Who is bringing a thankful heart to their Thanksgiving table? This holiday season consider bringing an attitude of gratitude to your feast, along with the pumpkin pie, the sweet potatoes and turkey. I promise you every one at the table will beg for a second helping.

Growing in virtue takes time but is worth the effort. A thankful heart opens your eyes to see your blessings and fills your conversation with appreciation. I say, bring a double portion.

This Thanksgiving Day begin the tradition of going around the table and giving a toast. Then ask each person to share a favorite thanksgiving memory. These stories will be passed down, generation after generation. Take a moment during the day to privately tell each of the guests why you are grateful to have them in your life. Celebrate the person they are with Christ’s love.

For many years, my mom, Eleanor Manfredi, hosted Thanksgiving for over 50 family members. Mom never minded. She was a caterer who loved to cook and was the “Hostess with the Most-est!” She frequently commented, “I worked until I was 80!” Mom was a caterer in Aiken, S.C., for three decades. Thanksgiving is her favorite event, because she was cooking for those she loved. I jokingly called Thanksgiving Day her “high holiday.” While some people eat to live, my mom lives to eat. No fake foods are invited to mom’s Thanksgiving table. All foods are made from scratch, even the desserts.

One year, I decided to show my appreciation to mom for all her years of hosting this holiday. I arranged for a TV reporter to do a story on, “An Old Fashion Family Thanksgiving” with my mom as the star. The best part was viewing the nightly news, as a family. Being a “Movie Star” in her “Golden Years,” was mom’s claim to fame.

Another year, as we gathered as a family, we honored my dad with a toast. Dad had passed away with little warning, two years prior. As you might have guessed, those heartfelt sharings, full of laughter and tears will be etched into our memories forever.

One of the grandchildren’s memories topped us all. He spoke about the day he and grandpa drove to Wal-Mart. Grandpa apparently went the wrong way on a street, but quickly pulled into the parking lot before the oncoming cars took both their lives. John said, “I was little, but big enough to know that grandpa had done something wrong.” I think, the fact that Grandpa said, “We do not need to tell anyone about this incident, John, now do we,” reinforced his suspicion of Grandpa’s wrongdoing. John never leaked a word until that day when he proudly “spilled the beans.”

Make your thanksgiving memorable.

Start a gratefulness book this year. Each day, jot down 10 things for which you are thankful. Be sure and include the stories about the people you meet along the way! What a treasure that that will be for 2020!

Send a thank you card to the person God puts on your heart, including a favorite memory of a time together. God may use your written words to bless a person right when they need it most.

Did one of your teachers make such an impression on you that you chose teaching as your career? Did a best friend come to mind, one you haven’t seen for a many years? Maybe a mother of one of your childhood friends who was like a second mother comes to mind. Tell them.

Do you have a broken relationship with your parents, siblings, friends or your grown child? Life gets busy. Don’t procrastinate any longer, repair that relationship, and reconnect with old friends, most of all pray for them. Who knows, someone may even reach out to you this holiday season and your “flash from the past ” could be a life-changing moment.

This holiday season, when the host calls for you to bring something, join me in offering, “I’ll bring the thanks! Guaranteed, everyone will want a second helping!

Ellen Mongan©