The situation of Thanksgiving.

Sometimes I think Thanksgiving has a hard time of it, as far as holidays go. I mean, being the holiday right before Christmas -- that's got to be tough. People everywhere wait for Thanksgiving to be over so that Christmas will hurry up and come, and say things like, "Well, I am thankful. I'm thankful for Christmas."
I have to admit: I've said those words before (only in jest, Thanksgiving!) when others have scoffed at my Christmas tree being up so early. Yes. I am one of those. But I am also one who, in another blog long ago, used to list things I was thankful for all throughout the year. I don't believe that thankfulness should be saved for a season, like my Santa Claus kitchen towels.

This year I wondered what God thinks about the whole Christmas/Thanksgiving upset. I mean, I don't think He's angry or anything. But thankfulness is important. It's even a Biblical command!
Then I thought, that's ridiculous. God doesn't care if Christmas eclipses another holiday. We want to celebrate the fact that He gave His preciously loved Son to us. We want to be with our families and give gifts. We want to sing our hearts out on Sunday morning and remember that God sent that Little Baby because He wanted to be with US. He wanted us to be a part of his big family.

But it's still really important to be thankful.

Yep, that's how my mind went. From warm fuzzy to practical, in one step.

And so, in order to not take merely take time off while taking Thanksgiving for granted, I present for your reading enjoyment, a list of things I am thankful for.

I am thankful:

- that it's cold. Yes, it is harder to get up in the morning and exercise when it's cold, but it's nice to not be quite so icky afterward, too.

- that my husband is here this week. He was gone all of last week, and I missed him. He should probably be listed twice here. I love my life with him.

- I'm thankful that Wal-Mart sells Christmas tree stands for fake trees. (Ok, so I wasn't trying to mention Christmas, but...) Seriously -- this is a big deal for me! Our dear fake tree that we have had since our first Christmas as a married couple was falling apart, and wouldn't stand up. We tried to repair the stand, but I guess there's only so much tape and super glue can do. Having already spent money on decorations we didn't really couldn't go spend more on a fake tree, or a real tree plus an appropriate stand. I sincerely considered the fact that it might be best if we simply did not have a tree this year, and resigned myself to it. But praise God for cheap fake tree stands!

- Mexican food. I just plain love it. A chef on tv once said, "There's a bad time for pizza. There's never a bad time for a taco." I don't know about the pizza (well, ok ... maybe late at night), but I heartily agree about the taco.

- My Natalie Rhae. She has such personality, and I love that we're getting to see more and more of it. And the punch lines! Oh man! We've also had some good talks about God lately, and those are very special to me.

- Family. It is no wonder to me why the Bible says God sets the lonely in families. He's just that nice. I'm grateful for the one I grew up in, the one I live with currently, the one I married into, and the one I see every Sunday. What a blessing they all are to me. Thank you, Lord.

- My Elizabeth Joy. I'm so thankful for her laughs, her seeming obsession with songs (and their actions), and her kisses. Oh the kisses. She is not one to give you a kiss just because you ask (yet). But she doesn't mind giving them again and again once she's started!

- Music. There are some songs that have touched my heart lately, and it's reminded me how much I love this medium of worship. There is nothing quite like having a song in your heart all day long. Need a good one? Here's one I love. Ok, so it's a Christmas song. But I'm thankful for Christmas!

God speaks to me through cartoons. And I like it.

Did you ever watch "Lambert the Sheepish Lion?" I loved those Disney shorts. If you're unfamiliar with the story, you can watch it here. (Wait, you're not busy, are you? It is about 8 minutes long.)

I decided to see if I could find it the other day, to show to Natalie. Sometimes she's scared of things like this, with wolves and such, and sometimes not. So when the wolf arrived, I started talking to her.

"It's ok. Lambert's gonna save the sheep from the wolf. He's afraid right now, but he'll become brave soon. It's silly that he's scared, see? Because he's a lion -- he's so much bigger than that wolf. He doesn't need to be afraid at all."

It didn't take long for an allegory to form.

We've grown up in this world and have listened to the lies that the sheep -- ie, other people and the world -- have spoken to us everyday since we were born. We've let those lies make us insecure and fearful. We've bought into the lies, grown up with them, and learned to put on sheepish grin when we hear them repeated. We've learned to accept them as truth. We're just trying to be sheep like everyone else, after all.

But -- WE ARE NOT SHEEP! (not for the sake of this analogy, anyway). We are huge, bold, loud lions with big feet, and a bigger appetite for the things of God. We are meant to smash those lies in our lives and deliver those around us. We are meant to head-butt the devil and send him flying over a cliff.

If we would only realize who we are. We can't do it while we're still acting like sheep.

When all I want is you, then all I have to do is dream...

This is what I've been looking at lately:



No, I'm not on a November get-away. I'm at my house. This is a picture of a beach in Maine, where Jason and I went for our honeymoon. I just happened to look through some pictures on his laptop the other night, and there was this:

(See the Christmas trees in every window?)

and this:

And also these:


Of course, it brought so many warm, loving, man-those-were-good-days sort of thoughts. Which seems very appropriate, because in a few weeks Jason and I will have our anniversary. We will have been married for six years. That's the longest I've done anything, I'm pretty sure. Longer than I went to college, longer than I've been a mom . . . ok, ok, I can't think of anything else. Remember, I'm only 27.

But still, I'm amazed that for six years I've been wearing his ring. Putting my head on his shoulder. Looking into those green eyes full of big dreams. Having conversations that sometimes made me nervous, because of those big dreams. Laughing or crying about things no one else could share in. Giving my heart, and receiving his in return.

It's been a good six years.

Last night I was reminded of how I used to brown meat for spagetti in a pan much too small, and how we used to eat spagetti practically every week when we first got married (what did we eat for dinner growing up? I drew a blank too often). And there I was, six years later, listening to Christmas music and browning meat for spagetti in a pan much too small. But this time it was too small because of the children we've added to the dinner table.

And I was very, very content.

Serving like Jesus.

I read John 13 today, where Jesus washes His disciples' feet. Naturally, I thought of how He was serving His disciples and how they were surprised that their Teacher would put Himself beneath them to wash their feet.
But (and someone correct me if I'm wrong) wasn't that the servant's job? Or was it each man's responsibility as he came in the door? I'm asking, because if washing feet was the job of a servant, than it wasn't just that Jesus was lowering Himself below Rabbi standards. He wasn't just putting Himself on the same level as His disciples. He was making Himself lower than His disciples.

It's a simple thought, but it changes the way I look at this passage.

Because if I am to serve others the way Jesus served His disciples when He washed their feet, then what does that look like? Washing someone's dishes, or bringing them a dinner I cooked myself doesn't seem quite the same. It's definitely serving, but it is something that they would have done for themselves and thought nothing of it. It seems more like doing something for someone that they would not want to do for themselves.
Like . . . cleaning their gutters? Removing gunk from their shower drain? I don't know. . . I'm still figuring out what this would look like.

Maybe I should start a little simpler. What is something I could do for Jason that needs to be done, but that he wouldn't enjoy doing or doesn't have time for? How could I serve my children this way. I'm thinking that changing Elsie's diapers means I've got her covered.
Ok, so this post is a little tongue-in-cheek, but this is what I'm thinking on right now. What does it mean to be a servant like that? And how can I do it today?