Thanksgiving in April

It all started last year. April 2013. Our baby was six months old. The weather was horrible. It kept snowing and snowing and snowing and we were trapped indoors with a young baby. We needed something to look forward too. At least in the winter there are holidays to celebrate to distract from the cold and the snow. But here in Spring?? Easter had come and gone. We had nothing to look forward too. 

So we made up a new holiday: Thanksgiving in April. We bought a turkey, invited over the family, and we all crammed into our tiny dining room and living room. Together we sat down and broke bread. I had a six month old baby, and I invited over my entire family. I cleaned, I baked, I colored, I crafted, I raised a child.

And it was wonderful. Just having that something to plan, to look forward too, raised the spirits of everyone. We could squeeze together as a family and talk and laugh and eat in the middle of a very snowy April. 

Cookie-ception

So around comes April 2014. The weather is less snowy, but still cold. And I have this desire, this ache to gather with my family once again and just give thanks. Give thanks for the returning birds, for a healthy child, for a family who loves me. So once again, we planned Thanksgiving in April. We bought a turkey, invited over the entire family, and we all crammed into my tiny living room and dining room. 

Leftover pecan pie

This time I wanted the focus to be on God, on giving thanks to Him in all things and for all things. I put together a few Bible verses and tucked one at each place setting. I asked them to share what they were thankful for. As we ate dinner, my family would read those Bible verses aloud, one by one. 

And I could feel it inside, a warming from the inside out. A joy. A love. A gratefulness. A gratefulness towards a loving and kind God. To a God who has blessed me so completely with a great family who loves the Lord. 

Throwing this dinner involved some work, but it was so worth it. To see my smiling family gathered around reading Bible verses aloud, proclaiming His goodness, giving thanks for His blessings. Thanksgiving shouldn't just be something we celebrate once a year. Stopping, pausing, Selah, is something we need in our lives on a day to day basis. Our Lord deserves our gratitude and praise on a day to day basis. Not just once a year! We need to make it a focus, to train our minds to see His good. 

For me, celebrating Thanksgiving in April is just a small way to keep my mind focused on being thankful. A reminder that hey, November has long been forgotten and is still a long way off, but we can, and should, stop and give thanks. 

I forgot to take pictures of the fam :/ Here instead a just a few of the dishes

Do you remember to give thanks to God in the day to day?? If so, how does this look for you?? If not, what is one thing you can plan today to make gratitude your focus??

Spiritual Gifts Inventory!

Hello Bloggy,

Recently my husband and I completed a spiritual gifts inventory as part of our young adult group (YAG). First we were to take the quiz answering the questions for ourselves. Then we were to ask people close to us to take the test for us. Hubby and I completed it for each other.

Here are our Top Five Spiritual Gifts::

Test taken by myself for Me:
1. Teaching   2. Knowledge   3. Hospitality  4. Exhortation   5. Giving

Results from Hubby taking test for Me:
1. Teaching  2. Hospitality  3. Service   4. Faith   5. Healing

Reaction:
Whaa????? Healing? FAITH??? ME?!?!? I was a little honored that he thought so highly of me! I also found it odd that we both scored teaching as the highest for me (although for me I had teaching and knowledge tied). I have defined teaching as "to instruct others in the Bible in a logical/systematic way for understanding and growth". Yikes. Sounds so....responsible. However, I can totally understand that knowledge would be high when I tested myself. I love Bible Studies and learning new things about the Bible, such as the Greek and Hebrew meaning of words. In fact, as soon as Hubby and I shared our test results, I wanted to run back home and start researching Bible Verses and blogs about our top gifts!!

Test taken by Hubby for himself:
1. Hospitality  2. Giving  3. Teaching   4. Faith   5. Pastoring

Results from Me taking test for Hubby:
1. Hospitality  2. Faith  3. Evangelism  4. Prophecy  5. Pastoring  6. Giving

Reaction:
I think he was surprised that he had scored so high on hospitality (17 pts v. Giving 12), but we both agree that he loves being social, inviting people over for dinners, cooking meals for them, and genuinely longs for a solid Christian community. We may not be philoxenos yet, but definetely got the philadelphia! The prophecy one threw us both for a loop which is why I included my sixth answer as well since I truly believe Hubby does have a heart for that. Evangelism was also shocking to him. I defined it as "to be a messenger of the good news of the Gospel". He has been through some tough persecutions in his job and especially, his military career, but it has never shaken him AND he has managed to constantly be sharing nuggets of God where ever and whenever he could. When I pointed this out, I think he could see it a little better.


True to my Knowledge gift, I have already dived into researching hospitality as it was Hubby's highest gift and also in my top five. I know often people treat hospitality as the 'women's role', and make it out to be all about decorating the home and cooking stellar meals. But already I have gleaned from the New Testament that hospitality was something the apostles expected everyone to partake in. It was something that was expected towards all brothers and sisters in Christ.

The Romans Love chapter (12:9-21) is an example of how all Christians are to love one another and practice hospitality. "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves....Share with God's people in need. Practice hospitality." The author doesn't add "Practice hospitality...if it is your spiritual gift."

Seen again in 1 Peter 4:9-10 "Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in various forms." Hospitality is spoken about as being OUTSIDE one's gifts. We are to use our gifts to SERVE OTHERS, which is a major proponent of hospitality!


Before I continue to ramble on about what other awesome-ness I have learned about hospitality thus far, I will let far better writers give it a shot. Check out these blog posts/articles!:

1. A Beginner's Guide to Hospitality . I check this one time and time again

2. I am just starting to read Hospitality Commands by Alexander Strauch. I got it for my Kindle. I think it will be an excellent resource that is 'gender neutral' so that Hubby can benefit as well

3. And I love this example of hospitality found here: Stress Free Christmas: Simple Hospitality.  Short and sweet but it captures the heart of hospitality so well.

Perhaps later I will share with you my actual failures with Biblical hospitality that I experienced just recently. But now... I feel more research coming on :))


ps Again, I tried a link up (!) over at the Christian Mommy Blogger