There are certain things you should not change about Thanksgiving.

For Thanksgiving dinner, you need to serve turkey and dressing. And you must have pumpkin pie for dessert.

Of course, there is some wiggle room here.

Roasting a turkey can be intimidating for some folks. It’s really easier than you think. The first step is buying a frozen turkey several days before Thanksgiving so you can safety thaw it in your refrigerator. You can buy a fresh turkey if you don’t mind paying more.

(I always get a kick out of seeing people late on the day before Thanksgiving buying a frozen turkey to cook the next day.)

Most turkeys have a popup timer that shows you that the bird has reached the proper temperature throughout. The tricky part is carving the turkey and then after dinner, stripping the carcass so that you can have delicious leftovers for a few days.

Nobody seems to eat pumpkin pies in the summer. This could be because pumpkins are in season in the fall. But Thanksgiving (and Christmas) wouldn’t seem right without a pumpkin pie.

My wife makes pumpkin pies from scratch. We get pumpkins and she bakes them. Then she makes a crust – which is the key part of a great pie – and cooks a delicious pumpkin pie or two. She usually will make a deep-dish apple pie, which also are delicious.

Buying a frozen pie from a grocery or a bakery is fine but homemade pies seem extra special.

Thanksgiving also calls for green bean casseroles, homemade dinner rolls, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce and my special Jell-O salad, dubbed “pink stuff” by my kids. It is a combination of crushed pineapple, Cool Whip, cottage cheese and red Jell-O (cranberry, raspberry, dark cherry or strawberry flavors).

Add some black olives and sweet pickles on the side and you have a traditional dinner.

I am sure some folks don’t like this lineup. They might prefer ham or steak or they might want to eat out on Thanksgiving. Places like Cracker Barrel offer excellent Thanksgiving options. It’s just a shame that some people have to work in the restaurants on Thanksgiving.

John 3:16 Mission serves hundreds of Thanksgiving dinners to the homeless and other poor people. The Rev. Steve Whitaker thinks that everyone should feel a little special on the holiday and a great meal is just the right ticket.

(By the way, the homeless situation in Tulsa is growing thanks to the coronavirus pandemic and John 3:16 could use some donations. They not only feed people that week but they plan to hand out 5,000 bags of groceries – complete with turkeys – to needy people prior to Thanksgiving.)

Thanksgiving is a time to reunite with family.

This is difficult for some. People get estranged for big and little reasons. It’s would be a good time for reconciliation but people can be too timid to make the first move.

When your kids grow up and marry, they suddenly have two Thanksgiving dinner options. It’s rare that they can see both sets of families in one day. And they may live far away (our daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren live in South Dakota). We try to shoot for getting together either Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Finally, Thanksgiving means football.

My enthusiasm for the National Football League has dwindled for several reasons.

First, the Dallas Cowboys aren’t very good. Secondly, the NFL is injecting politics into the pregame ceremonies and in the NFL commercials. I want to watch football – not be lectured to by progressives.

Thankfully (there’s that word), there are college football games on the Thanksgiving weekend.

New Mexico plays at Utah State and Colorado State at Air Force on Thanksgiving day.

But most of the action is Friday and Saturday of that week. Iowa State plays Texas on Friday. On Saturday, Texas Tech is at Oklahoma State and Oklahoma is at West Virginia.

There will be some fun and meaningful games that weekend.

Here is something we really should not change on Thanksgiving – giving thanks to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Most of our Founding Fathers were Christians and they recognized the hardships that accompanied trying to carve out new life in a new world. They understood that their basic survival depended on the grace of God and His good favor.

The Bible instructs us to give thanks. We live in a wonderful country that has carved out a holiday to give thanks.

Who are we thanking? For me and my family, we are thanking God for a home, for three square meals a day, for money in the bank, for good friends, for a loving church family and for the promise of Heaven.

That part should never change.