Monday, November 22, 2010

What does "TURKEY" mean?

Dr. Barrett Mosbacker
Publisher The Christian School Journal

Superintendent, Briarwood Christian School (Birmingham, AL)


The following is an email that I recently sent to our staff and parents.  I am sharing this devotional on The Christian School Journal because you may want to submit your own acrostic, but I will not give you pizza!     You may also want to consider something similar for your school.

Dear Staff and Parents,
Last week I had the privilege of attending our fourth grade Thanksgiving program, The Purpose of Thanksgiving.  It was a beautiful program and the children were wonderful.  We have some great talent heading to the South Campus!
As I watched and listened, I was again reminded that we are to walk through this life with its peaks and its valleys with a grateful heart.  One of the songs the children sang was Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart.

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks unto the Holy One
Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son
Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks unto the Holy One
Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son

And now let the weak say, "I am strong"

Let the poor say, "I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us"
And now let the weak say, "I am strong"
Let the poor say, "I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us"

The Challenge—You Must Hurry!
This beautiful song got me to thinking about Thanksgiving and how our culture demeans the holiday when referring to it as “Turkey Day.”  I do not like the phrase “Turkey Day” because it distorts the purpose and meaning of Thanksgiving.  “Turkey Day” turns our attention away from God and toward our appetites.
Seeking to refocus our hearts and minds on thankfulness, I have created a simple acrostic from the word Turkey:

Thankful
Under all circumstances
Remembering God’s goodness and
Keeping his praise on our lips as we
Enjoy Him and his blessings every
Year

I bet our students can do much better than the Superintendent!  Here is a challenge!
Take a few minutes in your classes to have your students (individually or as a class effort—see below) create an acrostic for the word Turkey that communicates something about thankfulness from a biblical perspective.  Here is a website that you can use on your SMART Boards: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/poetry/acrostic/turkey/index.shtml. 

This challenge has both spiritual and academic merit!
The Rules:

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