6 Things You Won’t Regret Saying During Thanksgiving

Simply put, Thanksgiving is all about being thankful and having a grateful heart, but I’m getting a little bit crazy with the holidays coming.

I’m filling the calendar, scheduling time with friends, thinking about turkeys—the ones on sale? stuffed or unstuffed this year?—remembering to find recipes, making lists of ingredients, and pulling down fall decoration boxes from the garage, only to take a deep breath when I see the Christmas boxes next to them. 

It’s obvious my mind is like a merry-go-round, whirling with things to do. You probably aren’t far behind me. Let’s take a minute from this craziness before it consumes us. You and I both know there is so much more than the tasks and to-do lists of the holidays. 

So… Back to the thankfulness and having a grateful heart…

I stop and get off the high horse that I’m riding on the merry-go-round. I refocus from doing to being. I let my thoughts drift to the people who matter in my life.

My heart begins to overflow with thankfulness.

My mind is flooded with gratitude. 

I need to tell them how much they mean to me. I need to share what I feel through my words, in the midst of showing them I care through my actions.  This is how I will begin:

1. I love you because…
2. I appreciate you for…
3. I value you because…
4. I admire you because…
5. I respect you for…
6. Thank you for…

How about you? Now is the perfect time to say what you’ve been meaning to say for a long time—to your spouse, your children, your family, and your friends. 

Over the years, relationships become all the more important to me.

I’m grateful for my personal relationship with God. He loves me unconditionally and forgives me in spite of how many times I totally mess up in life. He’s faithful to be with me in the middle of the mess.

I’m thankful for my beloved family and faithful friends, both near and far, who extend that same grace in my life.

Instead of focusing on Thanksgiving dinner this year, I will focus on my banquet of blessings. I will go to God on bended knee and count my blessings, big and small, one by one. 

Many of you have PCS’d this year and will be spending Thanksgiving in new surroundings, away from extended family and old friends. I know how lonely you and your family will feel. Perhaps you could invite another family, or someone you’ve met who will also be alone on Thanksgiving day. 

Please remember to:

• Seize the moment to reach out to someone else in their loneliness over the holidays. 
• Speak words of encouragement and show acts of kindness to those you love.  
• Make this Thanksgiving count for Christ and not for personal gain.
• “Walk the walk and don’t just talk the talk” to those who are reading the pages of your life over the holidays.

Have a blessed and safe Thanksgiving!

By Susan Miller for Just Moved Ministry