If I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith so that I can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.     1 Corinthians 13:2

I spent most of my life having no idea what a snickerdoodle was. We were a chocolate chip and oatmeal cookie kind of family. I only cared for the chocolate chip. When someone would mention a snickerdoodle, I envisioned some type of homemade candy that was made with Snickers bars. I thought it must have been some yummy confection with chocolate, caramel and peanuts. When someone first asked if I would like a snickerdoodle, I was so disappointed to find that it was simply a cookie with a cinnamon taste. It had nothing to do with the candy bar. As to which came first the Snicker or the Snickerdoodle, I can’t say. I’ve never researched it. I can only say that somebody messed up when they named whichever came second.

I was pondering this the other day when a friend offered me a Snickerdoodle cookie and I had to explain to her that I don’t care for Snickerdoodles. As I pondered the false advertising with the name confusion, I realized there is a lot of that going on in the world today. There are several issues concerning this matter that I would like to discuss, but I thought I would begin with Thanksgiving.

For many years of my life, Thanksgiving has been more about Black Friday than it has been about Thanksgiving. For as long as I can remember, people have plotted maps using the various sales papers and devised a strategy to save money on Christmas gifts. For those not concerned with Black Friday, it’s a time to stuff yourself on those yummy holiday foods and watch football. There’s not a whole lot of thanks in Thanksgiving when you come to think about it.

Sadly, it’s almost a missed holiday. We seem to go straight from Halloween, which people make more and more of a fuss over every year. That in itself is scary when you think about it. We almost miss Thanksgiving all together.

Often times when we are supposed to be celebrating Thanksgiving, we are grumbling about all we still have to do to prepare for Christmas. And don’t worry, we will talk about that in a bit.

The Bible doesn’t mention Thanksgiving the holiday, because we all know this is a holiday that started with the pilgrims. But it has a whole lot to say about giving thanks.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 says to give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. God wants us to give thanks in all circumstances because He is sovereign. He is in control of all things. When we trust in this, we should be thankful knowing that whatever we are going through, He is right there with us to walk us through it.

Philippians 4:6 says to give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. If we go on in Philippians 4, verse 7 tells us that if we do this the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard our hearts and minds in Jesus Christ. And verse 8 tells us to focus and concentrate on the simple, pure and good things. It tells us to concentrate on whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely and commendable. It goes on to say that if there is any moral excellence and any praise to dwell on these things.

Over the next few days, I want to talk about more things or words that mislead us. Please keep in mind that love is the key. If we love the Lord with all our heart, soul and mind, we will always be thankful. We will celebrate Thanksgiving year-round.

Love is the key, without love we are nothing. Without love we will never be thankful. We need to show love. We need to give thanks and praise. This is God’s will for us. I ask you as we draw closer to Thanksgiving to forget about the turkey, the sales and the football and adopt an attitude of gratitude. Be sure to put plenty of Thanks in your Thanksgiving.

Have a great day!