Give-Thanks-Giving: The Challenge

What is your Thanksgiving celebration going to look like this year?

Will you travel? Will friends and family gather in your home? Will there be turkey or ham? Or both?! Close your eyes a moment and visualize it. Think about how you want it to happen, imagine enjoying the day’s festivities with joy and laughter.

If you can imagine these things, if this is what Thanksgiving dinner will look like for you, or anything like it,.. then you are blessed!! Stop right now and make a list of your blessings:

1. I have a home.
2. I have family nearby to gather with.
3. I have a mother-in-law to cook a turkey because a.) I don’t like to and b.) the seal on my oven is damaged and I can’t. =
4. I GET ALONG with my family! =)
5. There will plenty of food on the table. Good food, because everybody can cook well. =)
6. I have a car to get me back and forth to my mother-in-law’s house.
7. I have the money for gas.
8. Even if I had none of these things – I have my God, my Savior and how Wonderful that is!

What things are you blessed with? What things are you thankful for?

This is not a guilt trip, I’m not going to turn around now and say: “Now thing of all the people who don’t have those things and look how much YOU have!” It’s true there will be people that spend Thanksgiving alone, people who spend Thanksgiving homeless, and people who will celebrate Thanksgiving with very simple and sparse meals. There will also be some who are so burdened by their circumstances that they can’t find the joy to celebrate at all – they can’t list anything to be thankful for. But I don’t want to make you feel guilty for all the wonderful blessings you have. Quite the contrary!

We should rejoice in our blessings!

At the same time, we should be a blessing to others, allowing God to use us to share his love and blessings with others. And that my friends is my challenge to you this Thanksgiving. How can you show the love of Christ to someone in need this Thanksgiving?

1. Can you take someone a turkey? Or a whole meal?
2. Can you cook a turkey for someone who doesn’t have a working oven?
3. Can you invite a friend to join your family, who doesn’t have family to celebrate?
4. What can you do, particular to your own circumstance and blessings, to share your blessings with others, giving them cause to rejoice in Thanksgiving and praise our Savior for His wonderful blessings?

Before you think this is all about financial blessings, it isn’t. You don’t have to be financially abundant in order to serve others. There are times it makes it easier, yes. But money isn’t the end all and be all of God’s love. If you don’t have it in your budget (and you may not and that’s okay) to buy an extra turkey or an extra meal – then don’t! God wants us to be good stewards – and going in debt for charity is still going in debt!

There are other ways you can share the love of Christ this holiday season.

1. You can institute a Thanksgiving potluck between your family and another family or two – each of you pitching in part of the meal.
2. You can give of your time and serve in a soup kitchen, at a food pantry donation center, or something of that nature.
3. You can even do something as simple as babysitting children for a friend so they can do their holiday grocery shopping or baking without interruptions.
4. What other ways can you think of, in your life, to serve someone next week?

One simple act of kindness can make a world of difference to someone in need. And that dear ones, is what this challenge is really all about. This Thanksgiving, let us not just sit in our warm homes and enjoy our family and food and praise God for all the pie on the table and all the many other blessings he has bestowed upon us – though there is nothing wrong at all in doing any of those things! But this Thanksgiving let’s take it a step farther. Let’s break out of our warm bubbles for a little bit and go an extra mile for someone else. Can you do it? Are you up for it?

If you want to join me in my mission to Give Thanksgiving this year, I’m making a list, giving you the opportunity to say “I’m in this with you!” But a word of caution, I’m not asking you to boast or brag or fall prey to pride. No, no, no. I would never intentionally drag you into that sin. The bible cautions us against giving and proclaiming it loudly for all to see. I do want you to join the MckLinky and link to one of your posts. But what I’m asking you to do is to write your own post, encouraging others to give, linking back to this post, and giving examples of things you could do, or even what you want to do or did do. There is no harm in saying, “I’m taking a turkey to a friend.” I just want to caution you against using names or dollar amounts or that sort of thing. God knows those things. The internet doesn’t need to, right?

For me, I plan on taking a meal to a friend. I have to work the details out and should they all work out with her that is what I’m going to do this Thanksgiving to serve someone besides myself, to love them as God loves them. If it doesn’t work out with her, I am going to find someone else! What will you do? Are you with me?

This linky will stay open until midnight, November 25th, the day before Thanksgiving. If you can’t think of some way to give right off the bat, you’ve got time. In the meantime, you can also visit the 30 Day Giving Challenge at Alyssa’s for more giving ideas. (If you’re participating in that, you can even give for this challenge as one of your 30 days! And yeah, I asked her if it was okay to say that!) =)

Now go link up already!

This challenge is a part of my Give-Thanks-Giving Bloggiversary. Grab the button: