Date: 2025-11-14

AO: 3rd-f

Q: Nurse Jackie (F3 Florence)

PAX: Bionic, Mr Rogers, Pinto, Yogi (Florence), Dipstick, Sharpie

FNGs: None

COUNT: 7

This morning we played some Thanksgiving Trivia, while we also discussed what does the Bible say about giving thanks to the Lord. We also discussed how giving thanks is a way to fight anxiety and depression.

Thanksgiving Trivia:

1. The first Thanksgiving was in 1621 and lasted three days, shared between Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe.

2. George Washington declared the first national Thanksgiving in 1789, but it wasn’t an annual holiday.

3. Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving official in 1863 during the Civil War, declaring it a national day of “Thanksgiving and Praise.”

4. Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving up a week in 1939 to extend the holiday shopping season. Congress fixed it to the fourth Thursday in 1941.

5. Calvin Coolidge was gifted a live raccoon for Thanksgiving dinner in 1926. He kept it as a pet named Rebecca.

6. Americans eat over 46 million turkeys on Thanksgiving Day each year.

7. The Butterball Turkey Talk-Line answers over 100,000 questions each holiday season.

8. Cranberry sauce is the most disliked dish, according to recent surveys.

9. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade began in 1924, originally featuring live animals from Central Park Zoo.

10. Felix the Cat was the first balloon in the Macy’s Parade in 1927.

11. Only male turkeys gobble. Females make other sounds like clucks and purrs.

12. The day after Thanksgiving is nicknamed “Brown Friday.” It’s the busiest day of the year for plumbers.

13. Pumpkins are technically a fruit, not a vegetable.

14. The term “Friendsgiving” was first used in 2007, now a popular alternative celebration.

15. Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving meal included toast, popcorn, and jelly beans, not turkey Today.

16. Orlando, Florida was the top Thanksgiving travel destination in 2024.

17. The National Dog Show airs after the parade, and the Wire Fox Terrier has won Best in Show 15 times Today.

18. A baby turkey is called a “poult”, and an adult male is a “tom.”

19. The average Thanksgiving meal contains about 3,000 calories Today.

20. The Monday after Thanksgiving is Cyber Monday, a major online shopping day.

21. The first Small Business Saturday was held on November 27, 2010, launched by American Express to support local businesses during the holiday shopping season.

22. Approximately 46 million turkeys are consumed each Thanksgiving in the U.S., representing about 20% of the nation’s annual turkey production.

23. Other countries celebrate Thanksgiving officially, though customs vary:

• Canada – Second Monday in October

• Liberia – First Thursday in November

• Saint Lucia – First Monday in October

• Norfolk Island (Australia), last Wednesday in November

• Germany (Erntedankfest) and Japan (Labor Thanksgiving Day) have similar harvest-themed holidays.

1. “Thanks” and related words appear over 160 times in the Bible. In the ESV, the phrase “give thanks” appears 72 times, and broader terms like “thanksgiving,” “thankful,” and “gratitude” are used throughout Psalms, the Epistles, and more.

What does the Bible say about giving thanks?

• Psalm 107:1 “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!”

• 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”

• Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

• Colossians 3:15 “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”

• Psalm 100:4 “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name”

These verses remind us that thankfulness is not just seasonal, it is constant. Gratitude is a form of worship, a way to acknowledge God’s goodness, and a tool to shift our hearts from worry to peace. Gratitude isn’t just a feeling, it’s a spiritual discipline. In Scripture, it’s often paired with praise, peace, and perseverance.

Gratitude and mental health:

The Bible directly connects thankfulness with peace and emotional well-being:

• Philippians 4:6–7 (ESV):

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God… will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”• This shows that thankfulness is a pathway to peace, even in anxiety or depression.

• Psalm 92:1–2 (ESV):

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord… to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night.”• Gratitude anchors us in God’s faithfulness, morning and night.