November Challenge: Day 26

Happy Thanksgiving!

"In everything give thanks.." There is so much for Christians to be thankful for and in everything we should show gratitude to God for it is His will for our lives. Even on the very worst of days, those imagined and those we have experienced, we can show gratitude because even on those days our eternity has been sealed with Jesus. When we are hurt, when we face loss, and when we are grieving we can rest in the hope that is Jesus Christ for this life is not the end. For Christians there is hope in an eternal life spent with God where sorrow is not known. I am not claiming that Christians shouldn't experience grief or that they don't have a right to feel their hurt, but that even in loss we can show gratitude to God. In everything give thanks. 

Today, I am thankful for the success of the Thanksgiving dinner I cooked. Cooking the turkey had some challenges, but I was able to overcome these challenges and cook a 20 lb turkey for dinner. The challenges were actually pretty funny. The first challenge came when I pulled the roasting pan out of the oven to add some tinfoil and the left tucked wing of the turkey decided to break free, wedging the turkey wing against the top of the oven. With some help I was able to get the wing unstuck and the turkey back in the pan to finish cooking. The second challenge came when it was time to flip the turkey. The 20 lb turkey was nearly too big for my oven, which meant that flipping the turkey was near impossible. Again, the turkey threatened to become stuck in the oven. Fortunately, the challenges were overcome and the turkey was cooked. Going into this dinner I had done a substantial amount of research about cooking turkeys and because of this I am slightly disappointed because my turkey was not as juicy as I would have liked. 

Regardless, I am still thankful that the turkey was cooked and ready in time for dinner. The sides I cooked (mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, french cut green beans, whole green beans with almonds, and stuffing) all turned out well and very little of the sides was left over. I am also thankful for the sweet Hawaiian rolls and the pies, we had both pumpkin and apple. Thanksgiving dinner was a success and everyone seemed to be happy with their meals, which honestly is another reason to be grateful. 

As I sit in the comfort of my home, having enjoyed a wonderful meal, I can't help but remember that not everyone goes home for Thanksgiving. The men and women of the US military have sacrificed their happy moments with their own families that I would be able to experience my own with my family. There are many families that tonight are missing their loved ones, praying that they are safe, and not knowing when they will see their ones again. I am thankful for the sacrifice these families are making too. I wish there wasn't a need for war and that all of the members of the military could be home with their family, but since they can't, it is important to appreciate their sacrifice. 

There is so much to be thankful for and I hope that this challenge has inspired you to think of all the areas of your life where you can show gratitude. Every area, even the complicated ones, is a chance to give thanks to God. There are four more days left in November, which means there are four more days to give thanks. November isn't the only month that we can express thankfulness. Gratitude is an activity that we should practice daily. Every night I record on my phone three aspects of my day that I am grateful for and every week I record the week's blessings in a document on my computer. I started this practice last year. Keeping a record of your blessings makes it easy to access on days when you are struggling to be grateful. 

What are you thankful for today?

November Challenge: Day 24

Thanksgiving is just a day away and this will be the first year that I am cooking the meal entirely by myself. I have cooked the bulk of the meal in years past, but my mother and grandmother were always nearby assisting in one way or another. Plus we always used pre-prepared meals purchased from grocery stores, but this is the first year I will be cooking the meal by myself from raw ingredients. Since this is my first time preparing a Thanksgiving meal entirely by myself I am very grateful for Pinterest. Pinterest has been a wonderful source of recipes and useful information about how to prepare the best Thanksgiving meal. I have the ability to cook and I know how to read a recipe so I am not worried, but it is still nice to know that Pinterest is there to support me.

I do not have to cook for a large group of people, but I still need to prepare a meal for four people and I need the meal to taste well enough that they will be content eating the leftovers the next day. Ordinarily I would say this is not a problem, but two of the four people I am cooking for are very picky and vocal about their dissatisfaction. Although this experience is a bit overwhelming, I trust in my ability to successfully make this meal. The last few weeks I have spent a lot of time researching recipes and reading every helpful tip that I came across. This evening I spent time writing down my timeline for Thanksgiving day, everything that needs to get done, and recording all of the necessary steps that need to be done to prepare and cook my turkey. Thanks to the information on Pinterest I feel prepared and I am confident that I can pull off a successful Thanksgiving dinner.

Part of that confidence comes from the fact that the refrigerator is stock full of leftovers from this week and these leftovers provide a safety net should a disaster strike on Thanksgiving. I have to laugh at this because anyone else would panic at the thought of disaster striking, but I know that I have the ability to make things work, even if dinner doesn't turn out the way it is suppose to, and there is peace in that knowledge. Taking over another person's household hasn't been easy, but I believe I have been successful in achieving everything that needs to get done and I think that Thanksgiving will be the crowning achievement of that success. I owe my success to wonderful meal ideas that I found on Pinterest, as well as helpful tips for organizing menus for the week. 

Yes, I am grateful for Pinterest, but I know that my success with Pinterest is due to the fact that God has allowed me to find the pins I need in a sea of pins that I don't. It is God that has made organizing and preparing these last few weeks manageable. And it will be God who will make my Thanksgiving meal a success. I am not worried because God Himself is on my side. If God is for me, who could possibly be against me? As I finish out my second week of running my mom's household, I know that I have been blessed in my success by God and I am very grateful. What are you thankful for today?