Happy Thanksgiving!

It's hard to believe it's already Thanksgiving... Wow! It's finally socially acceptable to listen to Christmas music. As such, I will be listening to Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You" on repeat for the next 29 days. I'm actually ahead of the game - I already have my Christmas lights up on my house! What's that, you ask? Did I ever take them down from last year? Uh... I.... um.... that's not the point.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, let's acknowledge the best holiday of the year: Thanksgiving. No pressure to buy gifts, just way too much food and football all day long. Does it get any better? Amidst the cranberry sauce, stuffing, and mashed potatoes, many families take time to go around the table and share what they're thankful for this year. A great exercise, to be sure! 

Giving thanks is a great habit to cultivate, one that shouldn't be limited to one day per year. All month at Roots, we've been talking through this idea of sacrificial service. Risking ourselves for the sake of others. It's not a checklist of actions, but and inventory of the heart. Our willingness to serve can flow from the awareness of the blessings we've been given. God did not withhold even His very own Son from us; how can we withhold good from need it?

This Thanksgiving, may we not be thankful in words only, but in action. Let our thankfulness show in the fruit of our lives. As we discussed last week, when we truly embrace God's love for us, our lives will completely change. If we truly understand the sacrifice that God made for us, thankfulness is not something we will have to muster. 

This week, we'll be talking about specific ways to serve in the church. God has given us all unique gifts, abilities, and opportunities, and we must be faithful to His call on our lives!