4 tips to make your Thanksgiving AND your life a little more enjoyable

So, tell me what your Thanksgiving is like? No, on second thought, let me guess... Everyone shows up at your house like in the movies, it's snowing and the warm glow from the lights in the house make it feel so cozy and inviting. There is not a single cross word spoken and every one's last nerve is tucked away and out of sight. Dinner goes off perfectly, the Cowboys win their game and everything is right with the world...

Wait, that's not your Thanksgiving? Maybe yours looks more like mine. Everybody shows up at least a little cranky because they've either been in the car too long, the kids are out of their routine or you're the one that got stuck hosting, baking, cleaning and being the entertainment coordinator. The food is good but the place is crowded and you have to talk to people you don't really know about things you don't really care about. After you eat, all the good spots to snooze are already taken and you end up talking to that same person about that same subject until it's time to pack up and head home, which you promised yourself would be earlier this year than last!

Well, I've got some tips, directly from Paul, to help address some of these Holiday grouch moods we often get in. As Paul wraps up his second letter to the Church in Corinth he closes with this final admonition.

1. Be Joyful - it's a command to intentionally be joyful. This year there will be lots of reasons to not be joyful; lost jobs, uncertainty about the future, you just got molested by a TSA agent because you didn't want to go through the naked picture machine. You may have every reason to be a grouch. Be joyful. In spite of your circumstances. Because no matter how bad it is here, heaven will MORE than make up for it. Be joyful.
2. Grow to Maturity - the focus here is that there is farther to go, more to aspire to. We are to be "like Christ" and that doesn't happen by accident. You will probably have Thanksgiving with some family member who is older but has never grown-up (if not you may be that one!). We need to grow-up into Christ so that we can be mature and that maturity will help us handle all the little things that used to drive us over the edge.
3. Encourage each other - instead of the alternative. My family are all pros at sarcasm, which is kind of funny at the time, but leaves you with a pretty sour taste. This year, instead of pointing out all the things wrong with everyone, or poking fun at others mistakes and poor choices or circumstances (like who got stuck next to Aunt Margaret!) be an encouragement. This will go a long way toward dealing with those interpersonal issues that will crop up. Encourage this year and see what happens to every body's mood!
4. Live in harmony and peace - don't sweat the small stuff. Someone else wants your chair? The dark meat is gone before it gets to you? Try being a servant instead of insisting on being the master and see how that goes for you. If everyone tried to be a little more kind and less pushy you'd probably experience a little more harmony and peace and that would be nice for everybody!

Four easy tips to make this Holiday Season a little more festive and enjoyable for everybody, including yourself. Thank, Paul for the lesson from 2000 years ago. I'll let you know how it goes! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!