G=Gratitude

Be grateful for America, for freedom, for peaceable elections. We can change government without war, or gunfire. Be thankful for food, warmth, and shelter from the rain. Think of those walking for UN convoys, no milk for their babies.  No matter how “poor” we are in America, we cannot relate to the rest of the world. Think of those mothers forced to abort their babies in China. No birth control=average woman has had 18 abortions in former Soviet Union.

I=Interest

No matter how poor you are, how tough times are, you can give your family your Interested Concern. You can read to your kids, listen to your husband, and Care about them. Every human—and animal—thrives on someone’s interest.

V=Vision

Moms give their families a vision. Sometimes if Daddy travels or is in school or hard at work, it is a vision of who daddy is. If Daddy is at war, you must bring out the photos and say the prayers to make Daddy real. You create hope for the future, and believe that better times will come, that present sacrifices mean a better tomorrow. Resident’s wives who destroyed their homes.

Energy

Maybe this is the hardest to come by! Which is why I have the Inviolate

Rule for Mothers: never work when the kids are asleep!! Your enthusiasm can make a piece of cardboard a thing of joy, an old box a source on endless pleasure, the chores a lark. Don’t give up your energy for life; it is a great gift to your family.

T=Tomorrow

Tomorrow is when all the little things get done. Manana—the Spanish tomorrow.  Cobwebs will keep, dishes never go away, but time runs through the hourglass ceaselessly. Let the unimportant things go! Carpe momentum—seize the moment that time when they want to bake cookies, they ask about God, they need to cuddle—or Daddy does. Tomorrow is another day, and very few things cannot wait.

H=Happiness

Happiness is not found in riches, but in relationship. Be quick to forgive and to ask forgiveness—kids are great forgivers, perhaps that is why the Master tells us to be like children. Don’t trade your happiness—the grass is never greener—happiness for the most part is contentment where you are.

A=Affection

Don’t take love for granted, show those signs of affection—make Daddy’s Homecoming an Event. Show your kids hugs and kisses themselves and let them see you demonstrate affection for their daddy.

N=Nice

 Be nice to your family. It is important to be polite and considerate—we seem to be most rude and inconsiderate to our families. Once God told me I wouldn’t treat a stranger the way I treated my husband and kids. Don’t take them for granted, sow seeds of respect and thoughtfulness; they need to be heard and affirmed. So often we brush them off.

K=Kinship

          Develop in yourself an appreciation for the unique relationship you have with one another and with extended family. No matter how difficult parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles can be, they are a part of your heritage, and God has preserved something of them in you and your kids. Instill in your kids a sense of family commitment to one another. To this day our kids call one another, and after we are gone they will still be family.

S=Sincerity

          Sincere=without wax. Wax will fall out, our family will see all our flaws, but God Who is the Master Potter, will put us back on the wheel, conforming us to the image of Christ, and He will not stop until we are perfect, without wax.

What did we spell?  Give Thanks.

This is the best holiday of the year--a time to pause, remembering the great freedoms that we have been given to us at so great a price by our forefathers. A time to bask in family and friends. Thanksgiving has little commercialism, no gifts to give, love and time to share. Thanksgiving Baskets will be distributed here at our church on Saturday morning—if you or anyone you know, needs one, call 622-1038. If you need one, give thanks that you can receive; if you don’t need one give thanks that you have enough; if you can give one to someone else, give thanks that you are able. But in all things, Paul encourages us to give thanks. Give thanks that God so loved the world that He did not leave us in the mess we had made. Instead, He Himself invaded this planet in the form of Jesus Christ, and Jesus took our sins upon Himself, dying a criminal’s death to take the punishment for everything we have done, so that we could spend eternity with God. If you have never realized that, if you have never exchanged your sinfulness for His righteousness, do that today and you will have the Best Thanksgiving Ever.

Give Thanks!