Traditions Revised… or Not

Thanksgiving is coming, followed by 32 days full of family, celebration… tradition.

Pick up any magazine this month, from Real Simple to Family Fun and you’ll find articles touting new, better, more. Better decorations, special family moments and recipes promise to revitalize your worn-out Holiday Traditions.

New can be fun… but new practices aren’t traditions yet.  While new, better and more always promise glitz, they often add up to holiday stress and clutter instead.

“Traditions are called traditions precisely because they form a link to the past.  One value of tradition is that it is a celebration of sameness, not change.” writes Dr. Richard Swenson in The Overload Syndrome.

I love creating memories with our family.  I’ve scoured blogs for new ideas and have multiple Pinterest boards dedicated to the holidays.  I guess you could say I have a tradition of developing new traditions.  Dr. Swenson’s insight has brought balance to my insatiable quest for better.

     “There is no remembrance of former things,” Ecclesiastes 1:11 warns.  I’m listening!  Slow down and enjoy today, remember the great times past and allow the routine to be a salve to a busy soul instead of being driven to scramble after some elusive perfection that doesn’t even exist.

     Again in The Overload Syndrome, Dr. Swenson instructs busy Americans to look to routines not to add spice to life, but to “add a much needed and pleasurable stability.  These routines are called programmed decisions, and they cut down greatly on decision stress.”

     During the busy holiday season, doesn’t everyone want to reduce stress?!   Look to favorite memories of the past or carefully schedule your holiday to-do’s to develop family history.  Your Thanksgiving menu and the way you give thanks to God may be your family anchor for the holiday.  Outdoor games, family singing, a football game, Grandpa’s prayer, going through the Black Friday ads, bringing a pie to the fire station… what makes your Thanksgiving uniquely yours?

     Tried and true traditions can be meaningful, memorable respites in the busy instability of life.  Dr. Swenson suggests that these family memories do more than alleviate the burden of choice and declutter schedules.  He calls traditions “a valuable anchor for the soul.”

     May your soul find rest this holiday season and your thanks be genuine to the One who gives every good and perfect gift (James 1:17).  Happy Thanksgiving.

This article was originally published in The Creekline.

Celebrate Simply

My friend Jen gave me this amazing Celebration Banner.  I love it!!  It’s crazy that one little accessory can transform any ol’ space into a celebration.

We’ve used it for every Birthday- home and away.  It’s how we welcome Daddy home, family into town or whatever else we could be celebrating!!

When we unconventionally celebrated Thanksgiving at the Gainesville Rehab facility, we brought the banner.  It was hard-working as usual- cheering us all and reminding us that, through all of Dad’s fight with & recovery from Guillan Barre Syndrome, we had much to be thankful for!

We’ll take it out again in a week- Georgia Anne will be 3!!  And we’re all ready to celebrate.  I say it’s time to get back to the simple things- like transforming ordinary into extrordinary with a smile, a fabric banner and good times had by all.

Thanksliving

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This pumpkin has quite a story. Chris and I married young and started out with nothing, nada, zilch. Family and a few friends blessed us with what we needed and over the years, the Lord has provided all we needed… abundantly more than that, even!

Mom waved her magic wand to help me decorate with little and over the years that has come along as well… Enter the pumpkin. For a few years now, Mom has bought us a decoration for the house each fall. I love fall and it is so fun to look around at the gems that have been added to our home- what memories each holds!

“The Pumpkin” was one of the first fall decorations I had and I cherished it! Not only is it beautiful, but the sentiment behind it is so close to my heart. I displayed it with pride (mostly the good kind) for all our friends and neighbors to see. Now people would know we don’t just decorate for Thanksgiving, we are reminding ourselves of God’s goodness!!

Only a few days into ownership, a sweet little Olsen decided to explore the pumpkin… and knocked it over… and busted it into lots of pieces. I was crushed! I cried, I sobbed, I couldn’t believe that of everything in the house, they had to break this one special decoration! I finally got something nice and… and… Now how would visitors know we loved the Lord?

WHOA!! Then I heard myself! (God is so patient with me!) He reminded me that my sweet children are *way* more important and precious than this silly (well, gorgeously silly- but silly nonetheless) decoration! Would I crush their spirit over this broken globe? And about the visitors… really, Allie? If I need a pumpkin with “We Give Thanks to God” blazed across the front for people to figure out we live in awe of and in love with God, well, then I’m really not following Him too well, now am I?!

Chris took all those many pieces and lovingly repaired my crushed pumpkin. The Lord took all the pieces of my stony, sinful heart and renewed a right spirit in me.

Thanksliving… this month is reminding me to live a life of thanks to Abba God(loving & patient Daddy who also corrects me for my bad attitude) . With the help of a glued-together pumpkin.

Thanksliving

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I am thankful for the flexibility of homeschooling. Today we finalized our Thanksgiving Menu and will start baking! The children and I will learn new cookie recipes together… I’m willing to bet theirs will turn out better than mine!! I’m such an imprecise baker.

