Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

 

Hello! Hope you all have been having a great Christmas! I have been so busy lately I haven't been able to post. Now that we are almost on Christmas Break, I will be posting a lot more. Don't forget the real meaning of Christmas. Jesus' birth, the shepherds, Mary and Joseph, and the 'late' shepherds. This is the best part of Christmas. The birth of Jesus, our salvation, and his promise to come again! I hope and pray your Christmas will be a memorable one. I also pray that those who might be grieving this Christmas will find peace with God and salvation. I will be posting more devotionals and Christmas posts this week and the next. In the true spirit of Christmas, go out and share the good news with others! Have a great one!

Love,

Samy

Thankfulness & Gratitude

Thankfulness & Gratitude

 

Happy Thanksgiving friends! I have been preparing a special devotional to share with you on Thanksgiving. Now it is time to really try to understand the meaning of Thanksgiving.

 

Of course we all know the story of Thanksgiving. If you do not or want to refresh your memory then click here. This link will redirect you to a page on history.com where the Thanksgiving history is found. The Pilgrims were going through a pretty tough year, but when their harvest was finally successful, after much hard work and failure, they came together and celebrated their victory in thanks.

 

Once Thanksgiving became a national holiday, we began making our own traditions. A lot of times we forget about what Thanksgiving should really be about. Here are some verses on thankfulness and gratitude that tie in with Thanksgiving perfectly.

 

Philippians 4:11

"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances."

 

Psalms 100:4

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name."

 

1 Corinthians 15:57

"But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

 

2 Corinthians 15:9

"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!"

 

These are only some verses that represent thanksgiving in the bible. I would totally encourage you to dive deeper using the bible app, bible gateway, or your own bible at home. I do not know your situation. There are people suffering through many different circumstances out there, and it is hard to be thankful all the time. Our mind is trained to look at the negative or at what we don't have. When we really begin to change our way of thinking, we will truly become happy. Gratitude turns everything we have into enough. You might be going through a tough situation, but this Thanksgiving is time for you to forget about the negative and focus on the positive. Some people might ask, "why be thankful?" Well, here are some good reasons from God's Word to be thankful and grateful.

Jesus saved us by dying on the cross for our sins.

John 3:16

Romans 8:1-4

 

God is for us. He is always there for us!

Romans 8:31-34

 

The Holy Spirit is praying for us.

Romans 8:26-27

 

Jesus is interceding for us at the right hand of God our Father.

Romans 8:34

 

God is working everything out for good. He loves you and has great plans for you.

Jeremiah 29:11

Romans 8:28

 

These are some of the best gifts, yet we often forget about them or to be thankful for them. God sent his own son! (pause for emphasize) His very own son came to suffer and die for our disgusting sins. He was raised back to life for us. God loved us so much, he allowed his perfect son to die in our place. Jesus loved us so much, he did not stop the crucifixion. Because of God's love and mercy on us, we are saved through grace. (Ephesians 2:5) I don't know about you, but that makes me extremely thankful. Not only should we think about these things though. We need to be thankful for every other thing or person God has placed in our lives. I pray and hope that this Thanksgiving you will be thankful and grateful and show it to others. Creating a thankful mindset leads to living a positive and happy life. Realizing all that you have and being thankful for it should become part of your daily routine of prayer. Thank God everyday for as much as you can think of! If you can make it a goal to be thankful in all circumstances, then your life will be much happier and optimistic! By all means continue exploring the topic gratitude and thankfulness throughout your day!

Love,

Samy

 

 

 



Thanksgiving Games

Thanksgiving Games

 

Hello friends! I am going to now post some fun games for family get together during Thanksgiving. I will also soon be posting some recipes and a special Thanksgiving devotional. Now, let the games begin!

 

Turkey Bowl (s)

One tradition that we usually do during Thanksgiving time is a turkey bowl. We usually play a basketball game and a flag football game (both are called the "turkey bowl") . Whichever better suits your family is fine. Your rules, your family, your Thanksgiving. These are just ideas of fun games for everyone on Thanksgiving.

 

Food Contests

Another fun activity is a food contest. You can have a pie eating contests or bob for apples. If most of the adults in your family are willing, then you can even do a food relay. We do these at school during homecoming (minus the food). What you have to do is split up into equal teams of 4 or more. Once that is done, you have the option of adding food or not. After that is decided, then you need two people to stand about ten feet away with a bat or golf club. On the count of three (or 4 😄), the first player from each team runs to the person with the bat. They need to bend down, put their head face down to the bat, and spin around ten times. Then they have to run back and sit down. The first team to have everyone do this and sit down wins.

 

Pilgrims vs. Indians

This game is also known as end zone ball. We play this game at school very often. Just think of this as a special, holiday edition. 😉 If you haven't heard of end zone ball here are some basic rules, but by all means feel free to make it your own! In end zone ball there are two teams. Each team should have at least five players. One player needs to be in the goal. They will be receiving the ball from other players on there team to make a goal. They stay in the goal (rectangle at one end of the court) for the whole game and can only make a goal if they catch the ball in the rectangle. Another player needs to be blocking the opposing goal. There can only be two people in the rectangle at once, the goalie and the goalkeeper. That means two players at one end and another two players at the other end. That leaves three players on each team. Those three players will be passing the ball to each other until they pass it to the goalie in order to make a goal. Now here comes the hard part..... NO MOVING! Yep! You can't move when your with the ball. You can only take one step when in possession if the ball. Anyone who is not with the ball can run and move as much as possible. When blocking someone you cannot hit or grab the ball from them. That's about it! You can split teams up into pilgrims and Indians. You can also dress up, wear head pieces and feathers, and even make the ball look like a turkey. Make your own twist on it!

 

Those were some ideas for fun games with the family during Thanksgiving! I am positively sure you can find more on Pinterest or other blogs. Thanks again for reading and keeping up with my blog!

Love,

Samy