I'm as big a fan of Christmas as anybody, but I fear that Thanksgiving gets inadvertently tossed by the wayside in anticipation of Christmas. In an effort to remedy the situation and bring much-deserved respect back to this esteemed holiday, I propose the following.

• Find a family in need (If you work for a church, this should not be difficult. Likewise if you attend a church. If you do neither, just pick one and call them to ask for recommendations.). Someone who has recently lost a job, someone with an illness or injury in the family, a recently-divorced single parent, or someone with a home that's been foreclosed on are all good places to start. Contact that family and find out what needs they have that you can meet. If they need food, provide it. If they need a job, make it your job to help find one. Just do what you'd do if it were your own family.
• Buy some solid-color cloth napkins for everyone at your Thanksgiving table, along with paint pens or non-toxic permanent markers. At the beginning of your feast, have everyone write one or two Thankful For items on the napkin. Wash and re-use these same napkins for many Turkey Days to come, adding new items every year. (Can also be done with a plain tablecloth.)
  
• Tell service workers you encounter that you're thankful for the work they do, and really mean it - people like teachers, mail carriers, law enforcement, and nurses. This might also be accompanied by an inexpensive gift like cookies, a handwritten note, or a scarf. 
• Spend time thinking (alone or with your immediate family) about things you are not thankful for right now, and consider the ways in which they might be repositioned. Remember I Thessalonians 5:18: "Give thanks in all circumstances." There is something to be thankful for in every situation.

Other suggestions?

We're a little over a week away from Black Friday, and although the popular post-Thanksgiving day shopping binge may be high, all signs are pointing to a slow wave of consumer spending for the holidays this year. Best Buy CEO Brad Anderson said last week that this holiday season is "the most difficult climate we've ever seen."

I have mixed emotions. On one hand, I'm a little nervous about how spending slow downs beginning this Christmas will last into next year. A slow economy certainly has impact on how well companies like Catalyst do. On the other hand, it makes me feel good to know people are being a little more conservative with their money and reaching for the cash in their wallet quicker than the plastic.

Could a coming recession actually help bring about a bit of materialistic cleansing?

We're certainly not known, as Americans, for being the most self-controlled breed on the planet. Perhaps a silver lining in the recession rain cloud is the possibility of more restraint on our parts. I suspect, though, that even though we may be inclined to spend less on ourselves, I doubt it will equate to being willing to give more to others. Even a less consumeristic Church doesn't guarantee a more generous one.

Here's the hoping I'm right (about the first part) and wrong (about the second).

Jim Collins says that creating a "To Not Do List" is as important as creating a To Do List. In order to get more accomplished with our time, we need to not only stay focused on our tasks to do, we also need to stop wasting time doing things that are keeping us from accomplishing our goals.

What things are you doing that need to go on your To Not Do List?

Furthermore, regarding your Kingdom-purpose-mission-in-life-thing, what do you need to stop doing? Are you accomplishing the mission in life that God made you for? Do you need to stop playing it safe?

It seems that most of the ministry happening in our (big "C") Church, is done through paid ministry staff, or lone ranger individuals.

This should not be. We are the body of Christ, every one of us is an IMPORTANT part of the body which the other parts NEED for proper functioning. We all have greater responsibility than just sitting in a pew, inviting a friend, and giving money.

1 Cor 12:7, 14-18 "Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good ... the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be."

See also Romans 12, and Eph 4.

What is your part in the body? And how can you work with the other parts around you to advance the Kingdom? Let's get crackin'!

That crazy creative loswhit - see his day in 90 seconds!

Awesome blog helping you get the most from twitter - Twitip.com

Interesting interview with Conversant Life.com

Ted Haggard starts preaching again

AWESOME idea - the Not Wedding

What if we truly loved each other?

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Looking for hip stuff and fun things to do this weekend? DailyCandy.com or hit the Unscene