I don’t remember when or where I first learned the idea of spending the last fifteen minutes of my day planning out the next day, but it has been one of the best things I have discovered. I primarily do this in my office before I leave work, but on occasion, I will also think through my next day before I go to bed at night. That is where I find myself right now. I am sitting in bed with my wife sleeping beside me. I have my iPad in my lap, and I am thinking about tomorrow … Thanksgiving.
I am looking forward to traveling a couple of hours south to be with my family in Arkansas. It is a time I look forward to every year, but as I sit here tonight, I am thinking, “What are my goals for tomorrow?” Here are my thoughts …
1. Before eating lunch, have a meaningful conversation with as many as possible.
My goal is everyone in the house, but the reality is some will be pretty busy making final preparations. I don’t get to be with all my family nearly as often as I would like, so I want to take full advantage and find out what is going on in each person’s life. I have a sister recently engaged (her fiancé will be with us for the first time, I have my 20 questions ready for him), I have a niece in college, a nephew in his senior year of high school and a brother that has recently adopted five children (that is a great story for another day). I know I will have plenty to catch up on.
2) Watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (and then some football).
In full transparency, my life has been crazy busy the past several weeks, and I am not really “feeling” the holiday spirit. As many others do, we make it a tradition to watch the parade on TV each year. Side note: it is a bucket list item for me to take my family to New York City to see the parade live before they are all grown and out of the house. I am looking forward to continuing the tradition with my kids of watching the parade (and later cheering on the Cowboys).
3) Be on my phone as little as possible, no phones at all at the table.
Like many, I am guilty of spending way to much time on my phone. I have a love/hate relationship with the “screen time” option on my iPhone. I have already told my kids that tomorrow is no cell phone day. Tomorrow is a face time day, and not by using the app.
4) Share with everyone what I am thankful for and hear from them what they are thankful for.
It is so important that we count our blessings, even name them one by one. I look forward to sitting around the dinner table, enjoying the home-cooked meal primarily prepared by my mom, and hearing from everyone. We all have so much for which to be thankful. I also want to make sure to tell my family I am grateful for them.
5) Look through old photos and not the ones on phones.
There is something special to hold a photo from my childhood. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. I am looking forward to tens of thousands of words as I go through old picture albums, yes, the ones with the sticky clear cover over the pictures.
6) Share memories with all of the adults and laugh a lot.
I am thankful for the memories I have. I am part of a large family that, for the most part, lived reasonably close to one another. Our Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings were large. We would spend part of the day at one set of grandparents and another part of the day at my other grandparents. My siblings like to remind me of near-death experiences of traveling in icy weather and me hiding in the floorboard of our car. I am looking forward to reliving these moments.
7) Make new memories with all the kids and laugh a lot.
One of my favorite titles is “Fun Uncle Randy.” I wear that title with honor. I am looking forward to getting down on the floor and wrestling and roughhousing and going outside and running through the yard. I might be “it” and have to chase the kids or I might be on my hands and knees and be a horse. At this point, who knows, but it is going to be fun, and I am going to love every minute of it.
8) Help clean up.
There is so much work that goes into hosting a large gathering. I don’t only want to be a consumer; I want to be a contributor. I need to help with the dishes. I need to help clean up the living room. Whatever I can do, I need to do.
9) Don’t go shopping, but have fun looking through the ads.
I have been guilty of this in the past. I have snuck out after the eating was over to find that great deal. I wish we wouldn’t do this, but I don’t know how to change the trends. This year, the trend will at least stop with me. It is fun, however, to look through the ads and be a kid again, to dream a little. Yes, we need to be careful not to covet, but if we have planned and saved properly, Friday is a good day to save some money. I am not a fan of going out looking for ways to spend money, but if you have a plan, Friday is a good opportunity to save money. The key, as Dave Ramsey promotes, is to “live like no one else today so you can live like no one else tomorrow.”
10) Have some time alone, and genuinely express my thankfulness to God.
One of my favorite names of God is Jehovah-Jirah (first found in Genesis 22 as the Lord provides a sacrifice for Abraham). The Lord indeed has provided all I will ever need. I plan to have some alone time to express my thankfulness for my salvation, for my personal relationship with Jesus, for my family, for the calling on my life, for the ministry opportunities, for those that have invested in my life, for those lives He has given me an opportunity to invest, and the list goes on and on. I Chronicles 16:34 (and Psalm 107:1) says to “give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever.”
As I reflect on my goals for Thanksgiving, I encourage you to be intentional about your day. It is more than just a holiday. It is the day the Lord has made. May you rejoice and be glad in it.
Happy Thanksgiving.