{"id":323,"date":"2023-11-18T18:37:19","date_gmt":"2023-11-18T23:37:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/butfirstjesus\/?p=323"},"modified":"2023-11-20T08:35:07","modified_gmt":"2023-11-20T13:35:07","slug":"being-thankful-the-true-thanksgiving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/butfirstjesus\/2023\/11\/being-thankful-the-true-thanksgiving\/","title":{"rendered":"Being Thankful – The True Thanksgiving"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Photo and Art By Author<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Thanksgiving is next week and while this has become a hotly contested holiday, I think there is still great value to be had.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not talking about the Thanksgiving, which is filled with traditions of stuffing ourselves silly, family drama, and football (I know, I know, please don\u2019t hate me). I\u2019m referring to the actual words themselves.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thanks Giving<\/strong><\/h3>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n " Let them give thanks to the <\/span>Lord<\/span> for his unfailing love<\/span><\/p>\n and his wonderful deeds for mankind (Psalm 107:8<\/a> NIV)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Many around this time of year become tunnel visioned, focusing, and consequently losing any capacity for joy, on the long list of house cleaning chores, decorating, shopping, cooking food, and worrying over having to see family members they\u2019d rather not.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Instead, let\u2019s take this time captive, to focus on reflection, specifically on the goodness of God, the blessings we have in Him.<\/span><\/p>\n \nHis grace and mercy<\/span><\/li>\nThe gift of Jesus Christ!\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\nEvery breath\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\nEach new day\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n And so much more (hint \u2026 everything!)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n** ** \u00a0<\/p>\n ** We may not have abundant tables, Martha Stewart worthy centerpieces, or the right type of cranberry sauce (am I right Grandma?), but we can all bring gratitude to the party, whether it\u2019s with a hundred others, or only a handful.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ** \u00a0<\/p>\n ** A few years ago, I started a tradition that I want to share. I pray it encourages all of you!<\/span><\/p>\n ** **\u00a0<\/p>\n Thanks-Giving Turkey Hands<\/b><\/h3>\n**** ** \u00a0<\/p>\n ** Have everyone sit down with a journal, or just a piece of paper will do, and reflect on the year up to that moment silently. This is best done before food while the brain isn\u2019t gravy-fogged.<\/span><\/p>\n ** \u00a0<\/p>\n ** Next, have everyone trace their fingers into a hand-turkey \u2013 circa elementary school (see the title image \u2013 and forgive the lack of artistic skill, drawing was not one of my gifts).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ** \u00a0<\/p>\n ** Then let them go wild, filling the fingers and palm space with as many blessings as they can think of and\/or fit. Kudos if they have to do both a left and right hand turkey!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ** \u00a0<\/p>\n ** Children who cannot write yet, can color theirs while everyone takes turns going around the table reading them out loud \u2013 at least one or two per person.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ** \u00a0<\/p>\n ** Let the warmth of those moments soak in. Sitting among the spoken thankfulness of friends and family is truly the greatest blessing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ** \u00a0<\/p>\n ** Close in prayer, thanking God for his faithfulness in the little and the large.<\/span><\/p>\n ** \u00a0<\/p>\n ** It\u2019s okay to enjoy your turkey, or turkey substitute my vegan and veg friends, but remember we have so much more than food and family to be thankful for.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ** \u00a0<\/p>\n ** This Thanksgiving, and through this holiday season, my prayer for each and every one of you is to reflect Christ to everyone you meet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ** ****\u00a0<\/p>\n " The <\/span>Lord<\/span> is compassionate and gracious,<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>slow to anger, abounding in love. (<\/span>Psalm 103:8<\/a> NIV)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Feel free to pass the hand turkey exercise to others and if you post on Instagram, please tag me (@of.cabbages.and.carrots). I would be so delighted to see your praises and share in thanking God for them!<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n God bless you!<\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Thanksgiving is next week and while this has become a hotly contested holiday, I think there is still great value to be had.\u00a0 \u00a0 I\u2019m not talking about the Thanksgiving, which is filled with traditions of stuffing ourselves silly, family drama, and football (I know, I know, please don\u2019t hate me). I\u2019m referring to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5061,"featured_media":329,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,76],"tags":[191,185,182,194,179],"class_list":["post-323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrations","category-christian-life","tag-blessings","tag-family-faith","tag-holiday-craft","tag-seasonal-holidays","tag-thanksgiving"],"yoast_head":"\nBeing Thankful - The True Thanksgiving<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Thanksgiving is next week and while this has become a hotly contested holiday, I think there is still great value to be had.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/butfirstjesus\/2023\/11\/being-thankful-the-true-thanksgiving\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Being Thankful - The True Thanksgiving\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Thanksgiving is next week and while this has become a hotly contested holiday, I think there is still great value to be had.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/butfirstjesus\/2023\/11\/being-thankful-the-true-thanksgiving\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"But First, Jesus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-11-18T23:37:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-20T13:35:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1815\/2023\/11\/Hand-Turkey.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1166\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1344\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alicia Casner\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alicia Casner\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/butfirstjesus\/2023\/11\/being-thankful-the-true-thanksgiving\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/butfirstjesus\/2023\/11\/being-thankful-the-true-thanksgiving\/\",\"name\":\"Being Thankful - The True Thanksgiving\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/butfirstjesus\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-18T23:37:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-20T13:35:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/butfirstjesus\/#\/schema\/person\/7f4b5f3c663c6e0717292a63eb182965\"},\"description\":\"Thanksgiving is next week and while this has become a hotly contested holiday, I think there is still great value to be had.\u00a0\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/butfirstjesus\/2023\/11\/being-thankful-the-true-thanksgiving\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/butfirstjesus\/2023\/11\/being-thankful-the-true-thanksgiving\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/butfirstjesus\/2023\/11\/being-thankful-the-true-thanksgiving\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/butfirstjesus\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Being Thankful – The True Thanksgiving\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/butfirstjesus\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/butfirstjesus\/\",\"name\":\"But First, Jesus\",\"description\":\"Alicia Casner's column But First, Jesus invites the weary and anxious to pause at the feet of Jesus. 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