A Life of Sincere ThanksGiving by ThanksLiving
Every year, I look forward to November’s main holiday, Thanksgiving. But I really desire to live a life of ThanksGiving to God by ThanksLiving for Him year-round.
Although Christmas is one of my favorite holidays, I enjoy celebrating the time set aside for giving thanks.
Maybe you’re one of those people who already has your home Christmas-ready. That’s awesome for you. I say, To each her own.
Yet, it’s not my cup of tea. Not even holiday spiced tea. For me, I like both feet firmly planted in our thankful holiday before moving on. But the weekend after giving thanks? Then, I’m all about hanging ornaments, positioning blinking lights, and spreading Christmas cheer.
You see, I’m a straight lines kind of girl. So I never like to blur the lines of one holiday and cross over into another one at the same time.
Further, my family knows how much rule-keeping runs through my veins. Perhaps, this plays a role. Regardless of the reason, celebrating holidays distinctly, separately, and in chronological order remains my thing.
ThanksGiving Around the Table
This makes the third year to host my immediate family (kids and grandkids) and part of my husband’s family in our home for ThanksGiving. I enjoy everything about it: gathering with loved ones, decorating the table with my little pilgrims and a few pumpkins, and doing a portion of the cooking with my guests bringing dishes to add to our spread.
And the overall menu lands in the top spot as my all-time-favorite meal. My husband often poses this question at church life groups: If you could choose one last meal, what would it be?
Ask anyone who knows me well, and they will tell you how I always choose our ThanksGiving meal. A menu of turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, mac & cheese, green beans, sweet potato casserole, homemade rolls, and pies—pumpkin and lemon (my grandmother Clarkston’s recipe).
Yum! I can hardly wait!
ThanksGiving and ThanksLiving
Still, we know the celebration isn’t just about taking our seat at the table to gobble down savory and sweet delicacies. Instead, it’s about ThanksGiving and ThanksLiving.
To encourage our thankfulness along, let’s remind ourselves to give thanks for and to our great God. Because He’s a good, good Father who’s given us many gifts. And He has done great things.
Then we remind oursleves to give thanks to God through living a life of sincere ThanksGiving by ThanksLiving.
ThanksLiving is ThanksGiving supercharged and supersized.
ThanksLiving is ThanksGiving supercharged and supersized. #Thankful #Thanksgiving Click To TweetBut what does this look like? How do we go about it?
Perhaps in part like this acronym.
T-H-A-N-K-S-G-I-V-I-N-G:
Taste and see that the Lord is good. (Psalm 34:8)
Honor the Lord with our lips and obey His commandments in our heart. (Isaiah 29:13)
Abide in Jesus as the vine for a fruitful life. (John 15)
Number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)
Keep the faith. (2 Timothy 4:7)
Satisfy our longing soul and hungry soul with good things from God. (Psalm 107:9)
Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted. (Isaiah 12:4)
Increase our praise to God, for His steadfast love is better than life. (Psalm 63:3)
Value our life, and every good and perfect gift from the Father of lights. (James 1:17)
Invite others to the foot of Calvary’s cross and an empty tomb, not ashamed of the gospel. (Romans 1:16)
Name God as Lord of our life, living in righteousness for His name’s sake. (Psalm 23:3)
Gain godliness with contentment. (1 Timothy 6:6)
Give thanks to God 'through' living a life of sincere ThanksGiving by ThanksLiving. Like naming God as Lord of our life and living in righteousness for His name's sake. (Psalm 23:3) #Thanksgiving Click To TweetHappy ThanksGiving
For more on ThanksGiving and living, see my challenge The Gratitude Dare.
Thanks for being a vital part of this blog community. I’m grateful for each and every one of you. If you’re a new subscriber, welcome. Since my posts go out on Thursdays, and next Thursday is Thanksgiving Day, no blog post next week. See you December 5th.
Happy ThanksGiving!
To encourage our thankfulness along, let’s remind ourselves to give thanks 'for' and 'to' our great God. Because He's a good, good Father who's given us many gifts. And He has done great things. #Thanksgiving #Thankful Click To Tweet
And thanks to everyone who entered our giveway last week. Congratulations to Lauren Sparks. Lauren won a copy of Penny Cooke’s book, Pursuing Prayer – Being Effective in a Busy World.
*All Scripture used or referenced based on ESV.
*Sometimes I participate in these link-ups:
Legacy Linkup/Inspire Me Monday/Kingdom Bloggers/Literacy Musings/Tell His Story/Purposeful Faith/Abounding Grace/Welcome Heart/Recharge Wednesday/Porch Stories/Worth Beyond Rubies/Tune in Thursday/Sitting Among Friends/Heart Encouragement/Embracing the Unexpected/Fresh Market Friday/Faith On Fire/Dance With Jesus and Faith and Friends.
© 2019 by Karen Friday, All rights reserved
I love the concept of ThanksLiving, Karen! And your acrostic today was spot on. We should live each day in praise and thanksgiving to God, who always provides for us in abundance, and meets us right where we are. Wishing you and yours a marvelous Thanksgiving!
