October 31st is Halloween right? Right. If you haven’t read our Halloween article I highly suggest you stop and go read it first.

But one thing I noticed is the second it turned November 1st I started seeing memes like this pop up EVERYWHERE!

Okay, so you get the idea that people are most excited about holloween (the most evil day of the year) and then Christmas. But wait! Didn’t there used to be a holiday in between these two? Hummm what was it? I swear it has something to do with pie and turkey and oh yeah, that’s it THANKS-GIVING!

Now you’re probably going to sit there and say “oh now wait just a second, didn’t you say celebrating holidays was evil?” It’s ok you wouldn’t be the first or the last person to think this. And I personally think it’s a GREAT question! Why should we celebrate some holidays and not others? Or is it even okay to celebrate anything at all?

Like always we will go to the CDC for the answer, oh wait I mean the Bibile…

“Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬-‭18‬) “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” (Psalms 107:1) “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬-‭7) “I will thank the Lord because he is just; I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.” ‭(Psalms‬ ‭7‬:‭17) “Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” ‭(Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭17)

I can keep going on you know. But I think you get the picture. We are called to be thankful and to give thanks, and why wouldn’t you want to gather with people one day of the year and really thank about what Gods blessed you with and give thanks to him? Just hear me out, Maybe its because your idea of thanksgiving is the worlds idea of thanksgiving. Why would that make a difference?

Well let’s think about this for a second, do you truly sit down together and talk about being thankful? Do you really open the Bible together and give thanks with each other by reading Gods word, singing praises and remembering him and what he’s done for us?

Or maybe you just make your side dish, maybe just bring a delicious pie, maybe the only praying you do, is that your belt buckle don’t explode after the 2nd piece of pumpkin pie hits your stomach? Maybe you sit there with people you don’t even care to be around, just because it’s part of the plan and maybe you half to be there because they are family. Well maybe that’s why you think skipping it is better, and if we go straight to Christmas where we all know you’re just dying to receive another pair of socks and underwear!

So maybe we should actually look also at the history of thanksgiving!

In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November. In September 1620, a small ship called the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, carrying 102 passengers—an assortment of religious separatists seeking a new home where they could freely practice their faith and other individuals lured by the promise of prosperity and land ownership in the "New World." After a treacherous and uncomfortable crossing that lasted 66 days, they dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod, far north of their intended destination at the mouth of the Hudson River. One month later, the Mayflower crossed Massachusetts Bay, where the Pilgrims, as they are now commonly known, began the work of establishing a village at Plymouth.

In November 1621, after the Pilgrims’ first corn harvest proved successful, Governor William Bradford organized a celebratory feast and invited a group of the fledgling colony’s Native American allies, including the Wampanoag chief Massasoit. Now remembered as American’s “first Thanksgiving”—although the Pilgrims themselves may not have used the term at the time—the festival lasted for three days. While no record exists of the first Thanksgiving’s exact menu, much of what we know about what happened at the first Thanksgiving comes from Pilgrim chronicler Edward Winslow, who wrote:

“Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together, after we had gathered the fruits of our labors; they four in one day killed as much fowl, as with a little help beside, served the Company almost a week, at which time amongst other Recreations, we exercised our Arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five Deer, which they brought to the Plantation and bestowed on our Governor, and upon the Captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful, as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."

Well we now have read the history of thanksgiving, The people who were coming over to the US from England were, wait for it!…… Christ followers, What? yea, that’s not all, they were breaking away from the Roman Catholics, wait for it!…RELIGION! What? “Ann, did you just use the R word?” Yep, guilty as charged!

They wanted to come over and break free so they could have the freedom from taxes and the freedom to bare arms (and that does not mean they were wanting to wear sleeveless shirts) but they wanted freedom for everything and especially the freedom to serve God. What did they do even through all those really hard times? They gave thanks to God!

So we see the origins of this holiday “Thanksgiving” is actually from Christ followers who were the first English Americans that came over and who really started this great country we live in today!

I can’t help but wonder if that’s why people want to skip thanksgiving, because they are no longer grateful! Have you thought of that?

When is the last time you were thankful for salt you put on your food? Or the electricity you use every single day? How about the wash cloth you clean with? How about the gun you use to protect your self with? What about the purse you get to carry your money and much more in that God blessed you with? Or how about the most important document on planet earth, Gods word that you have the freedom to read everyday in the open and not lose your life for it?

Are you truly grateful?

I know, I take all that and more for granted! And I personally do try to every day be grateful and thankful, but I never ever really stop and look at something so simple like a Q-tip or toothpick, and thank God for it. But we should. Because we don’t deserve any of these blessings God gives us everyday!

“We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.”‭‭(Romans‬ ‭3‬:‭22‬-‭24)

God is so good to us. Why do you think the US was blessed? Because look who came over here to start it? Christians! Why has the US been so blessed through the years? Because there were a lot of Christians here serving God, if it wasn’t for God this nation would have never been founded.

So why are we seeing the US fall now?

Wait do I really have to answer this? Well, I think you get the picture but the more people who turn their backs on Christ the more the US and world will fall and fail and we have all read Revelation right? Well if not, i’m gonna make you take time to read just a tinny part now!

“All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children. “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”” ‭(‭Revelation‬ ‭21‬:‭7‬-‭8)

I say all that to say this, I see people trying to skip thanksgiving because I think people are no longer thankful and especially to Christ!

I hope and pray you know all of this, but if you don’t I really hope you take this to heart and teach your precious children the truth about thanksgiving and actually practice giving thanks. I know as I wrote this, it has already encouraged me even more to do more things to be thankful this year.

Here is a list of things we practice for thanksgiving:

•     Read scripture together, especially about being grateful.

•      Go around and let each person have the opportunity to say what they are truly grateful for.

•     Gather with people who lift you up, not tare you down.

•     Have an open thanksgiving table, that is where you invite people who don’t have a place to go. (This one’s so fun and one of my favorites)
  

  Some ideas I have that I’ll probably start including in our giving thanks.

• Reading the story of the history of the first thanksgiving.

•    Remembering Jesus and having the Lords Supper together.

•     Playing games with the theme of thanksgiving.

•     Starting November 1, 2022 writing down 24 things I’m thankful for every day for this month. That comes to 720 things! I bet it will make you really see how blessed you really are!

I hope this encourages you to give thanks!

Thanks for reading!

Oh yea, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Ann Lester