Happy Thanksgiving!

Linda and I want to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! We are so thankful each week we can share our love, encouragement, and inspiration for living Your Refreshed Life with each of you!

We were discussing this week’s blog over lunch after watching an amazing movie now in theatres. If you haven’t watched The Chosen, a television series depicting Christ and His three-year ministry in action, then be sure to book your seats to see The Chosen Season 3: Episodes 1+2 in movie theatres now!

This holiday is a time to share a special time of thanks with friends and family. Above all else, we have so much to thank God for, and I love this verse,

“Oh, give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! (Psalm 105:1).”

No matter where you are in your health, finances, relationships, or work, there is always something for which to thank God. And in sharing our thanks, we share a powerful testimony of God’s involvement in our lives to family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. So, this Thanksgiving, Linda shared with me three brilliant ways you can make your Thanksgiving dinner truly a “Thanks-Gifting” event:

1. Search out Bible verses about thanksgiving (consider using different translations to enhance the meaning) and write these on strips of paper. Fold these up and place them in a bowl. Before or after your meal pass the bowl around the table and have everyone draw one out, read the verse, and share what it means to them.
2. Write on strips of paper questions like,
   “For what are you most thankful?”
   “What are the three greatest things you are thankful for this year?”
   “When things don’t work out as you hoped, how can you find a way to still be thankful?”
   Fold these up, place in a bowl, and pass around the table for people to select and share their thoughts.
3. After dinner, if you want to show how thankful you are for everyone there, arrange chairs in a circle and have everyone take a seat. Bring out a large ball of yarn. The host holds the end. He or she then tosses the ball of yarn to one of the people in the circle. When this person has the yarn, the host says something aloud that they are thankful for about this person. Then this person throws the yearn to another and tells what they are thankful for about the next person who catches it. By the time the yarn is all removed from the ball, everyone will be connected by the yarn, feel valued, and be truly encouraged.

However you enhance your holiday dinner, give thanks to God for all His blessings, great and small! As you are preparing your special event, know that we are thinking about you. We’d love to hear how you make your Thanksgiving into a real “Thanks-Gifting” event. Reach out to Linda at linda@yourrefreshedlife.com or Reen at reen.waterman@navigators.org.