Thanks-Living by Guest Blogger Cathy Austin
One of my pet peeves is overlapping holidays. You know what I’m talking about - Christmas decorations out at Halloween or the opposite. The other day, I saw someone taking down a large Jack-o-lantern outside the front of his garage as he was putting up Christmas lights. Then there’s always my “favorite” - pumpkins, corn shocks and Christmas decorations out at the same time!?!
At our house, we have family rules - “No Christmas until Thanksgiving is over!” and “Be sure to get fall things put away before Christmas comes out.” Having said that, I’m breaking my own rules this year, spiritually speaking. In my reflections this year, I’ve discovered that Thanksgiving is not just a one-time holiday of giving thanks - not just one day set aside to list all of the material things we are glad that we have. True thankfulness is so much more than that!
We are called to live a life of Thanks-LIVING—always showing-sharing-telling what God has done, is doing and will do in the future!! By so doing, we will experience that inner joy that we all seek. So this year, I’ve given myself permission to go ahead and overlap all of the holidays with Thanks-Living—continually living a life of giving thanks to my Lord and Savior!
“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” Psalms 106:1
Cathy Austin considers it a privilege to have been a pastor's wife for nearly 36 years. She is a mother of three, grandmother of six (soon to be seven), Director of Children's Ministries at her church and a retired elementary school teacher.