Don't Skip Thanksgiving!

I know it's the trend these days to skip right over Thanksgiving.


As soon as Halloween is over, the stores are stuffed with Christmas. Sometimes, decorations are up and lit as soon as Halloween is over.  


It sickens me, to be honest.

I think that it's sad to rush it.


Because one of the very best, warm, beautiful holidays of the year is Thanksgiving.

I have a rule here, that we don't do anything about Christmas until THANKSGIVING is over.

And if getting "ready" for Christmas means leaving Thanksgiving in an insignificant heap, then I'm just doing too much to get ready for Christmas, that's all there is to it.  I won't do it.


ThanksGIVING is such a meaningful holiday, a time of reflection and a time of recognizing the harvest, the sustenance of LIVING. 

 ThanksLIVING is THANKSgiving.

Our pastor preached a sermon once about the lack of thankfulness being the root of much of the sin in our lives, and I would apply that to our country, too.

SO, in this house, I WILL NOT skip Thanksgiving, as a mere bump in the road on the way to CHRISTmas.

I want to savor the flavors, the golden light and the colors of this meaningful holiday.

And I refuse to let this culture tell me to just skip it.

Oh.  No, I won't.


Are you with me?

And I truly hope you have a beautiful day next Thursday, it's a special, beautiful time, a simple time with the best food there is.  Even getting ready for it is fun, relaxed, a treasured time.


Make extra, enjoy the leftovers and the warmth the memories will bring.

Let those warm and cozy times linger in your thoughts, remember Thanksgivings past, and remind yourself why our forefathers thought it was so important.

Nothing in LIFE IS GUARANTEED.

We must stop.  Pause.  REMEMBER.

In the country, harvest time is drawing to a close, the tractors are lined up in rows, with the plows, out beside the barn, beside all the the grain heads for the combines; the grain bins, silos, and corn cribs are full.  

Fields of winter wheat are green and ready for that blanket of snow to cover them over.


Long hours are put in on the combine, getting the last of the corn in and trucked to the elevators.  Someone is staying up late to get that dirt in the field plowed in preparation for next spring when the cycle starts all over again.


The stuff it takes to bring food to your tables is being cleaned up and stored to bring out again when it's time to take on the hard work of raising another crop.

Reflect on that, on the trust a farmer must have to put those millions of seeds into the ground, the worry and the work he and his family must put into each and every field.

Savor the transition from a season of life, of growing, of maturing into a season of quietness, and rest--that is winter.

We can all get to CHRISTmas in due time, but let's not skip THANKSgiving.

Instead, make it thanksLIVING.

Have a wonderful time with your family, and I'll see you here again next week after Thanksgiving is done.  I'll be counting my blessings and I'm sure you will, too.

Joni