Is Thanksgiving a word or lifestyle?

As I think about Thanksgiving I think about turkey. I imagine sitting at a table surrounded by family eating way too much and then watching football and waiting for room to open up in my stuffed gut to pack away some homemade pie.

Interestingly our national holiday "Thanksgiving" can be a time when we tend to live it out the least as a lifestyle. Granted there are those who rally their own sense of self-fulfillment of "doing something good" during the holidays through charity and volunteering. But by and large the typical act of thanksgiving will be a 30 second bowing of our heads before we overeat.

So the question I pose is: what is true Thanksgiving?

A word, holiday, prayer, or is it a lifestyle?

When we live a lifestyle of Thanksgiving our perspective of living changes.
What do we do with our day? Do we treat it with purpose? Do we live intentionally numbering our days as Moses speaks of in the Psalms?

How do we live out thanksgiving for living in a country that defines freedom?
Do we take it for granted not knowing anything else? Or do we expose ourselves to the lack of freedom around the world, and then with the power of perspective live each day with a little more purpose than the day before?

Ironically, surrounded by all of the freedom we have, there is a tendency to abuse the system. The selfish sinful nature we possess pushes us to see how little we can get away with doing rather than keeping a perspective that we are not guaranteed tomorrow so I simply refuse to settle for anything less than my absolute best.

Today can impact eternity.

When we embrace this truth in our life we begin to live "Thanksgiving."

Visit www.globalrichlist.com for a perspective on being thankful in terms of wealth.