Archive for the ‘Thanksgiving’ Category
Thanksgiving and the Welfare State
Traditionally, Thanksgiving is a time to count our blessings and thank God for them. For the early pilgrims, these blessings were simple and few. The first thanksgiving celebrated at Plymouth was for a bountiful harvest following a year the colonists suffered great loss from hunger and disease.
In the years that followed, days of thanksgiving were solemn yet joyful occasions. Hard work was a fact of life but no guarantee that a family would have the necessities needed to survive. Our ancestors understood that they could plant and plow but only God could make things grow. Read the rest of this entry »
Thanksgiving: The Antidote for Worry and Fear
Not since the Great Depression has there been such a time of economic uncertainty in this country and around the world. The stock market has taken a dive. Foreclosed homes dot the landscape. Companies are going out of business. Bankruptcies are commonplace. People are being laid off. The job market is drying up. Natural disasters have taken their toll. Our sons and daughters are in harm’s way, serving in far off lands. It is rare to find anyone, who has not been adversely affected in some way. You see fear, anxiety and worry on the faces of family, friends and co-workers.
We need this day of Thanksgiving to put our lives in proper perspective. Read the rest of this entry »
Where have all the Thankful gone?
Last week, Georgia Governor Sonny Purdue held a prayer vigil in front of the state’s capitol to ask God for rain. The media had a field day. He was the subject of much ridicule and scorn – for a day. The next day it rained.
It wasn’t what folks in the south would call a “gully washer.” However, the media coverage dried up a lot faster than the parched earth. Read the rest of this entry »
What Does It Mean to be Truly Thankful?
What does it mean to be truly thankful? It is an attitude of gratitude toward our Maker.
Gratitude is not passive. It is more than offering up a traditional prayer before you sit down to a feast, followed by an afternoon of watching football in front of the television. It is an acknowledgment that all that we have, our very existence, is a gift from God – a God who made man in His image in order to have communion with him.
Communion is more than a conversation. It is a relationship. A relationship requires communication to be sure, but have you ever tried to have communion with a rock? Read the rest of this entry »
