Thanks and giving go hand in hand.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love Christmas and Easter, don’t get me wrong, as a Christian, those two mean the world to me and fit my beliefs.

Thanksgiving is different. It’s a day to be thankful. A day to give back to those who are less fortunate. It’s a day to enjoy a wonderful meal with family and friends. (Used to be a day to watch football, for me).

Check out this video on the brief history of Thanksgiving.

Holidays can be a time of sorrow for many. Whether they are grieving the loss of a loved one, are single without anyone around, those away to college and can’t get home, family is too far away, etc. To those people, I would suggest going out and helping someone in need. They say if you help others, in return you are helping yourself heal.

There are organizations you can get plugged in to.  Salvation Army is one. There are also food lockers you can donate food to. Or, you can see if you can visit a nursing home with someone who has no family nearby, or hospitals to spread some cheer. You can go to your search engine to find where to volunteer for Thanksgiving, locally.

This year a portion of my family will be doing the Run to Feed the Hungry. (My Darlin and I will be walking…just saying). This is the first time for us. I’m praying for decent weather, though. This organization raises a ton of money to help with the homeless and hungry in our area. It will be an honor to help in some small way.

Growing up poor and getting help from St. Vincent DePaul will always be a memory…good because we had a turkey, bad because we were poor and I knew it.

So, yes, thanks and giving go hand in hand. I’m thankful to have abundant blessings, and I don’t mean monetarily. But am able to give of my time to help support someone in need.

I encourage you to pray/think about doing something for others less fortunate. We can always find ways to complain about our own circumstances, but I guarantee there are others far worse off.

Here’s a little tidbit I wrote several years ago. I hope you’ll enjoy it

From my family to you and yours, we wish you a very Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving.