Attitude of Gratitude

We're looking forward to sharing a Schmonlin Thanksgiving in Portland with The Schmid and Franklin families.  Bob and Debbie and their kids are like family to us.  We can't wait to spend some time with them and the fact that the Franklins will be with us will make it even more fun.  We also hope to see Keith's niece and her family while we are in town.  Our plans also include some crazy early morning tax-free shopping on Black Friday, a trip to Ikea, heading to Newberg to see a couple of Whit's college roommates and who knows what other adventures we might undertake.  It will be a fun family getaway.  

Thanksgiving to me is more a daily mindset than a holiday.  Sure, it's nice to take a day to be especially thankful to God for His love and care for us, but it often ends up being a lot of work for the cook and cleanup crew, overeating till we can barely move, watching football, and taking a nap.  Somehow that picture doesn't necessarily reflect the attitude of gratitude that I want to portray.  Since I am a firm believer in making celebrations last as long as possible, maybe we could all think about having WAY more "thanksgiving" days throughout the year.  If not that, maybe we could just be better at openly expressing our thankfulness every day.  I think that would bring more glory to God than one holiday.  I'm going to work on that - how about you?