Thanksgiving is the perfect time to thank God for all the wonderful blessings He has given. The turkey is wonderful, the pie delicious, visiting with family refreshing, but do we focus only on ourselves??? Or do we take this time to come before God with thanksgiving?

For me Thanksgiving kicks off the holiday season. I want to use this time to teach my children to give to others in the name of Christ. I want to make memories and build traditions that will last for generations. Not traditions for the sake of traditions but ways to pull our focus from ourselves to our Savior. Traditions that my great great grandchildren can carry on. Traditions that will point my family to Christ a long time after I am gone.

How neat it is to see God answer prayers. A dear friend gave me a Christmas journal and suggested I use it to write down the good memories from Christmas and then each Christmas my family could pull the journal out and read the past entries to be reminded of the goodness in past years and add new memories. Only a couple of days later I read the same idea in a magazine article. SO… this year we will start that tradition!

I have not fleshed out the idea, but I hope to take the children to a nursing home on Christmas day to visit with the residents. Some years we spend the holidays at home and others we go out of town, BUT there are nursing homes everywhere! The elderly will enjoy visiting with the children and the children will learn not to think only of themselves. Now to think of a small gift to take along???

For several years now I have wanted to learn and teach the children the names of Christ. This is the year!

I hope! I even have book. Somewhere….