{"id":7702,"date":"2015-11-25T07:00:21","date_gmt":"2015-11-25T12:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=7702"},"modified":"2015-11-14T12:34:58","modified_gmt":"2015-11-14T17:34:58","slug":"thanksgiving-more-than-a-meal-parade-and-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2015\/11\/thanksgiving-more-than-a-meal-parade-and-football.html","title":{"rendered":"Thanksgiving: More Than a Meal, Parade and Football"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ID-10091544\"<\/a>When you think of Thanksgiving, what comes to mind? Watching the Macy’s Day parade, eating a very large meal with all the trimmings and watching football with family and friends? Black Friday and the kickoff of the Christmas season?<\/p>\n

The\u00a0original Thanksgiving had nothing to do with any of these things. Thanks to my children’s school, we understood the true meaning of the holiday. Every Thanksgiving,\u00a0\u00a0the kids had what was called, Plymouth Plantation Day. They dressed like Pilgrims and Native Americans. We\u00a0cooked the food of the original Thanksgiving meal\u00a0for a school feast. It included such delights as eel and squirrel. Honestly, not much of that original food was eaten! Some moms brought turkey in a roaster so we could actually\u00a0enjoy the feast!<\/p>\n

We did Colonial crafts and a play of the Plymouth colony when\u00a0Governor William Bradford declared a day of thanksgiving to God for surviving the bitter winter and reaping an abundant harvest (1621). Both Pilgrims and Native Americans\u00a0feasted together. The children learned that the holiday began by giving thanks to our Creator!<\/p>\n

Over the years, the\u00a0meaning of Thanksgiving has shifted several times.\u00a0It has been about\u00a0gratitude, gatherings of unity, retelling of history and moments of victory and struggles.\u00a0However, the origins are about giving thanks to God for provisions and blessings. And that is something we need to maintain in our time of celebration.<\/p>\n

Biblically, we see that thanksgiving is associated with adoration, praise, an offering, or sacrifice. We find ourselves giving thanks for what God has done and who He is no matter the day. \u00a0As the Pilgrims noted, God is faithful and gives abundantly to his children. Thanksgiving comes from a grateful heart to the One who has given so much\u00a0and continues to bless His children.<\/p>\n

This Thanksgiving, enjoy the meal, watch the parade and football but give thanks…and if you need a little help, here are a few versus from the Psalms:<\/p>\n

\u201cLet us come before His presence\u00a0with thanksgiving<\/em>, and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms\u201d (95:2<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u201cEnter into His gates with\u00a0thanksgiving<\/em>, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name\u201d (100:4<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u201cO give\u00a0thanks<\/em>\u00a0unto the Lord, for He is good: for His mercy endures forever\u2026Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness\u201d (107:1<\/a>,\u00a08-9<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Let’s praise Him this Thanksgiving and then continue this practice throughout the year!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When you think of Thanksgiving, what comes to mind? Watching the Macy’s Day parade, eating a very large meal with all the trimmings and watching football with family and friends? Black Friday and the kickoff of the Christmas season? The\u00a0original Thanksgiving had nothing to do with any of these things. Thanks to my children’s school,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[914,916],"tags":[2618,641,639,3436,3437],"class_list":["post-7702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family-relationships-2","category-god-relationship","tag-giving-thanks","tag-gratitude","tag-thanksgiving","tag-the-meaning-of-thanksgiving","tag-turkey-day"],"yoast_head":"\nThanksgiving: More Than a Meal, Parade and Football<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2015\/11\/thanksgiving-more-than-a-meal-parade-and-football.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Thanksgiving: More Than a Meal, Parade and Football\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When you think of Thanksgiving, what comes to mind? Watching the Macy’s Day parade, eating a very large meal with all the trimmings and watching football with family and friends? Black Friday and the kickoff of the Christmas season? The\u00a0original Thanksgiving had nothing to do with any of these things. 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Her media experience includes seven years as the resident expert for ABC Family\u2019s Living the Life television show and regular appearances on network television and radio. It is often said that being with Dr. Linda is like having coffee with a friend. She makes the complicated issues of relationships and mental health easy to understand and applicable to everyday living. The ease she has with people, coupled with her clinical training and experience makes her a sought-after speaker on college campuses, conferences and special events. Whether she is doing a TV skit with Tim Conway or discussing teen violence with Queen Latifa, Dr. Linda will entertain, educate and integrate faith and mental health in everyday living. 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