It’s that time of year we greet one another with that time honored greeting: I can’t believe it’s Thanksgiving already!

More stores will be open this Thursday; more football will be on television; more Maalox will be taken and more food will be consumed than perhaps any other day of the year. We keep trying to recapture those feelings we had as children of awe and wonder at the food, the decorations, the visiting relatives …

I think the secret is to get some children into your house for the holiday. More work? Yep. Bigger mess? Sure. Picky appetites? Probably. But the payback is priceless: smiles, giggles, questions and a chance to plant a memory seed they’ll carry with them until it’s their turn to cook the turkey. Rather than relegate the youngsters to the little table or side room perhaps we should start our planning with them in mind and work out from there. My wife has a wonderful way of preparing for a grandkid weeks ahead of time and boy does it help.

Whatever you do please remember to be nice and jolly because what good are fine china, gourmet meals, delicious desserts and beautiful decorations if all the kids can remember is that they got in trouble for touching stuff? Do you want to be remembered as the crabby relative or the nice one?

– Pastor Joel Everhart