Thanksgiving Countdown: Day 10

Did you realize there are only ten days until Thanksgiving? For women, this holiday can be both fun and overwhelming--something you both anticipate and dread.  You're excited at the prospect of a wonderful family memory, a delicious meal complete with pumpkin pie, a relaxing nap after turkey dinner, and going 'round the table sharing grateful hearts.

But all the cooking that leads up to that idyllic turkey-carving-moment can be daunting. And then there's cleanup. (Speaking of which, when will they create that china-safe dishwasher?)

Well, we can't do your dishes for you, but we will try, over the next ten days, to supply you with some Mahaney-family Thanksgiving traditions, thoughts, recipes, and other fun stuff, of course.

To begin our Thanksgiving countdown, we want to share a quote with you from Treasuring God in Our Traditions by Noel Piper. In the first chapter, she helps us to step back and view this holiday, and all family traditions, from a wider perspective: their role in teaching our children about God. But whether or not we have children, I think Noel's thoughts should provoke us all. She writes: 

“You can’t bequeath God to your children. You can leave them the fur coat from your mother, the forested acres from your father, the carved cane from your Uncle Claude, and the clock from your grandmother, but they can’t inherit God from you. God can only be inherited from God…We only become God’s children through our faith, not through our parent’s faith…Now although we can’t bequeath God to our children, we can help them know him and understand him in ways that prepare them to believe in his name. ‘Everyday’ and ‘especially’ traditions in a family are an important part of that teaching, of picturing who God is and what he’s done in our home and in the world. Traditions are a vital way of displaying our greatest treasure, of showing what—Who—is most important to us.”

Traditions are one way we can show that God is most important to us. Thanksgiving is a wonderful reminder of the faithfulness and provision of God. It's also a way to promote family unity and closeness, to have fun and enjoy one another's company for the glory of God. It's a chance to pause and consider Christ, who is our joy.

What are ways that you treasure Christ and make fun family memories in your home on Thanksgiving? We want to hear from you. Yes, it's contest time again on the Girl Talk Blog! We are soliciting Thanksgiving traditions from our readers and we will post a winner next Monday. Simply click on the "Email Me" link on the left-hand sidebar to submit your entry. And to our international friends--we'd love to hear from you too: Do you celebrate a thanksgiving-type holiday in your culture, and if so, what special traditions do you have?

For all of you, we pray these next ten days will be marked by the peace of Christ. Of all people, we have the most to be grateful for: we have our Savior!