Howdy, Pilgrim!

This is not a blog about John Wayne! I couldn't resist using this title, however, as
each November, I'm reminded of a group of bedraggled, weary people taking a very dangerous journey and risking their lives to find a new home where they could freely  practice their religion.
  The very word pilgrim means traveler, or one making a journey .  We are all pilgrims trying to find our way back home, our eternal home, which is Heaven.  Along the way, just like the Pilgrims who landed in Massachusetts, we'll experience hardships, pain, grief, joy, contentment, fear and even some hard work and monotony.  We'll  have to weather real storms and circumstantial ones, we'll be blown off -course and end up in places or circumstances we never planned. The original  plan for the Pilgrims was to land in Virginia in a more temperate climate, after all. The harsh New England winter and no settlement near-by, plus not enough food and supplies, no shelter and a sickness that kills about half their number was not how they imagined their new lives in a new world.  They were not prepared but their stubborn faith and trust in God kept them going.  
 Just like the Pilgrims, our job is to step out in faith. Our life journey will be fraught with perils of one kind or another--our hearts will be broken at times, our feelings bruised, our wills and trust shaken.  There will be times of inexplicable joy and gratitude also.  But it will be a risky business and God will ask us to do some crazy things.
I'm privileged to know several risk takers who have decided  to put their faith to the test, and are doing some "crazy things". They include:  (Ideas inside these are given if you'd life to join in our craziness)
-My brother-in-law Mike and his wife Mattie and their family who moved to the Mid East to quietly show neighbors and friends what a life in Jesus looks like.

-Mission groups, who go into the worst poverty and health areas of the work to minister to others.  How crazy is it to give kids shoe boxes at Christmas??  Millions have received God's word and have been blessed by this craziness.  My daughter helped a mission group,  Hands At Work, who work with AIDS orphans and victims in South Africa. A lot of people think it's crazy to go to these places and attempt to help--but we know better. (Operation Christmas Child by Samaritan's Purse is in full swing--join us!  You can also donate to the mission group above or any or many who serve other in Christ's name)
-How crazy is it when you have a nice established family and decide there's room for one...or two more?Several families I know are making room for another child by foster care or adoption.  One family I know adopts special needs kids. The number of orphans worldwide is 17 times the population of New York City. You can help by financially supporting a family who is adopting, or sponsor children through Compassion International, or Samaritan's Purse.  You can even give money to help rescue children and women from exploitation.
 -My friends. the Lovely Branches Ministries ladies who went out on a limb (pun intended) when they started lovelybranchesministries.org and the Taste and See coffee shop.  This was a risk--a pretty big dream for our little town, but we have a big God!
-All the missionaries and their families who make so many sacrifices and endure hardships to tell others about Jesus and give them help .
-Youth pastors, Sunday school teachers, and other who invest their time and energy into the lives of young people and risk their sanity at times and their patience trying all manner of things to reach children and youth with the love of Jesus.  They also risk rejection!
-People who give their time, money and energy to further God's Kingdom when it feels foolish to risk what they have in short supply. (A Christian Radio Station is a great place to contribute,or Voices of the Martyrs who support persecuted Christians around the world)
In getting a jump on Christmas, giving to any of these groups would be a great idea for your family.  Even younger children can appreciate giving chickens, goats, food, shelter and even schooling to children who have none.
You can also do some other crazy things--
Speak up (gently and respectfully) when the culture around you is veering away from Godly things
Vote!!!!.
Speak up at school (we got the sex ed curriculum changed, and different books for students to read for assignments.  Friends helped students start their Bunch Of Believers (B.O.B.) club at school and meet over lunch with teachers being willing to serve as a host.)
Speak up in your community-I have friends who objected to the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine being displayed at our grocery check-out,and thanks to them, there is a covering over most of the front page.
We need to clash with our culture just as the Pilgrims did.  I have my AWANA Sparkies dress in loud, obnoxious, mismatched clothes when we talk about the Pilgrims and Thanksgiving and explain that they clashed with the people around them in how to worship God.  We need to stand out from our culture , too, by how we live, what we think, how we act, what we choose to see and hear.  We're to be salt and light!  
Risk being content in a world that tempts us to be discontent with everything...tells us we need more or better or newer.  Thanksgiving is the best time to count our blessings and be grateful for what we have.
You will be blessed by visiting Ann Voskamp's website, www.aholyexperience.com for her 1000 gifts devotionals.  Spend each day in November by counting the gifts God has given you and yours.  She
also has a new One Thousand Gifts Group Bible Study on DVD and you can watch the first session.  Her words on the difficulty of this project and the risk taking involved are wonderfully inspiring to all of us:
"We thought of you.  And we said God and His glory is worth it and you are worth it and by His grace we climbed high over our fears...and said yes."
What is God nudging you to say "yes" to?  You're a Pilgrim after all, and we're not home yet--there's work to be done.  Let's live and serve by grace in ways to take as many people with us as we can and lighten the load for others along our trip!

Now for the practical side of celebrating Thanksgiving with a heart of thanksgiving and thanks-living.
Remember Hints from Heloise?  This is Suggestions from Suzanne, or how to navigate your family ship through the waters ahead--the Holidays!!!  This can be a Perilous Journey indeed.  (My kids used to play a piano piece with that title--lots of crashing chords).
We need to plot our course, navigating through the storms of unrealistic expectations, steering clear of the rocks of too much to do, hanging on with a smile on our lips and gentle answers on our tongues in the rapids of too many people in a little space with not enough sleep!
-Plan ahead-what times are family times and put on your calendar early.  Decide what you'll be doing.
-Cook ahead--fill your freezer with cookies, easy meals, if you're hostessing Thanksgiving, cook your turkey ahead, remove the meat, boil the carcass with veggies for broth, and make gravy--and extra gravy.  The Norman Rockwell picture of the family admiring a beautiful turkey on a platter is great, but doing the bird ahead of time makes your life easier!!  (Or have roast beef instead)
-Use Crock pots--my life as a hostess improved greatly with this idea.  Put your mashed potatoes, gravy and turkey in crock pots and if your guests are late, it's no big deal.  Second servings are still warm, too.
-Set the table a day ahead of time--cover with a sheet if you want to protect it from dust.
 -Make a "Job Jar" of things that need doing at the last minute so people can help: ice in the glasses, pour beverages, set things on tables, clean up, take trash out, etc
-Make a hot cocoa bar for later in the day, after flag football or walks.  Have cocoa mix and marshmallows in mason jars with mugs.  You can make hot cocoa and hot cider in crock pots if you'd like.  (After you empty them of the potatoes and gravy, that is)  
Have fun--with the kids!
Make a relish plate of carrot sticks, celery sticks and peanut butter, cheese cubes, pickles, etc. for the kids to snack on while they wait for dinner.
Cover the kids' table with brown or white craft paper and supply crayons.  They can decorate their place settings--give prizes for most creative, most in keeping with Thanksgiving or whatever.
Go to wwwMomlifetoday.com (a sub group of Family Life Today) has some great ideas for a counting blessings wreath and other Thanksgiving traditions.
Get a big box and color it/spray paint to look like a ship in the water on the outside.  Attach a paper or cloth "sail" on a yardstick and tape to the side.  Let little ones in and rock gently to have their own Mayflower journey.
Thanksgiving is the perfect time to serve joyfully and give thanks--we're all so blessed, and as Ann Voskamp says, "All is grace".  Above all, keep reaching out to others in love --it's risky, but our Savior did it first and is still reaching out to bring all His children, we who are pilgrims, home.