What a Wonderful Thanksgiving day it was, turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn, green bean casserole, and homemade bread! It was a relaxing day enjoying family. We played games, watched a William Bradford movie with the kids, did a thanksgiving day craft while reading the Thanksgiving story about the pilgrims coming over to America. It was a fun filled day, but to top it off I did some shopping. ONLINE SHOPPING! Convenience, luxury, and time saved all in one, makes me one happy mama!
I love online shopping! I do not spend a lot of time on the computer so usually I find myself fighting the crowd to find good deals, but this year I was on Amazon and found almost everything I needed. I was able to almost complete all of my Christmas shopping with the click of a button. How awesome is that! Modern day convenience at its best, but since its Thanksgiving lets think about how the Pilgrims spent their holiday season over here in their "new" land.
The Pilgrims did not care about the technology they had in England, they were looking for freedom of religion. They wanted to pray and worship God. They encountered storms, sea sickness, disease, starvation, cold, no shower for, well ever I guess. I think they washed in a pond close to the ocean. That in itself is a horrible thought! I love a hot shower, but they were brave and had to work hard just to survive. When I want something I open my computer and click a button. When I want something to eat I open my refrigerator and I have enough food put back that I think we could live for quite some time without ever getting hungry. My clothes are clean, has anyone ever thought that the pilgrims probably did not have a change of clothes on the Mayflower, and if they did there is no washing them. They may have washed them in the same pond they bathed in. When I get cold I put on a sweatshirt or cuddle up with a very warm blanket in a heated home and they were huddled in a ball around a fire trying to not freeze to death. What would the Pilgrims think today with online shopping???
There are conveniences for sure about living in the time we do, but there are also many disadvantages. The fact that we can have pretty much anything we want at the drop of a hat just by clicking a button tells me we have become weak. Are we able to survive without our modern day conveniences? We sit, we want, we get. There is a lot of power at our fingertips and if we are not careful we may get swept away in the land of luxury.
Are we teaching our children to work for what they want or are we just giving them what they want? Are we teaching them to work, because that is how this country was started, with true sacrifice and devout labor. These people had a dream, knowing they had to work to the point of death, but they were willing to give it their all just to get what they wanted- to pray!
The pilgrims were after a life where they could be free and worship Jesus Christ even if it meant sacrificing all they had and risking their lives. After the first winter in a new land not many pilgrims were left, and not to mention most of the survivors were children. They had to work and suffer to live. Are we suffering to live? Are we offering our lives up for sacrifice, or convenience and pleasure? My life feels way too easy when I look at the life of the Pilgrims. We were just told we need all new windows in our home, and windows are not cheap, but the house is still warm. Air is not blowing in. We have heat! Why do we have to have the best windows or the best of everything? Because we are Americans, and we deserve it, right? I'm afraid that is the world we live in.
Well I have to admit I fall into this trap too. I loved my online shopping this year and it sure has been convenient, but I want to make sure I do not let the power of convenience and luxury take over my spirit. I want to make sure that I am a living my life as a sacrifice to the one who gave me this life in the first place. I do not wish for so many conveniences that I take for granted the sweat and blood that someone else poured into this country so that I might click a button and items show up at my door.
Romans 12:1 says, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God-this is your true and proper worship."
So the question is would the Pilgrims love online shopping? I would imagine they would fall into the trap of luxury just like we all have, but knowing where they came from I bet they might be a little disappointed at some of the choices we make as Americans. I think they would be quicker to show gratitude and thankfulness and glory to God. I know in my lifetime I will never work even as hard as my grandparents had to work because life is getting more sedentary, but I do not want to take for granted the technology I have and the luxury of getting what I want at the click of a button. I will keep in mind the people who came before me and the sacrifice they endured so that I might sit in my heated home this glorious night taking advantage of a modern day shopping and as for the windows.... That's another story!
Goodnight!
I love online shopping! I do not spend a lot of time on the computer so usually I find myself fighting the crowd to find good deals, but this year I was on Amazon and found almost everything I needed. I was able to almost complete all of my Christmas shopping with the click of a button. How awesome is that! Modern day convenience at its best, but since its Thanksgiving lets think about how the Pilgrims spent their holiday season over here in their "new" land.
The Pilgrims did not care about the technology they had in England, they were looking for freedom of religion. They wanted to pray and worship God. They encountered storms, sea sickness, disease, starvation, cold, no shower for, well ever I guess. I think they washed in a pond close to the ocean. That in itself is a horrible thought! I love a hot shower, but they were brave and had to work hard just to survive. When I want something I open my computer and click a button. When I want something to eat I open my refrigerator and I have enough food put back that I think we could live for quite some time without ever getting hungry. My clothes are clean, has anyone ever thought that the pilgrims probably did not have a change of clothes on the Mayflower, and if they did there is no washing them. They may have washed them in the same pond they bathed in. When I get cold I put on a sweatshirt or cuddle up with a very warm blanket in a heated home and they were huddled in a ball around a fire trying to not freeze to death. What would the Pilgrims think today with online shopping???
There are conveniences for sure about living in the time we do, but there are also many disadvantages. The fact that we can have pretty much anything we want at the drop of a hat just by clicking a button tells me we have become weak. Are we able to survive without our modern day conveniences? We sit, we want, we get. There is a lot of power at our fingertips and if we are not careful we may get swept away in the land of luxury.
Are we teaching our children to work for what they want or are we just giving them what they want? Are we teaching them to work, because that is how this country was started, with true sacrifice and devout labor. These people had a dream, knowing they had to work to the point of death, but they were willing to give it their all just to get what they wanted- to pray!
The pilgrims were after a life where they could be free and worship Jesus Christ even if it meant sacrificing all they had and risking their lives. After the first winter in a new land not many pilgrims were left, and not to mention most of the survivors were children. They had to work and suffer to live. Are we suffering to live? Are we offering our lives up for sacrifice, or convenience and pleasure? My life feels way too easy when I look at the life of the Pilgrims. We were just told we need all new windows in our home, and windows are not cheap, but the house is still warm. Air is not blowing in. We have heat! Why do we have to have the best windows or the best of everything? Because we are Americans, and we deserve it, right? I'm afraid that is the world we live in.
Well I have to admit I fall into this trap too. I loved my online shopping this year and it sure has been convenient, but I want to make sure I do not let the power of convenience and luxury take over my spirit. I want to make sure that I am a living my life as a sacrifice to the one who gave me this life in the first place. I do not wish for so many conveniences that I take for granted the sweat and blood that someone else poured into this country so that I might click a button and items show up at my door.
Romans 12:1 says, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God-this is your true and proper worship."
So the question is would the Pilgrims love online shopping? I would imagine they would fall into the trap of luxury just like we all have, but knowing where they came from I bet they might be a little disappointed at some of the choices we make as Americans. I think they would be quicker to show gratitude and thankfulness and glory to God. I know in my lifetime I will never work even as hard as my grandparents had to work because life is getting more sedentary, but I do not want to take for granted the technology I have and the luxury of getting what I want at the click of a button. I will keep in mind the people who came before me and the sacrifice they endured so that I might sit in my heated home this glorious night taking advantage of a modern day shopping and as for the windows.... That's another story!
Goodnight!
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| Give thanks with a grateful heart |
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