November 13, 2019

How Do You Keep Thankful in Thanksgiving?

November 13, 2019

Get ready! You are in for a remarkable feast—not the variety served at a lavish buffet, but the portion served from life itself. Readers responded to my question:

How do you keep Thankful in Thanksgiving?

With permission, I offer you a smorgasbord of ideas from nine lovely women. Their seasoned wisdom will not disappoint! Proceeding in alphabetical order …

I would love to give my number one tip for remaining thankful, not only for Thanksgiving, but for life in general. Life is fast moving; the number of commitments, events, and family members that are seen over the holiday season can be overwhelming. It can become easy to run through the motions with family and friends. My number one tip is to slow down! Savor each and every minute with friends and family. This grounds me, helps me realize how great life is, and how great are the people I share it with. It also allows for memories to become more concrete in my mind, rather than a glimpse in time. So, no matter how many dinners, parties, or houses I am obliged to visit, I make sure to slow down and appreciate them all. Give them each the time and attention they deserve—even it if is only for a few short hours before moving on to the next.

-Sileen Dowis

For many years, I had very high expectations for our family time together at the holidays, and I was always disappointed. Eventually, I decided to have no expectations, really, just to be thankful that we could all be together. Ever since I changed my attitude, I’ve experienced the Lord's blessing over and over again.

-Candice Holtz

We go around our table and everyone tells two things he/she is thankful for. Though perhaps not very creative, this is reflective. And, as for me, I'm keeping Thankful in Thanksgiving by ordering a cooked turkey and dressing! Then, all I have to do is prepare sides and pies.

-Betty Hower

When I've been alone in my kitchen preparing for Thanksgiving, either at my house or someone else's, I've learned to pray for the people I'm going to be with while I'm chopping, stirring, making mounds of cornbread dressing... It's a reminder to be thankful for these people in my life! I also use it as an occasion for praying for the loved ones who are far-flung and are not going to be at my table. Some tears may fall into the cornbread, but that's okay.

-Vivian Hyatt

Back story - In her late 80’s, my mother began to dread Thanksgiving because the whole family (15 of us) gathered in her home, 8 being out of town guests - some of whom stayed in her home, and she cooked the majority of the meal. Therefore, one year I offered to host Thanksgiving in my home, and prepare the meal. I told her I’d make it work. My mother was relieved. Therefore, the remaining years that my parents lived, we ate Thanksgiving dinner in my home, and I cooked the whole meal myself. I loved doing it.

Here’s the tip for How to Keep Thankful in Thanksgiving: I always prayed for the success of the meal - a juicy, delicious turkey coming out of the oven just in time to put the dressing and other casseroles in, the dressing cooked just right, and all the other dishes ready at the same time. I also made homemade rolls, and they had to be ready after the blessing was said and everyone was ready to serve their plates.

And you know what? God was ever faithful! With one oven and a variety of dishes for 15, everything turned out perfectly, and I knew that only a gracious Heavenly Father could have made it happen. The success of the meal made me one THANKFUL hostess.

-Sandra Jarrett

Last year, we started what we hope will become a tradition with our kiddos, who are now 4 and 2. We made a big turkey out of butcher block paper and hung it on the wall, low enough for the kids to color and put stickers on it. Together, we wrote things we were thankful for on note cards and taped them up on the turkey. It wasn't a "Pinterest-Worthy" project, but the kids loved it, and it helped us to talk, think, and pray together about the blessings God has given us. We kept it up for several weeks because they loved it so much!

-Kate Jones

Whether entertaining or being the guest doesn’t matter... have no expectations. I know you can’t get rid of them all, but do your best, and pray, God don’t let me miss You in this gathering, because I think it should look a certain way, which is usually close to perfect! Then, sit back, continue to pray, and watch God show up the way He pleases! My job is to be a blessing, however that looks. Oh yes, have phenomenal coffee... people are worth it!

