A 7 Minute Thanksgiving Devotional for You and Your Family

Are you gathering with friends or family for Thanksgiving? Or perhaps spending time alone? Whatever your situation, I bet you wish you had something short and meaningful you could do to honor this day. 

You may try something that I have found meaningful.

Some time ago, I realized how easy it is for my “issues” (fear for a child, concern for a friend, a decision to make, etc.) to become bigger in my head than my God. I needed to focus on Him rather than on my concern of the moment. Somehow, focusing on His character traits reminded me of how big He is. As I did this, my “issue” seemed to become less dominating while my view of Him richly expanded. 

At Thanksgiving, we have a designated time to give praise and thanks to God. 

We are created to praise Him and thank Him. It’s helpful to consider these as two separate things. 

Praise involves praising Him for His character- You forgive; You are sovereign (in charge); You are the beautiful creator; You know me; You provide; You understand; You give light, etc.

Thanksgiving means thanking Him for specific things He has done. You supplied my need of…; you gave me a friend; You helped me with…; You changed my attitude toward…; You protected me when…; You closed that door, etc. 

Here’s a 7 Minute Plan:

• Choose a passage in scripture. Psalm 103 and Ephesians 1 are two of my favorites. Make sure each person has a Bible. If you are in the car, have your kids bring their Bibles. This can easily bring meaning to a long trip! 

• Take 5 minutes so each one can read the passage silently and underline the character traits of God or Jesus that are most special to them. If you have “littles,” you might read a few verses and ask each child to listen for something that is special to them.

• Take 2 minutes for each to share what they discovered. 

• Spend a few minutes thanking Him for things He has done.

Your devotional may exceed 7 minutes, but your blessing will abound even more!!

There’s power in Praise!

Don’t underestimate the power of a child’s praise to God. 

My friend Judy tells of a time when her family, including young children, were meeting with some other believers. An elderly lady, “Miss Pippa,” had crippled hands and a painful back causing her to stoop. Judy’s young son said to the group, “We need to pray for “Pippa.” As they prayed, they watched in awe as her hands uncurled, and she stood up straight.

“Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies.” (Psalm 8:2)

To help you in establishing a habit of praise, check out my book, The One Devotional, One Word, One Verse, One Thought for One Hundred Days. It’s easy for all ages: 7-97!