Thanksgiving Link List

• Thanksgiving is More Religious Than Christmas – Last week I spoke with a woman whose family—and extended family—exchanges gifts the first week in December, in order that the focus on Christmas Day itself will be all about Christ. I thought of her when I read this article, though as the new car advertisement says, ‘Your mileage may vary;’ we each experience the holidays differently in our family, economic and cultural contexts. See if you agree with 7 Reasons Thanksgiving is Way Better Than Christmas.

• One Year Ago – We decided to celebrate Thanksgiving with some microblogging. A picture (or 7) is worth a thousand words, right? So if you’re new here…

• Thanksgiving Song of the Season – And here’s a bonus song, just in time for the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, My Heart is Full of Thankfulness by The Gettys, or if you prefer a more rollicking version by Stuart Townend.

• Out of the Mouths of Babes – I love the story of how this little girl prays; it would be great to have this frozen in time.

• And then there’s the whole issue of retail spending – Which is why I love the social commentary that crops up in the comic Retail by Norm Fuenti.

• It’s a Family Affair: There’s no ignoring that Thanksgiving puts the spotlight on the importance of family.

• It’s About a Beautiful Time of Year: There’s no denying that photographers love this time of year. Fall leaves contrast so well with blue sky. This worship song by Canada’s Brian Doerksen seems so appropriate on a day like today.
  

• Get a Jump-Start on Christmas: Maybe in the middle of our gratitude, we need to see Thanksgiving as a time for giving.
  

• Your Thanksgiving Sermonette: Let’s face it, some of you are planning to skip church this weekend, right? So just for you we have a shrunken sermon from Christianity 201’s midweek contributor, Pastor Clarke Dixon.
  

• One Last Thanksgiving Debrief – Remember that time your high school small group leader asked, ‘What’s the opposite of love?’ and everybody said ‘hate’ and then he explained it’s really fear?  So what’s the opposite of “thanksgiving?” This answer is both surprising and satisfying: “While this may be human nature, nothing good comes of it.  Mark Twain said, ‘Comparison is the death of joy.’  For when we look and see someone else’s blessings, we suddenly have no appreciation of our own.”

• And when the day is over over — and you’re cleaning up, it’s not the mess that matters.

With a day off, we thought some of you might be looking for some fall fiction reading…more great book covers at this link…with word the 2015 worst covers list is coming soon!

Finally this was forwarded from our friends at Flagrant Regard: