You need one more thing on the table…
1 Chronicles 16
8 Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!
9 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!
10 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
Happy Thanksgiving!
There is no doubt this is a wonderful time of year. Kicking off the holidays, spending downtime with family and friends, and eating like there will be no tomorrow.
I’m not against any of that… I’m very pro Thanksgiving!
You won’t even see me getting on some bandwagon trying to boycott Black Friday, or Gray Thursday. There’s too much that I am “for” to spend time giving attention to things I might be “against.”
But, this Thanksgiving, let me ask you to add one more thing to your holiday table just like one more piece of pie. Don’t lie, you’re going to have pie.
Here’s what I want you to add to Thanksgiving this year… thanks.
Let me explain.
I love being a parent, and I love being a parent of my young men more than I loved being a parent of little boys. Parenting little ones was hard work… they don’t know anything!
They don’t know how to get dressed, how to make their own food, how to pay taxes… even though we love them unconditionally, they’re pretty useless for several years.
One of the things we teach them falls under the category of ‘manners’. The role of the parent is to teach the child how to say things like yes sir, yes ma’am, know when to open doors, and how to use the magic words: please and thank you.
That’s right, please and thank you don’t come naturally. And, it’s important to teach them that even if they’re thankful on the inside, they need to show it on the outside.
That’s the subject of the versus listed at the beginning of this article:
Oh GIVE THANKS to the Lord; CALL UPON his name; MAKE KNOWN his deeds among the peoples! SING TO him, SING PRAISES TO him; TELL OF ALL his wondrous works! GLORY IN his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord REJOICE!
As a parent, sometimes it’s enough just to watch the children playing with the new toy. We are satisfied in seeing that they are happy. But, sometimes we require them to grow up and express that thankfulness. Somehow we know it’s just the right thing to do.
So, on this holiday of feasting, family and overindulgence of every kind, make sure you do the “right thing.”
Intentionally have a conversation or two today and tell someone you love why you love them, thank your parents for all that they have done, send a note/text to a coworker, friend, Christian brother or sister and tell them why you’re thankful for them.
Then, make sure in front of everybody around the dinner table, spend a minute remembering why we should be thankful. Brag on God, thank Him in front of your friends and family for all He’s done, and praise His name before you fill your belly.
This Thanksgiving, let’s give thanks. Let’s make sure there is no doubt we know that our God is a good God and His love endures forever.
Happy Thanksgiving!