Thanksgiving
Thanks to Best Buy, to WalMart, and to Sears and to all the other wonderful stores that make sure people plan their holiday around what time they need to camp outside of their favorite stores to get special deals. Thanks to Macy’s for a wonderful parade, (which, by the way, I almost always watch part of and was privileged to see in person one time). Thanks to…..well, how about God?
I apologize……kind of…..for having not posted anything for you lately, but a while back my 90 year old mother began to decline, and she passed into Jesus’ arms last week. The service was Saturday, so this Thanksgiving, we are celebrating Thanksgiving without the uncle who passed away in August, and my mother. On the other hand, dad just celebrated his 93rd birthday yesterday. You see, there are things in life that cause us to sorrow and struggle, but there are also things to give thanks for as well.
We watched a video during worship Sunday that reminded us al that during Thanksgiving, we need to realize how precious having a family is, and to give thanks for that rather than focus on the irritations that can arise. ( Family Thanksgiving Song) So if you are celebrating your Thanksgiving with family, take time to thank God for each one you see….even if it is just something you do silently in your heart.
There are some who are facing this Thanksgiving holiday for the first time without their spouse who divorced them, and, because of that, without their children. It can be a lonely and sorrowful time. If you know such a person, let them know today, or in the days ahead, that you are thinking of them. And maybe even find a way to include them in some activity…if not a last minute Thanksgiving invite, maybe going shopping, or coming over for leftovers tomorrow night (by the way, I know I have mixed my plurals and singulars in these sentences. I just don’t care, because he/she is just too awkward, I think).
As I give Thanks today, I wish all would remember that which we have forgotten, that there IS Someone to whom we need to give thanks. God is real. It is by His grace and sustaining power we live, breathe, move and “have our being.” So if you are with family today, give thanks for that. If your family has splintered this year, and you are experiencing that troubling shift in life, you can still find something for which to give thanks. This is some 14 years after my divorce, and some 10 after my wife’s, and even now, there is awareness that things are different than they used to be. But some of those differences have become very good, and very special….and that is something for which I give thanks, and something some of you may need to look forward to experiencing while you struggle today.
A Dysfunctional Family Thanksgiving Song And please, don’t ever confuse WalMart, Sears, Macy’s or Best Buy (or any of their commercial compatriots) with God, even though they may act like they are the most important, they are not. Give thanks to the only one who really deserves our greatest thanks, God himself. Happy Thanksgiving dear readers! P.S. I did an internet radio interview the other day for Indie Books, and it will air on the internet this weekend. Mine is the third interview in the show. If you are interested in hearing it, the access information is below:
Sunday, November 25th, at 5:00-6:00 PMEastern Standard Time on TogiNet Radio (www.toginet.com)
vTo find theIndie Book Publishing Show Page, go to:http://toginet.com/shows/indiebookpublishing
vTo listen live, click the“Live on Air” (yellow arrow) at the top, left side of the page.
