Surrender One Day of Thanksgiving

The turkey is in the oven.  The pies are cooling.  The football game is about to begin.  If you live in the United States, it's easy to think what day this must be:  Thanksgiving!  Each year this holiday falls on the fourth Thursday of November.  Tradition usually has families setting aside time before dinner to pray and give thanks.

What is each member of the family thankful for?  The reasons are as varied as salvation, health, work, homes, clothes, and the child like answers like a Wii or nice teachers.

Would you be able to surrender this tradition?  It's a silly question but in more than one ministry I'm involved in, we were challenged.  Could we let go of that one day tradition and make thankfulness an every day of the year thing?

Statistically it is said if you do something for 21 days straight, good or bad, it becomes a habit.  Why not challenge yourself to see if your family can make a habit of what you are thankful for?  Perhaps you can go to the Dollar Store and pick up a journal.  For those old enough to write, what a treasure this would be to look back at other writings.

One year throughout November we had a construction paper tree with individual leaves and when others visited the house, we invited them to write on a leaf what they were thankful for and posted it on the tree.  It was great fun to see what friends would come up with.

If you are a blogger or want to start a blog, what a great way to keep track of your daily thanks.

Here are other thoughts as to how you can be thankful all year long:

1.  In order to be thankful, show your gratitude to someone else.  Give of yourself.  Veterans aren't remembered nearly as often and as kindly as they should.  A simple thank you to one person once a day if you can isn't going to just make their day, it will change your mindset too.  Our family adopts a solider through Adopt a Platoon.  Each week we send a card, letter or postcard to make sure we are thankful for their service.

2. Think of the little things.  Did you have a good customer experience in a store or on the phone?  How often do you think they hear compliments?  Perhaps you could end the conversation by saying their first name and letting them know how thankful you are for their  great service today.  Bless them. 

3. Pray it!  The greatest way to breakthrough is worship and praise.  If your prayer time is sounding more like a to do list, perhaps it's time to inject some daily thankfulness in your life---and your relationships.  There is no better place to start being thankful than with the Lord.

How about you?  What are some ways you can make thankfulness a habit?  Can you surrender that one day of thanksgiving?  I invite you to visit the social network, Christian Women Take Root.  There is a group with the same name as this column: Finding Freedom Through Surrender.  All month we'll be discussing what we are surrendering, including giving up Thanksgiving as a once a year holiday.

So thankful for you---every day.  C'mon, join the fun, let's surrender together!

1 Chronicles 16:34, NIV
"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever."