Preparing for the Holidays: "Thanksgiving, Part 2"

A long time ago (not that long ago, but it seems that way for me) I did a series featuring the book Queen of the Castle.  I thought since baby is here (I'm scheduling these posts out) that I'd recap the holiday part of the book.  So every Wednesday you'll get some great tips on prepping your heart and home for the holidays.

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 "Thanksgiving, Part 2" from Queen of the Castle is today's title.  Lynn shares the following story..."One year in an attempt to make Thanksgiving more meaningful, we asked dinner guests to write on a piece of paper what they were most thankful for.  Later, sitting around the table, we read the slips aloud.  "One more year," read the shaky script of my husband's elderly grandmother."  Wow.  What a wonderful reminder to be thankful for all things!  "God has given us so many blessings.  All that we have is from Him.  One more year.  Blessed be the name of the Lord."



Lynn shares a few ideas to promote thankfulness:

*Find Bible verses that focus on praise and promises from Jesus.  Write the verses on small slips of paper, roll them into tiny scrolls, and insert them into homemade rolls before baking.  At Thanksgiving dinner, have each person break into the roll and read his "thankfulness fortune" out loud before the blessing. (From Meg Cox's The Heart of a Family: Searching America for New Traditions That Fulfill Us)

*Listen to a praise CD at breakfast.  A Classic Thanksgiving: Songs of Praise  is a peaceful, uplifting CD that includes some wonderful hymns and classical pieces.


*Read aloud a favorite psalm before dinner.

*Go around the table and have each person share something they're thankful for using the letters T-H-A-N-K-S-G-I-V-I-N-G.

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"Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!  Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing.  Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.  Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.  For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations."  Psalm 100:1-5