Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all!

It's finally here! Thanksgiving! WHOHOO!

Thanksgiving is usually the start of Christmas for us, which is part of why I'm so excited. I know that right after all the football and the turkey that there's going to be Christmas trees and stockings, egg-nog and hot chocolate, snowy days and, on Christmas, the presents.

But what exactly is Thanksgiving?

You might say, "Well, everyone knows what Thanksgiving is! Its when you have extended family over and you watch football, and then you have a really big feast!"

But to understand what the REAL part of Thanksgiving is, we should take a look at the first one.

Thanksgiving was started by the pilgrims, as everyone knows, after they had stayed a little in Plymouth Plantation. They had crossed a nearly uncharted sea so that they could have the freedom for them and their children to worship God, braving unknown dangers, treacherous storms, and a winter of starvation and sickness...for their faith! All of that so they could worship the way they thought was right.

Isn't that amazing?

Those pilgrims (and also the 'strangers', or the non-pilgrims that had sailed to the New World) had a lot to be thankful for. They had survived a very hard winter of starvation and sickness, not to mention storms and wandering completely off course on their voyage their, they had a strong alliance with the neighboring Indians...this doesn't really sound much like what we go through today, does it?

The original Thanksgiving feast was to celebrate all the mercies and care that God had shown them. Basically, it was a party to celebrate God.

Today, it sounds more like a party to celebrate turkey.

I was reading a kids book a while ago that was about Thanksgiving. This is what it said about the holiday--and I kid you not--:'Thanksgiving is when we get together to celebrate turkey.' (paraphrased, of course. My memory isn't that great).

What on earth happened to the 'Praising God' part of Thanksgiving?

I, for one, think that the 'God part' of Thanksgiving disappeared as our culture started to change. Now people don't want to acknowledge God because that would mean they would have to answer to someone. Our generation is one that doesn't like consequences.

Because our culture doesn't like God, they try to ignore him in every way as possible. So now some people call Thanksgiving 'Turkey Day'.

Happy Turkey Day?!

I think not!!

I, for one, am going to stick with Happy Thanksgiving, thank you very much!

So, to all of our dear readers and followers...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

Princess Izori

Thanksgiving Excitement

I just love Thanksgiving!

I would have to say that it's my second favorite holiday; for me, Christmas is first! But back to the point...there are many things that I like about Thanksgiving and I'm excited about them!

One is that I have two siblings in college and they are home for the holiday. I'm really excited about being able to see them again! Also, I get a Thanksgiving break from school, and I always enjoy that!

For special occasions, I'm usually the one to set the table, which is a job I enjoy, and you may think, "Hmmm. That's strange. I know that I personally don't enjoy setting the table!"

I am the same way most of the time, but Thanksgiving is a special day. On that day my mom let's us use her good china and maybe a tablecloth (or is that only at Christmas? :). God has given me the gift of being a person who likes to help arrange food in pretty ways at special events, make centerpieces for tables, or set the table using good china and a tablecloth. Last year, I even got onto a website that taught me how to fold napkins different ways. I just really enjoy "primping" food and tables, and I am so thankful for that 'talent'! :)

Well, I've shared with you what I like to do with my Thanksgiving holiday.

What about you? Do you have a specific tradition or something you do that you'd like to share with us? Just leave it as a comment.

We'd love to hear from you!

Enjoy your Thanksgiving, and remember, whether or not you celebrate this holiday, to always give thanks to your King.


~Princess Gloria

Being Thankful for the Right Reasons

Turkey, football, favorite family memories...Thanksgiving is a holiday growing as a favorite among Americans. I was thinking about what I should right this week, and (although it is probably nothing like what the other princesses are posting), I decided on the true meaning of Thanksgiving. Sometimes I think this is a little ironic. Stores and T.V. stations put a lot of money into advertising their Black Friday sales. Cooking and appliance magazines start selling Thanksgiving food and turkey cookers in August. Your parents and relatives have probably been planning for months for the big night. However, through it all, the true meaning of the season seems to have been lost and replaced with football games.

The holiday known as Thanksgiving seems to have lost the relevance of its name in our culture. Who are all the advertisements actually thanking? It's kind of like sending out a thank you note with no particular address on it. What's the point?

Actually, there is a lot of point to this holiday.

When a separatist religious group hated by the king of England made the dangerous journey to America, they changed the course of history forever. The courage of people like William Brewster, Priscilla Mullins, John Carver and others is commonly misinterpreted today. While we are taught in school that the pilgrims came simply for religious freedom, that is not the whole story. The Mayflower Compact is even sometimes edited in school history books! If you read the original manuscript, you will find that they came not only for religious freedom and to build a colony, but also for the advancement of the Christian faith. When it came time for the great Thanksgiving feast, the pilgrims really had a reason to give thanks. They could thank God that some of them had survived. They new that God had saved them from the fierce Native American tribe that most certainly would have killed them if the tribe had survived. They were truly thankful that God had sent the Native Americans to help them. They had so much to thank God for that they created a holiday to commemorate it!

