Thanksgiving. We are so familiar with gathering in November for this annual holiday in North America yet are our first thoughts of football, food and a four-day weekend or faith, family and friends?
First, let’s look at what Thanksgiving means and then focus on 3 ways to make sure your family doesn’t skip or skim over the real meaning of Thanksgiving this year.
According to Google, Thanksgiving is defined as 1) an expression of gratitude especially to God and 2) (in North America) an annual national holiday marked by religious observances and a traditional meal including turkey. This holiday commemorates a harvest festival – thus the overflowing cornucopia – celebrated by the Pilgrims in 1621 and is held on the fourth Thursday in November in the US and usually on the second Monday in Canada.
The first Thanksgiving was a simple gathering of the surviving Pilgrims and the natives (it wasn’t America yet…) who helped the Pilgrims survive the bitter first winter that killed almost half of those who landed at Plymouth Rock on the Mayflower as they thanked God for the lives spared and the bounty He provided in that first harvest.
1) Gather in gratitude
Unite. Celebrate your common bond. Reconcile any differences as you renew the bonds that tie family and friends together. Gather before the Lord God Almighty with your family and friends in thanksgiving for His outpouring of love. You may want to start a new tradition. What if each person shares 3 things they are thankful for?
[Tweet “Being thankful for even the simple things increases our thankfulness.”]So start.
Continue reading here.
[inlinkz_linkup id=679424 mode=1] [Tweet “Giving thanks at DanceWithJesus today.”]
Having a Spirit of gratitude and thankfulness for everything large or small is necessary for our mental health as well as our spiritual well being. Thank you for sharing with us here at Tell me a Story and also for sharing your lovely link with us
Hazel, I’m so honored to join you each week. And thank you for taking the time to comment. Hugs, Susan
Praying you had a blessed thanksgiving. Always blessed when you link up!
Barbie, I love linking up! Thanks for hosting. Hugs, Susan
I love the idea of creating a legacy of love. Thanks for sharing on Grace and Truth, Susan!
Thanks for sharing this reminder to reflect on the meaning of our celebration!
Thank you Courtney Leigh!
Being thankful is such a simple way to turn a frown upside-down! It amazes me, the power of prayers of thanks. God is really so good. Thank you for this wonderful post, and for this link-up that I didn’t know existed! yay! Happy Tuesday!
Megs
Great to meet you here Meg! And so true the power of our prayers.
It is all too easy to think of food and shopping when the word “Thanksgiving” is mentioned! I’m very thankful that we have friends who are like family to spend the day with, and that we can focus on being together even while we enjoy the meal and the football game afterwards!
Visiting from Glimpses today. Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful and that you have a great week!
So true Kym! Friends like family are fabulous gifts to us. Thanks for joining us here
Hugs. Susan
Thanksgiving should be our habit, but, unfortunately, we all too often practice the habit of complaining!
So true Elizabeth. I pray a season and lifetime of thanksgiving for you. Hugs, Susan
Great ways to focus on thankfulness, something we need to do all year long, don’t we? Thanks for hosting, Susan!
Yes ma’am! May we focus on thankfulness and our Jesus Christ all year long Donna. You do that so well. Hugs. Susan
I hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving and that your weekend is great!