Thanksgiving, what's that?

It never fails, every year, I feel like I miss Thanksgiving.  In the ministry, after the fall is in full swing, it's nothing but Advent and Christmas.  More specifically, ALL of November is spent planning, preparing, and organizing for what happens the week before Thanksgiving and the weeks that follow.
Sunday, I decorated the church chrismon tree and got the sanctuary ready.  Today, I was even writing advent devotionals for my families and sketching out Children's Church curriculum for the next 5 weeks.  Somehow, Thanksgiving just slips up on me. Every year.

This year, we hosted a service at our church - a covered dish dessert fellowship.  And Thursday morning we'll have a breakfast with the church family.  Outside of those two events, I manage to pack Thanksgiving into a meal and a few hours spent with my extended family on Thursday evening. I just don't give it the justice it deserves.

I've read everyone's daily thankful posts over the last 20 some odd days and applaud them for keeping up with it.  But I've been convicted NOT to do that - simply because I don't want to do it for 24 days, then stop doing it.  I've made a mental note each time I've read one, to be thankful of something myself...and then pray that I won't stop being thankful, even after the "24-30 days of thankfulness" ends.

Just Sunday, I taught the kiddos about thankfulness.  I listed off the blessings and provisions that God gives us and how we all experienced each one - we have TONS of "good things" to be thankful for.  But even in our hard and long days, we're supposed to be thankful too.  Paul, in his encouragement to the church in Thessalonica, tells them to give thanks in all circumstances....and not just on one particular day.

That horrible, no good, very bad day I had a few weeks back - didn't give thanks that day.
The weekly shots I get - not too often do I give thanks then.
But, give me a lower mortgage rate or a well desired yummy homemade pound cake, sure, not problem - I'll give lots of thanks.

I can already tell this will be a challenge.

So maybe it makes sense that I over look the actual day of Thanksgiving (in which the roots started from the Mayflower and pilgrims and indians, and the TV highlight of the day is Macy's parade....).  But for now I'll try to make everyday thanksgiving, doing just what Paul taught.