[getty src=”182228001?et=TVG533dsTppLcFCzETO8GQ&flyout=on&sig=VpRkb_NGi8bMb0n_qm3Pib6fP0YwNCrTyP8yYIzagB0=” width=”338″ height=”507″]

What to wear for Thanksgiving?

When I was a kid we all wore our best for Holiday events like Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner.
It was part of the tradition that made the day special and memorable.
The menu was unique featuring delicacies and dishes that only made an appearance a few times a year.  China and linens graced the tables and there were flowers too, and dancing lights reflected off the crystal stemware.

Somewhere between then and now football became a part of Thanksgiving Day in America.
I’m not a big football fan.
But somehow it slipped into my language in yesterday’s post when I wrote that if you wanted to enjoy Thanksgiving even if THAT relative comes, “First you have to suit up”.

Suiting up is the perfect description of what we need to do when we know we’re going to spend the day in the company of past or potential conflict-makers.

Suiting up is about donning protection.
It’s the padding that absorbs the force preventing injury in contact sports.
It protects you and others.

David, the king and official singer-songwriter of Israel wrote about godliness within his own home and with his own family.

I will be careful to live a blameless life—
    when will you come to help me?
I will lead a life of integrity
    in my own home.Psalm 101:2

He plainly says that he needs God’s help to do it.
So do we.

It’s just too easy to hurt those we love the most.
The curt reply, the impatient demand, the careless criticism seem to jump out of our mouth before we can check ourselves.

But God has weighed in and given us some divine advice.
He’s designed a wardrobe that will protect us from both hurting and being hurt.

Colossians 3:12-14

 

Compassion is a sympathetic consciousness of another persons distress.
Compassion helps us reframe our interaction with another by trying to feel how life must feel for them.

Kindness is being friendly, generous, and considerate.
It’s how we often act in new social situations among colleagues or new acquaintances, but we sometimes forget this when we’re JUST among family.

Humility is a modest view of my own importance that moves me to be respectful of others.
Humility protects me from hurting others with prideful, critical, or condescending words.
It also protects me from the wounding to which my own pride makes me so vulnerable.

Meekness is quiet strength.  Not asserting all the force of my will or personality but instead showing gentleness.

Discipline is self-control, especially demonstrated by long-suffering.
That translates to kindly putting up with others.

We talked about love yesterday, but it’s really the 6th essential piece and your wardrobe won’t be complete without it 😉

Put on these 6 and you’re ready for a great Thanksgiving Day gathering with your whole family.

 

By the way here’s the Football lineup for Thanksgiving Day!  
Bears vs Lions
Eagles vs Cowboys
Seahawks vs 49ERS