Hi Martha, thanks for your thoughtful comment. I pray we give thanks to God ‘through’ living a life of sincere ThanksGiving by ThanksLiving. Like naming God as Lord of our life and living in righteousness for His name’s sake. (Psalm 23:3)
Happy Thangskivng!
Love this! Thanksgiving and ThanksLiving. Amen. Giving thanks to God today and every day.
Thank you, Melissa! And, yes! Giving thanks ‘for’ and ‘to’ our great God. Because He’s a good, good Father who’s given us many gifts. And He has done great things. Happy Thanksgiving!
Karen, thank you for this wonderful post! Have a blessed Thanksgiving.
Hey Dee Dee, so good to see your lovely face and hear from you! I miss you! Appreciate your comment. Let’s give God thanks and praise His name! Blessed Thanksgiving to you!
Love the idea of “ThanksLiving”; we should all endeavor to do this each day. My other thoughts, as I read your post is “Ways to tell my friend Ms. Karen is a Suthin’ lady.” She serves dressing, two kinds of taters, green beans (I bet they’re soft with ham or bacon in them), and creamed corn! Mmm Mmm… I’m starting to eat light in preparation for next Thursday now. Hint Hint.
Ha ha, J.D. I love home-cooked, southern, comfort food…especially for Thanksgiving. Even the creamed corn is homemade and so yummy. Yes, I agree 100% about being intentional for ThanksLiving every day. Happy Thanksgiving and living!
Oh Karen, this really spoke to my heart. Thank you so much for writing this post! I think people have forgotten to slow down and be thankful! That there is a special day to celebrate all we should be grateful for. God, family, friends…life goes by so quickly. I remember growing up celebrating and giving thanks around a humble table with family that most have gone on to heaven now…My granny baking homemade pies…turkey and cornbread dressing…mashed potatoes with gravy and green beans like you said, and of course the meal wasn’t complete without cranberry sauce. Breaking the wishbone of the turkey seeing who got the short end…and lots of stories and laughter…this was a gentle reminder of what Thanksgiving is all about, thank you! I was almost pulled into pulling out the decorations for Christmas too, but now I will wait…so that I will reflect and give this amazing all the glory it deserves by having a grateful and thankful heart!! <3
So glad this encouraged you, Marla. I’ve always loved Thanksgiving Day. Growing up, we always wanted to break the wishbone too. 🙂 And we often had cranberry sauce…sometimes my mother-in-law will bring it to my house. It’s not my favorite. My favorite is a cranberry salad made with cranberries, nuts and jello. It’s so good! I do enjoy keeping Thanksgiving as a distinct holiday then going full force into Christmas! Happy ThanksGiving and ThanksLiving, friend! Love and hugs!
I love the idea of Thanksgiving should be evident in our Thanksliving. Such a beautiful thought and so very true. I pray my life reflects my Thanksgiving to God for everything, good and bad alike. God Bless Karen
Yvonne, I like how you said giving thanks should be evident in our ThanksLiving. Evident is really the key word! Happy ThanksGiving!
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, so I’m the same as you in not decorating for Christmas until AFTER the week of Thanksgiving! I love the verses you provided. I’ll have to meditate on those this week. 🙂
Emily, glad you’re in the celebrate-Thanksgiving-fully-and-distincly club. 🙂 Appreciate you sharing your thoughts. Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted. (Isaiah 12:4)
An excellent post, Karen, as always! You’re helping me to refocus on the One. Thanksgiving and Christmas were the holidays when all the kid and grandkids came home to our house! How I loved having them all! The games, the laughter, the joy of being all together. But then jobs began to scatter our family even farther apart, and then we relocated ourselves almost two years ago, and now we find ourselves with holidays unlike any we’ve ever had. I’ve been in mourning each holiday for missing what we once had when all came together. AND YET, both Thanksgiving and Christmas are about the Savior, AND SO my focus should be on gratitude and then heart preparation for the wonder of his incarnation, and then a celebration that he came. The holidays are about him. Thank you for the helping me to shift my focus to Christ this holiday season!
Hi Melinda, thank you, and I remember how this move took you farther from your family. That must be hard. Right now, my kids all live close…same town. My daughter and her husband lived about an hour and a half away (not too far) when they were first married. So grateful they moved back before having children. I want to savor each day and moment. It could all change one day. But, yes, our focus during Thanksgiving and Christmas is on the Savior…savoring what He’s done for us and how He lives in us!
[…] Jesus began the Lord’s Prayer with worship, “Hallowed be Thy name.” Worship reminds us who God is and all He has done for us. Especially at Thanksgiving, we remember these things. But Karen has a great new blog this week about “ThanksLiving.” I hope you’ll check it out and be blessed by it. Her acronym for THANKSGIVING is a must-see! https://www.karengirlfriday.com/a-life-of-sincere-thanksgiving-by-thanksliving […]
Love this, Karen. Yes, ThanksLiving! And I love your acronym for THANKSGIVING! Have a blessed Thanksgiving!
