Friday, November 18, 2011

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



21 comments:

Karen~The Barely There Primitive Bear said...

Wonderful, thoughtful post, Joni! I hate what Christmas has turned into, the stores start earlier, every year, it seems. I have seen Christmas stuff as early as September! I love your Thanksgiving decor, especially the brown and white plate on the wall.
Have a great "Thanksgiving Day" with your family.

Bear Hugs & Blessings~Karen

Tiffany said...

I agree.
Happy Thanksgiving!

mary your sis said...

This is such a lovely time of year with a beatiful meaning; we should delight in giving Thanks. Your house is beautiful, all ready for this wonderful day!

~from my front porch in the mountains~ said...

Happy Thanksgiving, Joni! Thanks for being a sweet friend :)
xo, misha

Lisa~A Cottage To Me said...

I'm with you! I Love this missed Holiday. Your pictures are beautiful!

6L's said...

absolutely with you! thanksgiving is my favorite holiday!!! :)

Eileen said...

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I have wonderful memories of it growing up. I miss the days of having all the stores closed on Thanksgiving and the anticipation that soon the stores would be all decorated for Christmas AFTER Thanksgiving.

A Primitive Place Magazine said...

I agree!! Thanksgiving is family and food and warmth and remembering what we have to be thankful for! What can get better than that! Wonderful post and sentimentS!! Linda from APP& CJ

Catty Wampus said...

Hi again; own a fabric/quilt shop in Caro,MI; this is my 1st year in business and I have to tell you that despite others who do so, we have not and will not put up the Christmas decor until AFTER Thanksgiving because I too feel that there is too much of a rush through the holidays; I want to make it last; we order fabric so early because we have to but when we get the Christmas fabric this summer; I am putting it away somewhere; until we need it; so glad you commented about this issue. Many of my customers have commented on this too and they love it that we are waiting; Happy Thanksgiving to you:))) Merrie

Tanya said...

A big hug and a high five to you! I am so with you! I LOVE Thanksgiving because the simplicity and ease and grace of it is needed! I don't think red or green or pine or balsam or shopping or decorating until after Thanksgiving. My house continues on in yellow, orange, and brown! I will embrace Christmas in due time, but for now.....let us be THANKful and GRATEful and spend another day counting our blessings with family and friends.
Thanks for reminding me in such a beautiful post!
Tanya

nancy said...

thank you joni, I quite agree with you. Its an american holiday. Its a day set aside after all the hard work we do all year the planning of the seeds in winter the planting in spring the weeding and watering and tending through the summer and the harvesting and canning in the fall. we work at it all year. lets be thankful for the fruits of our labor. I love the spirit of christmas but for the comercial side it has gone to far over the top. we need to bring it back home one family at a time. hoping you and your family have a warm and cozy and blessed thanksgiving. nancy

Carey's Farmhouse Kitchen said...

Joni,

I feel strongly about this too. I have seen a huge change in the last five years when it comes to retailers and people. Many people are shopping early and decking their homes before Christmas now. For the most part I have lived in small town rural America my entire life. People tend to forget how much work it takes to bring in the harvest. They have lost the connection from where their food is grown. I agree with everything you said in your blog. I think that Thanksgiving should be a quiet time of reflection and praise to God for our blessings not worrying about Black Friday ads etc.

Carey

Sandie said...

I agree also. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite. Even though growing up we just had the four of us. But it was the coziest day. Starting with the Macy's parade, then lunch where daddy would always drink my drink because he only fixed himself coffee! Then a day of just being a family together. Wake up the next day when Christmas would start with the city parade and on to Christmas shopping for the day!! So simple, but so thankful for the memories! Thanks for sharing and I love all of your decor! Sandie

Mary Jane said...

What a lovely post. I agree completely. I'm thankful to have become your faraway friend this year!

Debbie Kay said...

I am sooooo with you. I refuse to conform to the commercialization of the birth of MY Savior. I am thankful and blessed because of HIM and I savor the season.

Smiles,

Debbie

Teresa said...

I don't skip over Thanksgiving, but I do find my mind skipping ahead to Christmas thoughts quite a bit!

Vickie said...

Thank you for this post, Joni! I totally agree with you! I don't even think about Christmas til Thanksgiving is over. In fact, Thanksgiving is MY favorite holiday. A chance to get together, to be thankful to the Lord for His blessings of family and friends and freedom, and think of those less fortunate. Your home is beautiful and I love all your Thanksgiving decorations. Happy Happy Thanksgiving!

Kristy said...

I'm with ya! Happy Thaksgiving. I've been listening to the music on your blog as I prepare food and the house for our Thanksgiving.I'm Thankful for finding your blog. God Bless you and your family. Kristy

Becka said...

Happy Thanksgiving Joni to you and your lovely family. Thank you for sharing your inspiring words and beautiful pictures through out the year. Like you, Thanksgiving is our family's favorite Holiday to share together, settled deep in traditions and love.
Thanksgiving hugs- The Girasole Lady (Becka Silva)

Joy said...

I love that! ThanksLiving! Great thought! I agree on the very necessary need to celebrate Thanksgiving, and I'm with you, nothing that resembles Christmas appears until after Thanksgiving at my house either. I love that turkey platter-such vibrant colors.

Jaybird said...

Ummmmmmm....we skip Halloween and go from early fall to Thanksgiving...I don't have any interest in ghosts and goblins, so my fall stuff trickles in from the middle of September until Thansgiving, when we gather all of both families for a big meal. Sometimes we have 35 -45 people!
Christmas deco doesn't start until the first weekend of December, and stays up until the 6th of January.
Yep, we think Thanks-living works year around, and we agree that lack of, is some of the root problem of the United States. It has become an entitlement nation.