Come and Dine

This post is written in honor and memory of my grandmother. 🧡

Thanksgiving can be weird. I think we all have a picture in our heads of what a perfect Thanksgiving should be. But often it's not that perfect day, it's more a holiday filled with anxiety and stress. If you're not the one waking up at 5 AM to start cooking, you're the one forced to akwardly reconnect with distant cousins and explain to your old relatives what you're doing with your life. We have to suppress our religious beliefs and political views for a whole day to keep the peace with family who seem more like strangers from a strange land. But I encourage you to try and make the best of it. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. If we stay close to Him, even the most difficult situations in life get a little easier.  I thought this Charles Spurgeon devotion might help us all keep the right attitude...

"'Come and dine' gives us a vision of union with Jesus,  because the only food we can feast on when we dine with Jesus is Himself. Oh, what union this is! It is also an invitation to enjoy fellowship with the saints.  Christians may differ on a variety of points,  but they all have one spiritual appetite.  If we cannot feel alike,  we can all feed alike on the Bread of Life sent down from heaven.  At the table of fellowship with Jesus,  we are one bread and one cup. As the loving cup goes around,  we pledge our love and unity to one another heartily.  Get nearer to Jesus,  and you will find yourself linked more and more in spirit to all who are like yourself, supported by the same heavenly manna. If we were closer to Jesus,  we would be closer to one another. "

For me though, Thanksgiving really is the best holiday. It can stand alone as a blessed time of gratefulness and fellowship. But it's also the gateway to the Christmas season! I can start listening to Christmas music. I get to see my family.  I get to eat lots of food. Most of us probably think our moms make the best food,  but my mom really does.

Growing up, my family would drive down to my grandmother's for Thanksgiving. I can remember one year dressing up as a pilgrim, sitting in the back of the station wagon, and waving to all the cars on the way down. (I was an "interesting" kid). My grandmother lived in a three room house. Not three bedrooms. Three literal rooms. But that was all she needed. Most of the time. Except on Thanksgiving when everyone she knew came to visit at the same time! It worked though. We sat at folding tables and TV trays. Watched football, Star Wars, or old Western movies. We all took turns standing in front of the gas space heater to keep warm. We ate cornbread dressing, potato salad, sweet potato casserole, and all kinds of pie! I ate until I was miserable.  And just as soon as I was just slightly not in pain anymore,  I would eat more.  I still do that. What would Thanksgiving be if you weren't on the verge of throwing up? I didn't realize it at the time, but now I understand just how special those Thanksgivings were with my grandmother. You don't have to have a picture perfect dining room table with perfect manners and a perfectly roasted turkey to make special memories. Most of the time it's the burnt turkeys, political arguments,  TV trays, the thirty people trying to fit in a three room house, and even the dead deer that your uncle just killed hanging from a tree in the backyard that make the most lasting memories. When will we learn that perfect isn't so perfect?

For a lot of us, Thanksgiving has changed over the years. We have new traditions, bigger families, but also empty chairs where loved ones once were. Life is always changing.  Now I drive my kids down to their grandparents. I don't dress like a pilgrim anymore.  No one goes to my grandmother's little house.  She has Thanksgiving in heaven now.  We all still have fun, but it's just not quite the same. One of my favorite things to think about this time of year is the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. One day we will all be reunited. We will sit down with our Savior and have a feast! I imagine it being like the best Thanksgiving ever!  What could be better than sharing a meal with everyone you love and Jesus?! I like how Maria Woodworth-Etter puts it...

"Oh, what a happy meeting that will be! Whole families and friends will rise up from old churchyards and clasp each other in a long embrace, which will last forever; mothers and children shall meet,  husbands and wives,  brothers and sisters,  friends and neighbors,  pastors and flocks. Those who are alive will be changed in a moment,  set free from the effects of sin, and be clothed with the glory of heaven.  And then we will sit down to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.  Oh, what a company! Oh, what a reunion,  what a gathering that will be, as we look along the table at the bright and shining faces! Friends and families.  Apostles and disciples. Then to behold the dear Savior smiling on His dear children! Dear friends,  will you be there?"

