Use this ‘different’ Thanksgiving to reach out, try new things
By Janet Erwin
TAB copy editor
We’ve all heard it — this year Thanksgiving is going to be different. Our family is no stranger to different Thanksgivings.
Thanksgivings in Latvia were probably the most different ones we encountered while on the missions field. The first year we were there, missionaries from Estonia brought a turkey they were able to procure through a U.S. embassy friend, as none were available in our country.
Our second year, I was in Germany for medical purposes right before the holiday and purchased a frozen turkey to bring back. The gentleman running the scanning machine at the airport couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw what was in my carry-on bag. I just smiled and replied, “It’s for Thanksgiving.”
The next year I was ecstatic when I discovered a “turkey” in Latvia. He wasn’t so plump, but we were fine with that. However, when we cut into the turkey, we discovered little meat and much buckwheat it had been stuffed with.
Since our return to the U.S., we’ve spent some Thanksgivings with internationals where we were the only Americans around the table. How rich to go around the table and share our thankfulness with each other. We’ve also invited a mixture of internationals from different faiths to join us in our home for this holiday.
Thanksgiving is so much more than food. It truly is a day of sharing thanks. One year, I asked everyone around the table to think of one person they’d like to thank (either living or deceased) and what they would say to that person. When we came to my oldest son, he said he’d “like to thank PawPaw” who had passed away 3 years before. Then he began to recall memories he had with him — some things I didn’t know. What a treasure for me to hear this about my daddy.
As you anticipate gathering this year, some of you will be by yourself or with a much smaller group than usual.
Use this time to create some new memories. Give these ideas a try if you can’t be with others:
- Write and mail thank-you notes to each member of the family or friends you’d normally be with. Ask them to save the notes until Thanksgiving Day to open. FaceTime or Zoom with them so that you can hear them read their notes and watch their reactions. Or use this day to call people you are thankful for and let them know what they mean to you.
- Think of the people in your neighborhood who may be alone because of the pandemic. Older vulnerable people, singles, families of essential workers and families with small children may fall into this group. Prepare an extra dessert or salad and deliver it to them in a socially distanced manner.
- Try out family favorite recipes. If you don’t ordinarily cook the entire Thanksgiving meal, now is the time to learn how to make some of your relatives’ favorite dishes. Collect recipes. Video chat with them while you are preparing the meal so they can help you when you run into problems. Or try out some entirely different recipes that might become family favorites.
- Go online and find some creative ideas of how to express thanks. For example, download a line drawing of a turkey. Cut out construction paper feathers for the turkey. Give everyone a feather to write what he or she is thankful for, then read the answers and dress the turkey.
- Take a prayer walk with your family outside. Pray aloud as each person thanks God for what He has created and for His blessings.
Remember: The way we celebrate Thanksgiving this year is not good or bad; it is just “different.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — Janet Erwin served as an International Mission Board missionary for 19 years.
People with a purpose
By George Yates
Church health strategist Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions
A stagnant body of water lies still, does not move, does not produce anything positive and will over time begin to stink and die. A moving body of water, on the other hand, touches everything it passes, leaving signs of life and fruitfulness.
Churches across North America today have become more organizations of people than people with a cause.
An organization of people becomes stagnant, will decline and eventually die.
In contrast, a people with a cause is always moving, leaving traces of new life everywhere it touches. …
People of all generations want a cause. The younger generations today are exemplary in this serving for a cause environment.
But how do you move from an organization of people to a people with a cause?
First, through prayer for intentional outward focus, find the true needs of your community — not your own perceived needs but the true needs of the surrounding community.
There is a three question survey you can use in any situation for finding the true needs. Download it for free at soncare.net.
A fruitful ministry then depends on the leader (pastor) who embodies the cause, empowers the God-gifted members of His church to undertake the cause and guides the church to fully resource ministries to meet the true needs in the community.
Whatever the need in your community, God has gifted your church (people) to help meet the need.
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Letters to the editor
Just a note of sincere thanks and appreciation of your post-election editorial in the Nov. 5 issue of TAB.
Such true words (as usual) from you that now is the time for believers, regardless of political leanings, to tone it down, build each other up and promote peace, not further divisiveness.
I also loved your editorial several weeks ago recommending people “turn off the news” for a week and take a deep breath. I beat you to it even before the last election by doing just that.
In my opinion, the mainstream news outlets are almost as divisive as both political party’s radical voices.
Herb Gannon
Birmingham, Ala.
I greatly appreciate the Nov. 5 front-page story about first responders.
There’s a similar organization in Alabama made up of law enforcement officers specifically trained to respond to traumatic incidents. The group is Alabama Law Enforcement Alliance for Peer Support. For more information, visit alleaps.org.
Gary Cardwell
Gadsden, Ala.
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“Gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”
G.K. Chesterton
British writer and lay theologian (1874–1936)
O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Excerpt from the hymn “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” by Helen Howarth Lemmel (1863–1961)
Thankfulness means we must have a different focus, looking beyond our pain and disappointment, present and past.
We need to see our world through eyes of hope, of belief in a better future, with an awareness that no matter how bad things are, there is someone in greater need than we are.
As we focus on others, the seed of gratitude is planted. When we invest in others, that seed breaks open and begins to grow. The fruit of that seed is happiness.
Gratitude is the key to spiritual growth. A heart of thanksgiving is directly tied to a heart of peace.
Focusing on the things we are grateful for brings a sense of hope and joy. And ultimately, it opens the door to a deeper walk with God.
Terry Newberry
Douglasville, Ga.
I appreciate the mother who says to her little boy, “Say ‘Thank you’” when the child is handed a gift. Such training awakens the child to untold blessings and the beauty of gratitude. Such instructions form the first steps in becoming a grateful person.
God designed us to grow in grace until true gratitude flows from inside, without the need for outward prompting. The Spirit’s words through the Apostle Paul, “Be thankful,” may be taught as a command, but the deeper call is to become people who are so aware of the constant flow of grace and love from God’s heart to us that our praise and thanksgiving cannot be bottled up!
The outward promptings come and go, but true gratitude flows on and on.
Bob Adams
Retired pastor
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From the Twitterverse
@richardblackaby
Darkness is the relentless foe of light. It blinds and enslaves many who embrace it. Light must not grow weary in shining. Too much is at stake.
@ricklance
“God can use anything, anywhere, at anytime, with anyone for His glory.” — @ronniefloyd
@macbrunson
Pastors, in all honesty your people right now don’t need a political pundit — they need a shepherd’s heart: “Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding” (Jer. 3:15, NAS).
@Slsellers7170
Learn to see in men what God does; think of them as He does. — Andrew Murray
@desiringGod
“For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21).
@vancepitman
When you obey God in the principles of generosity, you will be overwhelmed at the provision and the faithfulness of God!
@MattSmethurst
Genesis ends with Joseph’s death. Deuteronomy ends with Moses’ death. Joshua ends with Joshua’s death. Gospels end with Jesus’ resurrection. And that changes everything. — @TonyMerida
@DrPaulChitwood
Beginning with the Triune God, to the universe He created, our planet, God’s spoken word, written word and redemptive plan, everything about God and His work reveals order. Satan’s strategy, at its essence, is to instigate chaos. Knowing these two facts aids our discernment.
@edstetzer
A divided country needs a united church.
@kylesearcy
The human spirit is resilient. When roadblocks appear, we figure out a way around them. What beneficial things are you doing that you wouldn’t have done were it not for this crisis?
@lecrae
God isn’t intimidated by your circumstances.
@CSLewisDaily
“The perfect church service would be one we were almost unaware of; our attention would have been on God.” — C.S. Lewis
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