Thanksgiving. This is one of my families favorite holidays. It's a time to look back over all of the blessing in our lives and give thanks. It is a time to reflect and enjoy family and friends. It is a time to sit down and share a meal together and slow down for a few hours and forget our hectic lives. It is also a time to think about the less fortunate and give back to the community in ways that can really touch a persons heart. This Thanksgiving our family will be serving Thanksgiving dinner at a local church to families that would otherwise not have a Thanksgiving meal. We did this last year and it was such a wonderful experience not only for my husband and I but for our daughters as well. We all got to experience first hand the joy in serving others and began to understand just how blessed we really are. So, we will again be serving this year and I am hoping the time this year will be just as special as last year.
At times it seems Thanksgiving gets lost in the shuffle of the buzz of Christmas and the hype of Black Friday. The sense of urgency to get out and hit the sales to buy all the Christmas presents on the ever growing list over shadows the Thanksgiving meal time and the frenzy takes hold. It's not hard to understand why. With Christmas commercials beginning now in October and sometimes even sooner than that the pressure is on to buy all of those presents and the excessive shopping begins which makes it almost to easy to skip right past Thanksgiving without much thought. But alas I am here to say "DON'T DO IT!". Don't skip past Thanksgiving this year without stopping to really reflect over the last year and see just how much you have to be thankful for. Even in the most dire of circumstances there is something to be thankful for. Take the time to slow down for a day and not let all the worries get you in a frenzy. Enjoy time with family and friends and take the time to enjoy the moment and if you feel so led take the time to serve in your community and give back some of the blessings that you have had.
Can you think of 5 things to be Thankful for this year? I know I certainly can. Sit down and make a game of it and share them with your family during Thanksgiving dinner. You would be amazed at some of the things that will be shared and some of the amazing conversations that can be had by just sharing those five things with eachother. Another fun thing to try is to have each family member right down 5 things they are thankful for for each person sitting at the table and share them during the Thanksgiving meal. What ever your plans are this year just try to take the time to slow down for the day. Put the phones and ipads, ipods and lap tops and computers away for the day. Maybe even try turning off the T.V. (which I know for some is impossible with all the football games and such). Take the time to really be in the moment and enjoy the time with your family and friends. Let the spirit of Thanksgiving find you and give you yet another reason to be thankful this year. Happy Thanksgiving!