What a beautiful picture of what awaits us one day. If Thanksgiving is a difficult time for you, I pray you can keep this hope in your heart. And remember there is a place for you at Jesus' table. Come and dine and be blessed. 🧡

Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.  Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)  Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”

Revelation 19:7‭-‬9 

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
John 6:35 

A Thankful Heart

Those of us who are Millennials have probably been accused at least once of being entitled or ungrateful. And to be honest, we are. Not because we were born a certain year though. But because we are human.  I think it's part of the fallen, sinful nature to be ungrateful. To feel entitled. Selfish and prideful even. We have to learn, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to overcome these things. But it doesn't happen overnight.  I know I've spent most of my life at least somewhat selfish and ungrateful. Sure. I would thank someone here or there. I would thank God in my prayers. I would have moments of sincere gratefulness. But I don't believe I had a thankful heart. And as a parent, I can see that same sinful nature show itself in my kids. Thankfulness doesn't come naturally. It's something you have to learn and teach and practice.

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is of the thankful leper. You can read it for yourself in Luke chapter 17. But I'll give you the gist of it. First, let me remind you of what leprosy is. It's a horrible disease that basically eats away at your body. And at the time, it was feared to be contagious and fatal.  So the unfortunate people who had this disease were separated from their families and forced to live outside the villages as beggars. I can't imagine the misery and loneliness people must have felt while they basically waited to die. So when Jesus stopped to talk to ten of these outcasts and see them as more than their disease, it was a really big deal. And when Jesus sent them to the temple to be declared clean, it was life changing to say the least. Nine of the healed lepers kept running as they saw their sores vanish. Of course.  They were excited.  They had been healed! No longer an untouchable! They wanted to get back to their families. Can you blame them? But one man ran back to thank Jesus. Who in turn, it seems, was touched by this man's thankful heart.

Another thankful person in the Bible was Paul.  We know that David was a man after God's own heart. But I think you could say that Paul was a man with a thankful heart. Paul continually and consistently thanked God and other Christians all throughout His letters. He called himself the worst of all sinners and was fully aware that he had been saved by grace. And not just saved, but also transformed and used powerfully by God. Paul was very thankful.

Something that both the thankful leper and Paul had in common was that they had been saved from much. One saved from a disease of the flesh another a disease of the heart. Both knew they would have died without Jesus, and they were thankful. But aren't we all saved from much? Jesus has saved us all from sin and death. And now we (if we accept it) have undeserved mercy and grace and a promise of eternal life.

Over the past year or two I have been actively trying to be grateful. Making it a part of my life, practicing it, and teaching my kids. I don't just meditate on the things I'm thankful for, I've been trying to reach out and thank the people in my life. And I feel like the Grinch whose heart tripled in size. The more I thanked, the more love I felt. The closer I felt to God.  The more I understood that I'm not alone. I'm a product of God's grace and lots of amazing people who love me. I am thankful -- for Jesus and all the people He put in my life. And now I can see that a thankful heart is a happy heart, fully aware of God's goodness and provision. So as we enter the season of Thanksgiving, I encourage you to reach out and sincerely thank someone.  It will probably make their day, and it will be good for your heart, too. Something to keep in mind is that all ten lepers were healed,  not just the thankful one.  We don't have to be grateful.  I don't know about you, but I still want to be like the man who turned around.  And Paul who lived for Christ. I want to break the stereotype I've been given because of the generation I'm in. I want to live a life that makes Jesus smile.  I want to have a thankful heart.


"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.  For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."
Psalms 100:4‭-‬5 

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
Colossians 3:15-17

"Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.  Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 5:12‭-‬18 


"Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance When he saw them, he said, 'Go, show yourselves to the priests.' And as they went, they were cleansed.  One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.  Jesus asked, 'Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?  Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?'  Then he said to him, Rise and go; your faith has made you well.'”
Luke 17:11-19

Operation Christmas Child

Now that it's November, I can start thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas! I love this time of year. And one of my favorite holiday traditions is Operation Christmas Child. I've been putting together these shoe boxes since I was just a kid. And now it's something I do with my own kids. They take it seriously and put a lot of thought into their boxes. It's such a fun way to not just bless another child, but to teach our own kids the importance of giving. There's something almost magical about putting your heart into a box of presents for a child you don't even know.  Love and giving is the very heart of our Christian faith. Because our God is LOVE and He GAVE up His one and only Son for us. So I just wanted to send out a reminder to start shopping for your shoe boxes. They dont have to be extravagant. Just something that will remind a child that God loves them. You never know what small act of kindness will do to impact someone else's life and the lives around them. National collection week is November 18-25. Happy giving!

Here is the link to Samaritan's Purse where you can learn more...

Operation Christmas Child

Read a woman's testimony who received a shoe box when she was just a girl...

Oxana's story

More ways to help...

Voice of Martryres

World Vision

Compassion International




This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.  This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
1 John 4:9‭-‬16 



And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Hebrews 13:16