Happy Thanksgiving

Hi! This is Cynthia Dowling! Don’t you just love the holidays?

Did you know that God loves for his people to have holidays? From the time of Moses God gave the people holidays throughout the year for worship and Thanksgiving and feasting. God even required the Israelite men to make three trips to Jerusalem each year for special times of worship and feasting, with praise. All these things God built into their year because He loves for His people to have times to get together and to share His goodness and the friendship and love they have for each other.

So, we not only have God's blessing on holidays set apart to praise and thank Him; but also, here, in America, a double heritage. Our forefathers the Pilgrims left everything they knew to hazard their lives and possessions on a stormy sea to live in an unknown land in order to give their children religious freedom—an opportunity to worship God the way He wants to be worshiped. God saw that small group through that first hard year, and they were so grateful to Him that they set aside a day just for thanking God, the first Thanksgiving. So this day came into being with thankful hearts praising God “from whom all blessings flow.” So how can we have more of a God-honoring Thanksgiving? How can our homes reflect to a greater degree the worship and praise of God that the Israelites enjoyed and the pilgrims celebrated on that first Thanksgiving?

First, let me tell you that I love Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. In fact, on our first date my husband asked me what I liked to eat. What was my favorite food? I really had to think about it. Hmmm . . . Had anyone asked me that before? I had to think. All of a sudden, I knew, Thanksgiving! Right then, the smells and tastes just rushed into my mind, and I was sure I had told the exact truth. So, Thanksgiving and I share a very special relationship, and over the years I longed to make it more special with a heavier God emphasis in our family celebrations, but I really just didn't know where to start.

Finally, I remembered to pray and ask the Lord what I could do. After I prayed, the Lord directed me to start with myself. What could I do personally? Then the thought occurred to me, if we have special, godly music for Christmas why not for Thanksgiving? That first year I must admit my playlist was scanty but gradually it's grown into a playlist we all look forward to hearing. Initially, I used the playlist for myself in downtimes. If it works for you, your music can play in the background all day long. It's really just about being intentional to honor God yourself, and you may be surprised that others may want to listen in on your playlist too! It may even become a Thanksgiving tradition!

Another thing I like to do that really runs throughout the year is to find a Thanksgiving Psalm to memorize. While I'm reading through my Bible during the year, I'm keeping my eyes open for a praise psalm. Keeping the Psalm short is essential because memorizing during the holidays is never easy, and I never want to dread memorizing God’s Word during an already hectic season. A good place to start is Psalm 100, and if you want an even shorter one, Psalm 117, which says, “O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.” So simple and beautiful, and all it takes is reading the psalm when I wake up and before I go to sleep. Focusing on a verse each day, usually locks the psalm into my memory by the time Thanksgiving Day arrives. Simultaneously, I also look for a short Thanksgiving verse or phrase to text to my friends on Thanksgiving Day. Then around November 1st, my daughter embellishes that verse with a background that makes it pop! Here’s a thought for young mothers: Did you know your children can memorize before they read? One of our friends’ daughters quoted Psalm 23 when she was just two years old. How could that be, we wondered?! We decided to test it out ourselves. Every night we read Psalm 23 once to our young children, ages almost two and four, before nighttime prayers. Amazingly, in less than 2 months, they were quoting it right along with us! So don’t leave out those little ones! How special to have your little one quote a praise psalm on Thanksgiving Day!

Just a word to those of you whose Thanksgiving landscape has changed. When mine has changed it has helped me to keep our best-loved traditions in place, when possible. Don’t feel guilty ordering or buying parts of your meal or the entire meal to have Thanksgiving in your home. I’ve done just that when necessary, and I was glad I did. If there are empty seats and you know other friends whose Thanksgiving has also changed, invite them to share yours. And even if you enjoy your meal by yourself, you are never alone, Jesus is right there with you to encourage you and to give you peace and bring you joy.

One final tip for the cook who wants to have time with family and friends outside the kitchen…like me: Planning is our secret weapon! Here’s my basic plan: starting at least a week ahead, I plan all the meals through the Thanksgiving weekend, grocery shop, and make a list of daily tasks. Then throughout that week, I prep and make large quantities of each of our traditional foods to have scrumptious leftovers for several days. Also, I try to have my first Thanksgiving meal late Wednesday afternoon with my immediate family. Then on Thanksgiving Day, I make the pies, additional gravy, and whatever else I may not have finished up by Wednesday, eat near noon with friends and family, clean up after guests depart, and if there’s time, play a family game as a fun way to end a wonderful day! That way the cook can enjoy Thanksgiving, too! And with leftovers enjoy the festivities for the rest of the weekend! And you know, if you are a Thanksgiving food lover like me, and you’re celebrating Thanksgiving outside your home, you can have your own meal on Wednesday and leftovers the rest of the weekend!

So as the calendar shifts to November, start your Thanksgiving playlist and meditate on your short Psalm; then your soul will just want to worship the Lord and thank Him for His goodness! Now you've got praise in your heart and a song on your lips so you can move through November uplifted, knowing God is there, right in the middle. So let’s be on the lookout this holiday season for special ways to praise our great and wonderful God “from whom all blessings flow.”