It’s the sandwich time of year according to the marketers. The election is over, we celebrated the harvest, the kids dressed up for Halloween fun and now the advertisers are pushing us into Christmas.
To the advertisers, there is no commercial value to Thanksgiving other than splashing pictures of happy people sitting around the table waiting to eat the brown, steaming hot turkey from the oven. Reducing Thanksgiving down to consuming one meal is inaccurate and misleading.
We are encouraged approximately 102 times in the Old Testament alone to give thanks. It says in Psalm 107:8, “Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!”
When my granddaughters, six years and two years old, come to my house and ask for and receive something from me, I wait to hear those magic words, “Thank you.” The six year old sometimes forgets but the two year old is great at saying thank you and I let her know I’m thankful she is learning to say it.
Gratitude is finding something everyday to thank God for. When I arise and see the sun is shining, I thank Him. When I start the day with thanksgiving, it comes easier throughout the day to find more to be thankful for.
This year, let’s enlarge Thanksgiving to include all the days before and after the day on the calendar. Let’s make it more than just a meal. Why not create a banquet feast of giving thanks to our Heavenly Father and others? Let’s take back Thanksgiving from the marketers and advertisers this year. Cultivating an attitude of gratitude is beneficial to you spiritually as well as physically. Get into the habit of giving thanks, whether mentally or verbally, to those around you. You’ll brighten their day and maybe even prompt them to give thanks as well.
“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”
(1 Chronicles 16:34 and Psalm 107:1, ESV)
“And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.’”
(Mark 10:18 ESV)
Thank you for stopping by. It's my desire for you have a thankful year ahead!
For more reading on one of the early Thanksgivings, check out:
For more information on the physical benefits of gratitude, check out: