Hello! If you celebrated Thanksgiving, I hope it was wonderful!
We have so much to be grateful for, don’t we? So, so much.
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This week’s Five Minute Friday writing prompt is: VALUE
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For the first time while living in the States, we had a dear South African friend staying with us for Thanksgiving. Prior to his arrival, I wandered the grocery store aisles, adding item after item to my already full cart. As I crossed things off from my lengthy list, I became ashamed of the abundance. I wanted our friend to experience an American Thanksgiving, yes, but would it be too much?
I remember what it was like to return to the U.S. after an extended period in South Africa. The abundance of materialism and choice was nearly suffocating. Would our friend feel the same way?
Then there’s the Black Friday madness on top of it all. My husband jokes about driving our friend past some of the store parking lots just to show him that the craziness really is for real. But I know it’s not funny.
Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we continue to want, want, want, more, more, more? When will we be satisfied?
During this month when many people focus on gratitude more than other times of the year, I ask myself, “What do I value most?” Is it the traditions we hold dear? Is it material things? Is it relationships?
On this Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday weekend, let’s all pause for a moment and ponder what it is we truly value most.
STOP.
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Well, neither a big-screen TV nor an iPhone can love you back.
TRUE! Paul Tripp has a pertinent post on his site: WednesdaysWord
how do we remember what we value most? Taking the time, just taking the time to think a while…
Practice ThanksLIving every day instead of Thanksgiving once a year. 🙂
Kate, I’m right there with you this morning. I felt myself start to want things as I scrolled through Facebook this morning, but then I snapped back to the sense of thankfulness of yesterday and reigned those temptations in quickly. May we focus on the true value of the season these next several weeks and not on the sales and materialism our culture pushes on us.
I don’t think it’s wrong to want to prepare good food for your friend and show him a true Thanksgiving. The most important thing you will show him, though, is your grateful heart. He might be well aware that we live in a culture that wants (demands) more, but he will quickly see that your family lives in it, but you are not of it. I avoid shopping and only went black Friday shopping today because my husband needed a new cell phone. My article today tested the water a bit on making a tradition of ThanksLiving instead of a day of ThanksGiving. We need to be thankful every day because our roller coaster lives can’t survive without it.
I value the time I will spend with my family these holiday season.I know that we receive value from turning to the spirit of God. His affirmation is the most compelling but also the most humbling. Feeling his love knocks at my heart to a victim mode and into a place where I turn outward towards Him and others. My family is valuable and precious to me.
I had just written on this word… value… I hope it was okay to add that post to the link up!!!