-Cymp Stemple

We try keep Thankful in Thanksgiving by “giving” in some way. In recent years we’ve helped to pack sustainable meals for the improvised areas around the world at Hands Against Hunger, or helping at our churches annual turkey outreach, passing out complete turkey dinners to under resourced apartments near our community. We give thanks when the Lord uses us to bless others!

-Laurie Stokes

Feel free to buy a pumpkin pie!

-Karey Yeats

Living With Eternal Intentionality®

Now, it is your turn. As you enjoy the afterglow from this wonderful menu of experience, please join the discussion and tell us: How do you keep Thankful in Thanksgiving? Leave your comment below.

Debby Thompson

November 6, 2019

Act Like a Leper This Thanksgiving

Debby Thompson

November 6, 2019

Thank You. Two simple words — both written and spoken — hover as an endangered species in our ‘hurry up and get it done’ culture. But we see in the Book of Luke that Thank You is important to God.

What does it say?

Jesus Heals Ten Men With Leprosy, Luke 17:11-19:

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us! “When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

What do we learn?

The math is not complicated. Ten were healed; one returned.

To RETURN and say Thank You:

Takes Time – he came back

Involves gratitude – praising God

Incorporates humility – threw himself at Jesus’ feet

**What can we do to Act Like a Leper This Thanksgiving?**

Perhaps, we must first Climb over the objections:

I don’t have time. (True)
No one reads what I write. (False)
They already know I am grateful. (Are you sure?)
I waited too long, now I am embarrassed to RETURN. (Go ahead anyway.)
I don’t know what to say. (Less is more; less is enough.)

Then, having climbed over the objections, we engage with the reality that grateful people are happy people. This season of Thanksgiving, you and I own the opportunity, like the leper, to RETURN to a person, a place, a moment, or a memory to express gratitude, written or spoken. Here are a myriad of ideas. Does one—just one—nudge you to RETURN?

Buy postcards and jot a note to say Thank You:

To an acquaintance who hosted an event you attended this past year

To the cousin who pulled off the annual reunion

To your child’s teacher who shows up day after day in the classroom

To the postal employee who brings you your mail

To your husband’s executive assistant

To the neighbor who pulls in your garbage can when you are out of town

To your pastor’s wife who gets little encouragement

To the group member who faithfully arranges the room for the meeting

To the friend who always has time to listen

Phone and leave a voice message to say Thank You:

To the staff at your doctor’s office

To your spouse who filled the car with gas

To the childcare workers in your church nursery

To your teenager who did the dishes

To the widow who makes an effort to engage in her community

To the business who provided space for your committee to meet

Kneel beside your bed and say Thank You:

Here is a suggestion. Before going to bed each night between now and Thanksgiving, Act Like a Leper and kneel beside your bed; say Thank You to Jesus for healing you from the spiritual disease of sinful leprosy. Then, praise God as you fall into a sweet asleep.

Living With Eternal Intentionality®

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights … ”(James 1:17).

1. Why do you think this Story is important to God?

2. How does thanksgiving involve humility?

3. Which one idea does the Holy Spirit prompt you to pursue this Thanksgiving season?

Debby Thompson

October 30, 2019

Top Ten Mental Mistakes

Debby Thompson

October 30, 2019

Stretched out on the couch, watching our favorite football team, felt dead right. Buried in the vocabulary of first downs and interceptions, wide receiver and linebacker, flea flicker and audible, delayed blitz and play action, I had no intention of writing a blog post.

But I couldn’t help myself.

While the SEC football drama played out on the screen, the dominant topic played out in my head: mental mistakes. As I listened, the sportscaster persistently pointed out one team’s mental mistakes. And, sure enough, when the whistle blew, mental mistakes robbed said team of victory. (Groan.)

However, mental mistakes are not confined to the gridiron, are they? And you and I need not be university athletes to still suffer the penalty from costly mental errors. Consider the following list of thought patterns that take us places God never intended us to go.