"Thanks"...for the opportunity to be...."giving"

The view from my kitchen window this morning is lovely.  The sun floating in the clear sky, like a celestial crystal ball, foretells a beautiful Spring-like Thanksgiving Day.  In a few hours, we will be meeting up with 21 other tribe members and celebrating the holiday with a turkey dinner of colossal proportions.  We'll make our traditional Thanksgiving craft (this year it's an Indian headband, complete with the creation of unique Indian names for everyone in the family) and spend a good part of the day outside riding Uncle J's four wheeler, playing games, and shooting guns.

It's a "full" day in more ways than one:  full of food, full of laughter, full of fun, full of pictures; and it's spent with those who I consider to be my greatest blessings on this earth.

But let me take you back a couple of days and share with you an "A-Ha!" moment I had with my Kate.  The scene is set at Kroger, just after exiting the check out line, and standing in front of a paper angel Christmas tree.  Kate and I stopped to browse through the various Sharpie-scribed hopes of strangers and soon realized that the hopes on this particular tree were tantamount.

The inscribed abdominal wishes on these angels were not for bikes, or dolls, or Wii games, but rather $25.00 gift certificates for groceries.  I explained to Kate that the angels on the tree each represented a family in need, families who may not have enough money to buy a Thanksgiving dinner....and the cherubs were knocking elbows.  The tree was literally crowded with them. 

As we carried our bags to the car, filled with cans of pumpkin, pecans, fruit, peppermint mocha creamer and other preparatory items for today's meal, on the heels of the angel tree address, I was overwhelmed with an awareness of fortune.  In my mind I saw the checklist for Thanksgiving dinner, the itinerary for Black Friday shopping, the bonus room full of Christmas decorations ready to bask in their seasonal limelight....and could just imagine the Kroger angels sadly shaking their heads at my misguided focus. 

For me, it was a holiday reset.  It is my responsibility to "do good unto others" and to give according to how richly I have been blessed.  It is also my responsibility to instill in my children a sense of compassion for others and teach them to care for those who are less fortunate.  So today, on Thanksgiving, while keeping in mind family, friends, good health, and material blessings, I will also give thanks for opportunities to be giving.  The good that I pass on to others has a direct connect with the amount of good God has placed in my life....and my cup overflows.

"Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you."  (Deuteronomy 16:17)

"Upon this moment in time...."

In the High School girls' class on Sunday mornings we have started a study that I've entitled, "Happily Eternally After".  It's the story of a super-powered warrior princess, who happens to be me....and you....(if you're a girl)....and every other Christian woman in the world.  She's beautiful, she's kind, she's smart, and at the end of the story (SPOILER ALERT).....she wins!  (Of course, along the way she finds a handsome prince who sweeps her off her feet and they fall madly in love.....because this is a high school girls' class after all!)

A few weeks ago, after introducing our study, I gave the girls a piece of paper and had them write down their ideal life story.  I asked them, "If you could choose today how your story will be written, what would it say?  Where would you be in five years and what would you be doing?  What about fifteen years?  Thirty years?"

Then we kicked off our first chapter in the study, "Upon this moment in time..."  We talked about "moments" and how they relate to the life stories the girls wrote the previous week.  We discussed how single moments can either substantiate our stories or alter them.  Decisions you make, sometimes in the briefest of moments, can help you continue down the path in your "ideal story" or they can send you in another direction entirely.  Another direction is not always a bad thing (although it certainly can be)....as long as your story leads you to the same "happily eternally after" ending.

So I've been thinking a lot about "moments" over the past week.  I've thought about all of the choices those precious teenagers are making at this time in their lives.  I've thought about my three children and how, when I pray with them at night, I always ask for God to help them make good choices.  I've thought about my own life and how the choices I make not only affect me but also my family, my friends, and my co-workers.  Decision-making moments should not be taken lightly.

I've also thought about my life story:  I've flipped through the chapters that have already been written, I've looked at the plot lines that were red marked and revised, I've laughed and cried at some of my best and worst decision making moments, and now I'm wondering what will happen next.  I have my "ideal story" in mind and it definitely ends with "happily eternally after", but the pages are mine to write.

As we encounter moments that can change our stories it is important to consider them with the understanding that our manuscripts can be published at any given moment and once they are published, the ending cannot be changed.  Be sure that your "moments" support a story line that leads you to heaven!

M indful
O f
M y
E ternity
N ot
T emporary
S atisfaction