The sad thing about that is, the true meaning of thanking God has somehow been lost in our culture.

Remember not only on the fourth Thursday in November, but also every day of the year, that God has truly blessed you, and you know who you are thanking.

Princess Melody

A Thanksgiving Traditon at My Home

Each year at my (Catherine's) home at Thanksgiving time, we all sit at different computers and write letters to one another, saying how thankful we are for them. We tell them how we enjoy their God given gifts, how we love them, and how we are so blessed in who they are and who they are becoming. This is a sample for what we do:

Dear Blog Readers,

I am so blessed at your encouraging comments, wonderful insight, great questions, and curiosity. I enjoy reading your own blogs, and see how other people care about purity. I know that my team and I are encouraged by your support! :)

Princess Catherine ~*~

And I really do mean everything that I wrote! Thanks for all of you! Followers, commenters, readers, and passers-by; thank you!

Purely HIS,

Princess Catherine ~*~

Favorite Verses

Do you have a favorite verse in the Bible? I know have several different verses that I like! If you asked me to name my favorite one, I couldn't, because I like more than just one. But could I share with you a few of the ones that I like?

1) Jeremiah 33:3- "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." I love the idea of being told ''great and unsearchable things that I do not know''!

2) Romans 8:1- "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," What a wonderful thing to know! If you have confessed your sins to Jesus and accepted Him into your heart to be your Savior and Lord, you are no longer condemned!!!! Jesus took that away from us when he died on the cross; we just need to accept Him.

3) Psalm 37:4- "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." I recently heard Beth Moore speak about this verse and she said that if joy were a smile, delight would be a laugh! "Laugh in the LORD..." :)

4) Romans 8: 37- "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." When Paul, the author of Romans, speaks about "all these things" he's referring back to verse 35- "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?" So in verse 37 he states the in all those things"we are MORE THAN CONQUERORS". What wonderful news! WE have conquered those things, we don't need to be worried or afraid of any of them. Don't you just love the idea of being more then a conqueror?


~Princess Gloria

Opportunites

Imagine this for a minute. You are in the car with your little sister and two of your best friends on the way back from the rollerskating rink. You've had a great time, and everyone in the car is talking and laughing excitedly as you drive home on this dark, moonlit night. everything is going great until the subject of conversation changes. One of your friends, (a girl just a few years younger than you) begins talking about dating and all the guys who have ever had a crush on her. You have been talking to and praying for this particular girl for a long time on this subject. You are not sure what to do. You know you should say something, but you are not sure what to say or how she will respond. You want to be a good role model and lead her in the right direction, so what do you do?
These were definitely the questions I asked when this happened to me. God gives us lots of opportunities to talk to the people we are especially praying for. Whether the subject is purity or something else, its good to look for the opportunities to talk about it. However, sometimes the opportunities seem like good things, (they probably are) but they aren't always the best thing for us or the other person at the moment. Somethings that are good just aren't God's best. Sometimes deciding whether an opportunity is or isn't from God is hard to do, and needs prayer. However, sometimes decisions are like the one in my story. I knew full well that I should say something, but I was afraid. I should have relied on God's strength, but I didn't. I didn't say much of anything to help her. I let an opportunity that God had clearly given me slip away because I was afraid. The moral of this is, when God gives you an opportunity, He will also give you the opportunity to take it if you ask. Don't ever let an opportunity to help a hurting or misguided friend (that is clearly from God) pass you by!

Nick Names

Do you have a nickname?

I (Catherine) am not talking about those rude nicknames that people give you, but I mean a name that is special to you and the people (or person) that call you that nickname is (are) special to you as well.
Even if you don't have a nick name, please continue reading this post, for this is not talking about personal nick names, but of our Prince Charming.

Some people like thinking of their future husband, but for me I like to write letters to him and pray for him. But sometimes I don't like just praying
"Dear Jesus, I pray that my future husband- whose name I don't know- will continue to grow in Your word and in Your ways."
If you are like me, you would rather pray and "give" him a name, or, rather, a nickname.


Now, be aware that just like a nick name, this is not his real name, but rather a name you use to pray for him, write letters to him, and so on. It makes him more real, and then it makes it easier to wait for him.


Remember, when "picking" a nickname for your Prince Charming, keep in mind a couple of things;
1. When you pick a name (say, Bob for example) and you meet a boy named Bob, you might feel "weird" around him
2. When you pick a name and you meet a boy named Bob, you might start day dreaming
3. When you pick a common name, numbers 1 and 2 become more likely
4. If your friends know about the nickname, and they know you know a guy that has the same name as the nickname for your Prince Charming, you might be teased by them

So, there are pros and cons, but overall, I think the pros outweigh the cons. But, it's all up to you! :)

Princess Catherine ~*~