Have a Happy Thanksgiving! Make sure the turkey is the only thing that gets stuffed!

Here are some turkey facts to impress people as you sit around the table today:

• In 2007, the average American ate 17.5 pounds of turkey.
  97% or Americans surveyed by the National Turkey Federation eat turkey at Thanksgiving.
• In 2007, 271,685,000 turkeys were produced in the United States.
• The average weight of a turkey purchased at Thanksgiving is 15 pounds.
• The heaviest turkey ever raised was 86 pounds, about the size of a large dog.
• A 15 pound turkey usually has about 70 percent white meat and 30 percent dark meat.

This morning at breakfast we got into an interesting conversation with the kids. It revolved around the real reasons we celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas. Then it led to us discussing the difference between “wants” and “needs.” Here is the list we came up with (the bikini on the “want” list was Aida’s). 

It’s been really good to walk this journey with the kids. Consumerism is a hard thing to walk away from and TV indoctrinates the kids so early. We all discussed the difference between selfish and selfless. They’re young but they’re starting to get it. 

So we’re going for a bare bones Christmas season (well, we’ve been moving that way for years). 

This was a good start to the day and a good start to the holiday season.

As we still have Thanksgiving on our minds and leftovers in our fridges,  let us not let these ideas of thanksgiving, and gratitude slip away too fast. Sometimes we’re in such a hurry, we forget to have honest moments with God. I read this quote this morning and thought that it was a good reminder of why knowing the Lord fills us with gratitude, awe, and hope.

We know a time will come for us to look back with our Lord over the story of our lives. Every hidden thing shall be made known, every word spoken in secret shall be uttered. My soul shrinks back; how will this not be an utter horror? The whole idea of judgment has been terribly twisted by our enemy. One evangelistic tract conveys the popular idea that at some point shortly upon our arrival in heaven the lights will dim and God will give the signal for the videotape of our entire life to be played before the watching universe: every shameful act, every wicked thought. How can this be so? If there is “now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1), how is it possible there will be shame later? God himself shall clothe us in white garments (Rev. 3:5). Will our Lover then strip his beloved so that the universe may gawk at her? Never.

However God may choose to evaluate our lives, whatever memory of our past we shall have in heaven, we know this: It will only contribute to our joy. We will read our story by the light of redemption and see how God has used both the good and the bad, the sorrow and the gladness for our welfare and his glory. With the assurance of total forgiveness we will be free to know ourselves fully, walking again through the seasons of life to linger over the cherished moments and stand in awe at God’s grace for the moments we have tried so hard to forget. Our gratitude and awe will swell into worship of a Lover so strong and kind as to make us fully his own.

     -John Eldredge The Sacred Romance

I’m not really into following the herd (if you haven’t noticed already) so I don’t really do well with commercial holidays. But I’ll look past that because there’s always good reason to pause and meditate on how blessed and thankful we are.

I’m thankful for:

- a big and merciful God

- a loving and supportive wife

- brilliant and amazing kids

- steadfast and encouraging friends

God has really blessed me by surrounding me with such amazing people. I love the fact that get to follow Him (and share His love with others) as my career.

Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.  For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. Psalm 95:2-3

So today is a good day.
What are you thankful for? 

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