Happy Thanksgiving!

This is a neat article I read at the beginning of the week.  We are going to do this today with our family.  The boys picked up handfuls of kernals when we harvested last weekend, so I will put 5 on each of our plates.  I would love to make this a tradition!

I have so very much to be thankful for!

I am thankful for the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Without Him, I am nothing.

I am thankful for a godly and faithful husband who loves me and loves my children.

I am thankful for our home.  I love it more and more every day.

I am thankful to have the honor to stay home with my children and teach them.  They are such a joy.


I am thankful for you, all my family and friends!

Five Kernals
AOP's Daily Focus

"I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; yea, I will praise him among the multitude" (Psalm 109:30).

My children loved studying the heroic story about the Pilgrims in our homeschool history class. The Mayflower voyage, Squanto's corn planting and hunting lessons, and the first Thanksgiving all captured my children's deepest interest. But the one story of the Pilgrims that most affected my family was the story about "The Starving Time" during the spring of 1623.

Imagine going through the cold, New England winter living off a slim, summer corn crop and a few fish. Every person suffered daily from hunger and watched as the food supplies continued to dwindle. Tradition states that eventually, all that was left for this band of Pilgrims to eat each day was five kernels of parched corn. Certainly, this is a stark contrast to the Thanksgiving most of us experience!

Because my children's compassionate hearts were touched by this story, we began placing five corn kernels by each of our plates for our Thanksgiving Day meal. We used this tradition to remember the Pilgrims' sacrifice and to reflect on the many blessings God had given us. One by one, we would each take our five kernels and offer thanks for five blessings. This ceremony came to be the most meaningful time of our Thanksgiving Day meal.

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving? God has blessed you with so much — salvation, health, children, and a home. Perhaps you can encourage your own children to be thankful this Thanksgiving. Count the kernels and count the blessings from our loving Father. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights" (James 1:17a).

Gracious Father, what a loving God You are! I praise You for all the good things You have given me. When I get discouraged, help me to remember Your goodness every day of the year, as I count my many blessings. In Jesus' name, Amen.