We’re also going to create some games to play on Thanksgiving and read the history of the holiday. I think Timothy may be able to read a book this year! What a wonderful first. Another first… This is the first year in a decade we have not made our Thankful Family Tree. But I’m hopeful we can keep the focus right in spite of this sad sad oversight.

A brighter first- Clara’s first tooth popped through today!! At only four months, she is the youngest Olsen to get her first tooth. Happy Thanksgiving…

Thanksliving

I am thankful for this man.

Fun, thoughtful, hard-working, responsible, generous, creative, pleasant, patient, flexible- what’s not to love?!

Twelve sweet years. He is the most patient man I know, as evidenced by 12 years of marriage to me!!

When I read of Christ’s love for the church and marriage being a reflection of that- I know exactly what Jesus meant because I see it in the way Chris lays down his life for his family. And I can only hope Christ’s work will be reflected in me as clearly as I see it in my hubby’s life.

Thanksliving. I want to live a life of thanks.

Thanksgiving Fun!

My intention was to upload a fun Thanksgiving Idea each day… but we’ve been so busy having a good time that I didn’t get around to it.

Since it’s a little late to share all of the fun crafts we did, I’ll suggest some Thanksgiving Day Games you can play with the fam or to keep little ones from underfoot while the ladies are in the kitchen!

This year, I am bringing some things for the kiddos to play alone and others to do all together:
1) Draw with Sidewalk Chalk (Mayflower contest, anyone?)
2) Turkey Toss (Beanbag into a gobblin’ turkey!)
3) Pilgrim Relay (Boys vs. Girls- grownups included!)
4) Bubbles! (No explanation necessary)
5) Indian Corn Hunt (like looking for a needle in a haystack…)

And another idea I had but didn’t get to… pick up paint swatches and have the kiddos find something in nature to match the different hues. I thought it could be an adventure to look for bright red, oranges, pinks, grays, etc. Oh, and you could always collect fall leaves and make a collage or leaf rubbing.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving! Time with family is precious and this is a way to get the oldest laughing with your little ones!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Over the (St. John’s) river and through the (Osceola National Forest) woods to grandmother’s house we go!! Actually, it was Uncle Kenny’s house in Tallahassee- and what a wonderful visit!! I don’t know if I’ll have a chance to post more pix or not, but here is a family photo- we’re missing Joe, Elizabeth & Judah, Kenny & Mason, and Aunt Tina & Bob… hopefully they’ll be there as well next year!

Thanksliving- A Godly Heritage

“Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.” 2 Samuel 7:29

David prayed this after the Lord promised never to depart from David’s house. This scripture is special to me because I desire the Lord to bless my sweet little family and want nothing more than for my children’s children’s children to continue living before the Lord. I’m sure it’s the desire of your heart as well!

Matthew Henry comments, “That prayer which is found in the tongue only will not please God; it must be found in the heart; the
heart must be lifted up and poured out before God.” This week I am thankful for the godly heritage our family has and the special time we spent singing and praying and sharing in His goodness yesterday. My prayer is the same as David’s, and hopefully with the fervency Henry writes of. Let it be so, Oh Lord!

Cranberry Waldorf Salad

Thanksgiving is a holiday full of warm family memories. Forty something of my “closest relatives” on Mom’s side gather at Uncle Kenny’s in Tallahassee for dinner at lunchtime, dessert all day, and a time of sharing what the Lord has done in our lives over the past year. What a blessing to testify of the Lord’s goodness with family!!

My Uncle Walter died this year- that only leaves my GeGe and Aunt Ruby still alive. I want to bask in their wisdom and soak up their love for the Lord. Their generation walked through so much and yet are so grateful for what the Lord has done for them! They never complain but always proclaim His faithfulness.

GeGe, Georgia Maxine Hart, daily prays for Chris and me, our children and their children on down the line. Next Thursday, she will wrap her arms around us and do it in person. Puritans and Indians and the Lord’s Providential hand on our nation are all wonderful… but family is what Thanksgiving is about to me.

Cranberry Waldorf Salad
(This is a guideline- I like to do a dash of this and a handful of that. I also increase ingredients exponentially to feed a crowd!)

1 lg granny smith apple, chopped
1 lg red apple, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
¼ c walnuts, (you guessed it!) CHOPPED
½ c dried cranberries
¼ c grapes, halved
¼ c vegenaise (or mayo!)
A dash or two of nutmeg

* Combine.
* Sprinkle with additional nutmeg.
* Chill.
* Serve on a bed of spinach. Yummy!
* If you have any leftovers, stuff into pita halves with some fresh salad greens. This is a great diversion from the typical Turkey
Sandwich!

Thanksgiving Prayer

I adore this little prayer. It illustrates the spirit of Thanksgiving beautifully. The children and I share in memorizing this each November as we focus on His goodness and respond with gratitude.

“Thou hast given so much to me.
Give one thing more, a grateful heart;
Not thankful when it pleaseth me,
As if Thy blessings had spare days,
But such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise.”
~George Herbert