A pet peeve of mine is about to creep up this year, as it does each year when Thanksgiving rolls around. Right off the bat let me say that I love Thanksgiving. We always head to Houston where my mother-in-law cooks us a meal the size of Delaware and somehow we tend to eat it all and still roam the kitchen looking for more. (It is a ‘stretchy pants zone’ each year we head down there for sure.) I love being with the family – watching the cousins tear up the house, watching the girls play ‘princess’ with my 1 1/2 year old son (I assume he plays along NOT because he likes pink princess tea party things, but because he thinks that princesses on the teacups are hot). The Cowboys somehow worked out a deal where they get a national game every year, and this year it is against a team that I think I could play by myself and beat, so I smell victory already.

Good times.

But watch what happens when you inevitably go around the table and talk about what you are thankful for from this last year. The times turns into a time not of thanksGIVING, but thankFULNESS. We say things like, “I am thankful for my children.” Which means, “I am glad I have a family.” Or, “My family brings me joy and makes me feel good.” Thanksgiving has become a state of mind or an acknowledgment of how we feel about something. We basically take time to talk about the things in our lives that we like.

How far off base can we possibly be?

ThanksGIVING is emphasis on action (giving), not feeling. ThankFULNESS is all about how things make us feel. And besides – good job by us – we take our richest blessings and relegate them to one day a year when we are told to have thanksGIVING by Hallmark. And even then we get it wrong.

Get it right this year. GIVE thanks. Don’t just FEEL thankful.

How would your ThanksGIVING be different to truly stop and be grateful, directing thanks to the One that provided the blessing, instead of thinking, yet again, or ourselves and how things make us feel?

Happy ThanksGIVING

jim

A few weeks ago, they announced Halpert as co-manager with Michael Scott on The Office. I would concur with the genius, sarcastic, line offered by Oscar: “Every great institution has two leaders. Where would Catholicism be without the popes?” It just doesn’t seem to make sense for an office setting, or for Jim.

The Jim we have grown to love – Halpert, not me – is a sales rep that made his mark making subtle jabs at Michael and knowing looks at the camera when Michael did something stupid. He subtly undermined him multiple times each episode, and we loved him for it. He was the one in the office that we all related to – the ‘normal’ guy in the midst of chaos all around him. We needed his stability and sarcastic looks.

Now, Jim is a the co-manager, which is a funny concept in theory, but I don’t believe he is pulling it off. He seems to be a completely different character altogether then Old Jim and it seems an awkward fit. He slips into doing the things he hated in Michael – wanting to make sure everyone knew he was the boss, for example, and then he begins to micromanage the team in his suit and tie. He issued lines in this last episode like, “I’m just as much of a boss as Michael.”

I wonder something: If the show was starting from scratch and they had the co-manager setup, would we be fine with it? I think so – For me that hard part was that they transitioned Jim too quickly and abruptly into this position. He talked about it very briefly in one episode and all of a sudden he is co-manager, married and trying to run the office? Becoming the role he has mocked for years? Too soon.

Still love the show, but I think Jim could stand to tone it down some and have hints of Old Jim’ more regularly.

Jim (not Halpert)

Belichick is getting ragged on for his decision, but I think it was a good one…

Punt the ball? Let that scenario play out.

Assume not much of a runback (big assumption) and the Colts have the ball at home with about 70 yards to go (max), plenty of time outs and plenty of time. (The clock went down into the teens because they stretched it out and took no time outs.) Imagine Peyton, smelling blood having come back so far already, with plenty of time, insanely comfortable in the hurry-up (duh). The Patriots D was exhausted and depleted. The issue was not how far Manning would have to go, but if he got the ball back at all, they would win. If the field had been 300 yards and he had gotten a shot, I would have taken the Colts.

Everyone is talking about how it sends a bad message to the defense. What about the affirming message it sent to the offense? If they miss it, the game is over and the Colts win. If they make it, they run out the clock and get a huge win. He put all his eggs in Tom Brady’s proverbial basket, and lost. Most of the time, I like those odds. It was Belichick coaching like a champion, and if he had pulled it off, it would be a HUGE statement to the rest of the league. He was saying that he knew the odds for the rest of the league, but he didn’t care – “we are the Patriots”. It was a gamble and it didn’t work out this time. Why? Because a guy bobbled it and questionably came up a few inches short. Otherwise, we are hailing him as a genius and setting the Patriots atop the AFC and super bowl favorites.

Good call Bill. Ignore all the stupid people.*

*Stupid people=anyone who disagrees with me.

P.S. – Ditka and all those guys on SNF disagreed (except Chris Carter-though I must admit it is shaky ground having only him on my team on this one). That is because they admitted they are old school , saying you must punt and trust your defense. First of all, even if you don’t really trust your defense? Lose the game on principle? Second of all, that is easy to say Coach Ditka, who coached the 85 Bears when they gave up, like a yard all season that season. If I had that defense, I would have just punted on first down every series.

Someone who agrees with me: http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/id/9139/no-problem-with-belichicks-decision-here

I don’t care for blogs or tweets. But I just started both in the last 24 hours (twitter.com/jimgribnitz). Kind of embarrassed really.

So what will i be doing here? Not sure exactly – I am a Dallas sports freak and a Christian, so my posts will probably revolve around those two facets of my life.

This will really probably be mostly an opportunity to drop some Jesus knowledge on a topics about which I am passionate.

jim