Thanksgiving

So Thanksgiving is coming up in a couple of days and I was thinking of the whole point of it.
Obviously it's to give thanks for what we've been given, but a lot of the time we don't even realize what all we've been given.
We look at the big, obvious things that we should give thanks for, like a family, friends, a house, whatever. But we tend to forget the smaller, and sometimes more important things in life [friends and family are an exception. They're pretty vital in life]. Things like Grace that is renewed daily, a community that makes us better people, the ability to give back. The list goes on if you look at it a little deeper.
I think there's another reason for Thanksgiving, especially the timing. You see, Thanksgiving falls about a month before Christmas, the time of the year where everyone feels the urge to spend as much money as possible for Christmas gifts, sometimes for themselves.
I think that Thanksgiving comes first so we can look at life and be thankful for what we have, without becoming gluttonous and wanting more and more when Christmas shopping rolls around. BUT, the problem is..society has taken control of our thought process when it comes to Thanksgiving. They stick Black Friday in the day after Thanksgiving, so you don't even really get to be thankful for what you have because you're already hyped up on what you're going to buy the next day. When in turn ruins the true meaning of Christmas as well.
It's really all about giving thanks, but in today's society it's all about what else there is to get.
I really encourage everyone to take five minutes to look at their life and figure out what exactly they have to be thankful for.
And then, please, think of what you can give, rather than what you can get this holiday season.

Here is what I am thankful for:

• My family for backing me up on things I aspire for, giving me more than I deserve, and helping me when I'm not sure what to do. Because they know me best and still accept me for the crazy person I tend to be.
• My friends for always being there when I need them most and making it possible to have fun in IHop at midnight, or the library at school
• Music for keeping me sane and allowing me to dream, and also for connecting me with God in a way that makes me feel complete
• School for giving me a start on my future and for allowing me to acquire new skills
• Running for keeping me sane as well. My thoughts are much more organized because of it
• The gym and all my friends there, because you guys make it fun to be sore the next day
• My job, because I can hang out with my family and have fun with them, but still make enough money to get by [and then some!] and keep my schedule flexible
• My creative abilities that I can use to give back to people who really need it
• My future niece/nephew, because you are already a blessing
• Art, because through it I can express who I am - goes along with music
• Musicians and their abilities to speak wisdom through the lyrics of their songs
• These almost twenty years of my life. They've been grand!
• A new and welcoming community of friends at Fusion. It's exactly what I've been looking for for six years, and praying about for two. I couldn't ask for a better place to be with people who love God. Because, even after just two weeks of being there, I have already made amazing new friends that I can be myself entirely without worrying about a thing. 
• God, because I talk to Him every night and He never gets tired of hearing the same thing over and over again just because it makes me happy to talk to Him about it. Because He has always been there when I had no idea what to in life. Because He has given me patience and the ability to look at life and be thankful for the little things in it. Because He has made everything happen that has turned my life into a dream. Because He never fails to forgive me and will never turn His back on me. Because of His unfailing love.

I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving!

I know mine will be grand :)

~Hannah