Thank you, Penny. And grateful you mention this post in your blog article today. This Thanksgiving and all year long, let’s satisfy our longing soul and hungry soul with good things from God. (Psalm 107:9)
Karen, this is brilliant! ThanksLiving! I love it. Your scripture references were like food for my soul. May we have a hunger and thirst for our Savior and the truth of His Word, which fills us like nothing else. And may we overflow with thanks, for it all began with Him, continues by Him and ends so gloriously with Him!
Thank you, Melissa. I pray we taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8). And satisfy our longing soul and hungry soul with good things from God. (Psalm 107:9) Those good things are found in the truth of His Word as you mentioned, “fills us like nothing else.” Happy ThanksGiving and living!
What a GREAT Thanksgiving acronym! I love “Abide in Jesus as the vine for a fruitful life. (John 15)” I am so grateful for this and so much more. Bless you, Karen, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
I love that passage from John 15 too, Jessica. My husband recently taught on it in his sermon at church. If we really abide in Jesus as the vine, let God be the vinedresser and prune us (the branches), then we really bear fruit in His name. What a wonderful way to live a life of ThanksLiving! Happy Thanksgiving to you!
Good grief! How did we get to Thanksgiving already? I was awakened yesterday to the fact that I am not ready for the holidays to arrive! I have too much to get done before next weekend!
Hope you have a wonder-filled Thanksgiving.
I know, Amanda! Seems like summer was just the other day. 🙂 Happy Thankgiving to you and your family!
Praise God Sister great Post, I love the Thanksliving statement as well as the Acronym List. God Bless You as you continue to do what God called you to do….inspire and Encourage through Christ.
Praise the Lord this encouraged you, Stephen. May we be inspired for true ThanksLiving through: Value our life, and every good and perfect gift from the Father of lights. (James 1:17)
I love that we give thanks before we celebrate Christmas. That teaches children to appreciate what they ALREADY have. And I agree about early decorating. However, I’m up for spiced tea any day. Happy Thanksgiving and God bless!
Great insight, Nancy. How appropriate that giving thanks falls before Christmas and ceelebrating how Christ came! Yep, I like spiced tea as well, just not Christmas at Thanksgiving kind of cup. 🙂
I love the acronym you spelled out. Thoughtful and creative. Something I want to chew on over this week as I prepare for Thanksgiving. 🙂 Happy ThanksGiving and ThanksLiving, Karen! 🙂
Thank you, Marcie. As we all chew on these thoughts, we know the celebration isn’t just about taking our seat at the table to gobble down savory and sweet delicacies. Instead, it’s about ThanksGiving and ThanksLiving. May we chew, digest, and practice ThanksLiving.
I don’t love Thanksgiving – many of the traditional dishes are not my favorites. But, like you, I just can’t put up Christmas decorations or start playing the Christmas music yet. I’ve been resisting the urge to make Christmas paintings. I am thankful for many things, especially this year! I hope you have a fun day hosting your family.
Hey Robin, Thanksgiving and the food aren’t everyone’s “thing.” I see we are kindred spirits about not decorating for Christmas though. I’ve seen your paintings on Instagram and enjoy your gift. Looking forward to seeing some Christmas paintings.
I’m obsessed with this idea of “ThanksLiving”!!!!
Jessie, it’s a good kind of obsessed. 🙂 Happy ThanksGiving and living!
Love the acronym! I’m starting a gratitude jar this Thursday- one thing I’m thankful for every day placed each day, to be read Thanksgiving 2020.
Wow, Candice. That gratitude jar idea is awesome. Would be great to do as a family or individually. Thanks!
Karen, I love how you addressed ThanksGiving AND ThanksLiving. Yes and amen to your words. I have a feeling we may have a lot in common. I don’t like to mix my holidays or twist chronological lines either. 🙂
I hope your time with your family is wonderful and filled with memories and many delights from being present!
Thanks, Jeanne. And, glad you get it on not mixing holidays…kindred spirits. Hope your ThanksGiving is blessed and we all reflect on letting thankful hearts define our lives and character.
Amen! Thanksliving is a perfect description of how we are meant to be! May I lift up my moments to the Lord, with that kind of thanks to Him. Blessings to you and your family this week!
Oh, how I desire that too, Bettie. Thank you! Blessed holidays to you…grateful all year long!
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite meals! And I love the time with my people without the pressure of gifts. We just get to enjoy being together!
Thanksgiving is such good food, Rebecca. And gathering with family and quality time well spent is really a gift in and of itself!
ThanksLiving. I like that. Thanks for linking up at #PorchStories.
Thanks, Kristin, and you’re welcome!
I love your wording of ThanksLiving. Yes, it is a year-round practice that benefits everyone! Thanks for sharing this, Karen. I hope I remember this new word.
Hey Lisa, we certainly need the Lord to help us in living with thanks all year. Thanks for commenting!