Thanksgiving Day

DAILY READING

Psalm 100:4-5—Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

FIELD NOTES

One Thanksgiving, when I was a boy, I asked my grandparents what they did when they were children on Thanksgiving Day. They said, “It was only a day of prayer. Many times we went to worship at our church.” 

Hmmmmm. As a kid, my excitement that day was the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (especially waving to Santa), a great meal, family time, and the Detroit Lions versus Green Bay Packers football game. Some family members also looked forward to shopping at 6 p.m. for the early Black Friday sales.

Today, our culture continues to shift further away from a day dedicated to prayers of thanksgiving to food, entertainment, and shopping.

What’s the anecdote to our situation?

I am still learning to follow Christ’s guidance in whatever I do. And so, like the psalmist, I try to enter the day with thanksgiving and into God’s courts with praise. Of course, I fail miserably far too often. Yet, this is the solution for me. I attempt to spend time praying, giving thanks to God as I spend my time with family during meals, watching ball games and parades, playing games, but never shopping, transforming a cultural experience into a sacred one.

QUESTIONS FOR THE FIELD

• What is on your agenda this Thanksgiving Day? How might you pray for God’s presence and guidance throughout the day?
• If this is the end of the day, what blessings did you experience? – If there were problems today, how might you pray a prayer of thanks, looking forward to how God will help you through the issues.

FAMILY FIELD TALK

• At your mealtime, ask each person to take turns sharing three things for which they are grateful.
• At bedtime, thank God for your children, and together with them, name ten blessings you experienced today.

PRAYER GUIDE

Dear loving, gracious God, thank you for all the blessings you give to me. Lord, here is my list of blessings you gave me today. (List them and then continue.) Thank you, Lord, for these blessings. In your gracious name, I thank you. Amen!