giving thanks

i can't help but notice that there are many people who are already decorating their homes for christmas. we were driving around last night and saw several people outside hanging up lights on their houses and santas, reindeer and snowmen in their yards. it's kinda crazy to me. can't we just enjoy thanksgiving first? i feel like thanksgiving is getting robbed of all its glory. don't get me wrong, i LOVE christmas and honestly we should celebrate Christ's birth year-round, but let's just do one holiday at a time...you know?

i just got home from hobby lobby where they have had christmas things on the shelves for months now. and i must admit, i get excited looking at all of it...so...now i must focus, focus, focus. i must think about what kind of casserole i will make for our big family reunion on thursday and what kind of new yummy cake can i make. and i must think about how grateful i am to be living in a country where freedom surrounds us. and i will be thankful that i can worship the God of the universe and his Son who gave his life for me so that i may live! and be thankful for the founding fathers of this country who fought for these freedoms. and be grateful for my loving family, for the joy that they bring me and how they light up my heart in too many ways to count. and for friends that are so dear and so needed in my life.

it's just too easy to get caught up in how commercialized these holidays can be. i want to take the time to enjoy each one and try to focus more on what they each mean. so tomorrow, after my daughter has her charlie brown thanksgiving feast at her preschool and watches the charlie brown movie, i will attempt to help her understand what thanksgiving is all about (especially since she is already asking when christmas is going to be here!).

1 Chronicles 16:8
Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.