Deuteronomy 8:10,12,14 – When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. Otherwise … your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. (NIV)

From what I've seen and experienced over the last several years, Thanksgiving in America is a time of immense pressure and stress for those who are hosting family and friends at this season. I know that in our household, we're trying to get everything ready, the house cleaned, the garden and garage tidied, the menu pre-planned and the turkey defrosted and cooked on time for our family arriving at 5:00 p.m. There's a checklist of things to be done and a "honey-do" list for me to finish, so instead of quietly meditating on what Thanksgiving really means, the Stuarts, like everyone else, are caught up in the preparations for the season instead of attending to our prayers of thanksgiving.

So, I've started a new tradition of my own. On the eve of our Thanksgiving, I now write down all the things that I'm thankful for this year, and then read them to my family at the dinner table after we have eaten. According to today's Scripture, that's something we should all practice, so that we don't become proud and forgetful. Thanksgiving is the time when we take time to give thanks to God for all our blessings, so shouldn't He also be invited to the feast?

Prayer: Lord God, we rush through the holidays without remembering that they are holy days. We get so caught up with our lists and responsibilities that we forget that You are the source of all our blessings. Forgive us for being forgetful; help us to be mindful of Your gifts. In Jesus' name. we pray. Amen.

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About the author:

John Stuart <traqair@aol.com>
Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
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