It’s Time to Make the Turkey Cookies

Yesterday was the day that Americans celebrate as “Thanksgiving.” For many people, this is their favorite holiday, as it is simply a day for family and friends to get together and to enjoy good food and fellowship. Some people may watch a football game, while others prefer the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade or the National Dog Show. One of our family traditions that started when my daughter was about two is “the making of the turkey cookies.” These are not cookies made out of turkey meat. They are simply sugar cookies that are decorated to look like a turkey with colorful feathers. This year, because we were not able to go to the US over the summer, we had to improvise some of the ingredients. Normally we use small peanut butter cups and candy corn. Instead, we used toffees and M&Ms. We wrapped each cookie individually so that staff members and the children who were on campus for supervision could each enjoy one. The highlight of our day was to virtually connect with our son and his family as they continued this family tradition. What a joy to watch our granddaughter “make the turkey cookies.”

Traditions are important. They provide us with a sense of comfort, as they are simple gestures that connect us with our family and friends. Traditions help us to remember where we come from and that we belong to our family or social group. Traditions are also a way for us to pass down our beliefs to the next generation.

In the United States, it is commonly thought that the First Thanksgiving was celebrated in October, 1621, when the New England colonists gathered together with Native Americans for a three-day feast to give thanks to God for their first harvest. Giving thanks was a custom that the colonists did regularly. They often set aside time to give thanks to God for getting them through a difficult time. Thanksgiving officially became a national holiday in 1789 when the first president, George Washington, proclaimed it as such. It became a regular observance in 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of “Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”

Even though it is good to set aside a day each year to focus on giving thanks, the Bible tells us that we are to give thanks to God continually, remembering all the blessings that He has given to us. There are over 100 verses that tell us to give thanks to God, for His goodness, for His love, for His steadfastness, and for His righteousness. I encourage you to do a search to see how many verses you can find about giving thanks to God. This may be a fun family activity or one that your children may enjoy. The more we read about giving thanks, the more we will be reminded just how much we have to be thankful for!

You don’t have to be an American to use this week to make it a point of giving thanks for the many blessings that you enjoy. I wish you all a wonderful season of thankfulness.

I need to run – my husband taped the National Dog Show for me, and I can’t wait to see who wins! 🙂

Because of His Faithfulness,

Sharon Brobst, Director