A Tale of Two Seas: A Thanks-Living Challenge, Post #4

I love Thanksgiving. I am so proud of our great country, of President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, during the Civil War, who set aside the fourth Thursday of November as a holiday, proclaiming “Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”

How will you and your family spend this Thanksgiving holiday?

We are blessed with so much, yet we want so much more. We take and take some more. So often, our hearts are wired for discontentment.   To illustrate the point, this tale of two seas comes to mind.

Do you remember learning about The Dead Sea in school or church? The Dead Sea is really a lake, not a sea. It is so high in salt content that a human body can float easily. Supposedly, a person can almost lie down and read a book!  The salt in the Dead Sea is as high as 35 percent—almost 10 times normal ocean water salt content.

All that saltiness means there is no life at all in the Dead Sea. No fish. No sea animals. No vegetation. Nothing lives in the Dead Sea.

The Sea of Galilee is just north of the Dead Sea. This sea, though, is teeming with rich, colorful marine life, plants, and fish. More than 20 types of fish live in the Sea of Galilee.

Guess what the source of water is for both seas? Both the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee receive their water from the River Jordan. How can that be?

The River Jordan flows into the Sea of Galilee, then flows out. The water simply passes through the Sea of Galilee, keeping the Sea vibrant and healthy, chock full of marine life.

The Dead Sea, though, is so far below sea level, the water has no outlet. It flows in from the River Jordan, but does not flow out. Figures estimate that more than seven million tons of water evaporate from the Dead Sea daily, leaving it too salty and full of minerals for any marine life to survive.

This “Tale of Two Seas” offers a valuable life lesson on giving and giving thanks. On letting the Living Waters flow through us, not hoard  the life, blessings, gifts and talents we have been freely given.

I challenge you to turn this Thanksgiving into Thanks-living. Not just one day of the year, but every day.

I challenge you not to shop on Thanksgiving or even Black Friday. Marinate in the blessings of what we already have instead of buying more and more and more. Let Christmas shopping wait. Savor the laughter and making memories with your family and friends this weekend. These are gifts unable to be bought.

I challenge you to curb the television watching or even turn it off (sorry, football fans)! Listen to each other, to the music of the loved ones’ voices. Dance. Make your music.

You are the Sea of Galilee, a beautiful body flowing with life, Living Water. Let it flow.

Happy Thanks-Living, dear friend.

Reflect:

• How will you transform Thanksgiving into Thanks-Living?

• For what, for whom are you thankful?

Renew:

• “Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the Lord, for He comes to judge the earth.” –Psalm 98:7-9.
• “Enter his gates with Thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.” –Psalm 100:4.
• “On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of Living Water will flow from within him.’” –John 7:37-38.

Recharge:  

• Please start a Gratitude Journal this week and  list at least three blessings daily. It could be a warm house, your health, laughter, cozy coats and boots. Keep going. You can do it.
• Please let me know of some of your many blessings.

Resources:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_%28United_States%29
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Sea 
• http://onethousandgifts.com/