feeling of nostalgia. I must have had a wonderful childhood (Thanks Mom and Dad!).

But why must we rush through the celebration of Thanksgiving? Is it because we don’t care anymore about America’s history? Are we too busy to sit down with family and friends to enjoy a feast? It seems that all the holiday rush is overshadowing Thanksgiving.

Abundantly Blessed

Taking time to remember where America started and the hardships that our ancestors faced is important, and we should be teaching it to our children always. Taking time to gather as a family and remembering all the great things we have been blessed with is equally important. But Thanksgiving Day should be just that—a day of giving thanks.

We should be giving thanks to God our Creator, who provides all things in abundance to every one of us. If you are an American, you should be thankful for the blessings that you have received merely by your presence in this country. If you are a Christian, you should walk in a thankful spirit always, remembering the grace of God that has separated you from death to life everlasting.

Be Thankful—Psalm 100

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.