Overlooking Thanksgiving

Today, I want to share an excerpt from my new devotional, Echoes of Joy: A Thankful Heart. As we enter November, I hope you will be inspired to take a few moments each day to focus on gratitude and give thanks to the One from whom all blessings flow.

Day 1

Overlooking Thanksgiving

“And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” (Col. 3:14–15)

The holiday season seems to get busier each year. With Thanksgiving sandwiched between Halloween and Christmas, we rush past it as we go from buying candy and costumes to baking goodies and trimming the tree. We squeeze in Thanksgiving dinner so that we can move on to Black Friday shopping and the bigger celebration of Christmas. Continue reading “Overlooking Thanksgiving”

Thankful for Family

“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” (Ex 20:12)

When I was a child, one of my favorite traditions was to gather with family and eat all the food. We would go to a relative’s house – either my grandma’s or one of my dad’s siblings’ homes. I had to sit at the kids’ table, but the truth was, I really preferred being there instead of at the adults’ table. As shy as I was, I struggled to find something to say to the adults, even though they were family, and I froze like a deer in the headlights when one of them spoke to me. If I needed something, I would whisper in my mom’s ear. But at the kids’ table, my cousins didn’t care how shy I was. They told stories and entertained each other and me in the process. Continue reading “Thankful for Family”