This Thursday is NOT Turkey Day!

I cannot wait to eat turkey and dressing (or stuffing - semantics). I like the sweet potatoes, the pies, the rolls - all of it. I'm getting hungry just thinking about all of the amazing food that I will consume (in some form of moderation) on Thursday. But, I would like to clarify that Thursday is NOT Turkey Day.

We do not gather with our families once a year to celebrate the slaughter of millions of turkeys. For some reason it bothers me that people greet one another with "Happy Turkey Day." Maybe it's because they remove the one word that represents the purpose of this holiday - Thanksgiving. I suppose it's kind of like using the shortcut Xmas for Christmas. Don't take the most important word out of the title. We eat the turkey, but we are supposed to be giving thanks for all of the many blessings in our lives.

I know it has been a difficult year for most. I will be eating my dinner in my home, which is still not repaired from Ike. I still have 7 truck tarps trying to keep the rain out of my house, my daughter still has a hole in her ceiling. My sister is living with her husband and 4 children in a 2 bedroom house, if you can call it that, in a scary part of town because their home was lost in the storm. However, (that's the "but," if you will) we are all safe, happy, and healthy. We serve a God who is bigger than our problems.

We have the privilege of gathering with all of our family to sit down at tables and enjoy a feast that represents God's provision in our lives. Don't shortchange this holiday. It's not just about being thankful for the SUV in the garage or the 46" flat-screen TV hanging on the wall (We don't have one of those, and I know nothing about them so there may be no such thing as a 46" flat-screen.).

This is a day for taking time to thank Papa for our families who love us - whether they be biological or a family of friends. We have the opportunity to thank Him for our larger family. After all, if we have accepted the forgiveness of sins offered to us, we have been adopted by the Creator, the great I Am. He calls us sons and daughters. We are joint heirs with Christ. It just does not get any better than that!

Let's thank Him for being who He is - Papa, Father, Abba. I, for one, refuse to relegate this holiday to the status of a celebratory day of engorgement. Like I said, I enjoy the food as much as the next person, but I also want to teach my little girl that this day is so much more than eating and football.

I never really thought about it before, but as we head into the Christmas season, it is very appropriate that we celebrate Thanksgiving first. Maybe, if we celebrate Thanksgiving properly, we will remember when we are tempted to fill our shopping carts with gifts we can't afford that we have already been given the greatest gifts. Perhaps, it will cause us to shine a brighter light on what Christmas is really all about. Of course, that is just a thought, and perhaps it's a post for another time.

In any case, next time you are greeted or are tempted to greet someone else with "Happy Turkey Day," please remember this: As far as I know, no turkey has ever given his life to save the world. To the best of my knowledge, the Toms currently thawing in my fridge had no part in blessing me with my beautiful daughter or loving husband. There isn't a gobbler on earth that has done anything so admirable that we celebrate Turkey Day.

On that note, I heartily wish you a most enjoyable, blessed and Happy Thanksgiving!