"I'd like to thank..."

All eyes are on her as she humbly walks up the grand steps up to the glittering stage and is greeted by the handsomely attired power-couple (whose names the press has somewhat cleverly hyphenated). They give her the award and it feels heavy and electric in her hands. She moves forward, chin ducked just a little, trying to take it all in- the lights, the applause, the fruition of years of work- all culminating here and now. She leans into the microphone and the crowd’s cheers respectfully come to a close. “Thank you” she says, not remembering how to begin the practiced speech. She pauses, smiles, and holds the award up, and points at a few people in the audience, as a silent acknowledgement to what they have done for her. Pausing once more, she begins again. “I’d like to thank…”

We’ve seen that awards ceremony on TV, time and time again. The speeches range from an exercise of polished words to minutes of stumbling through a haze of amazement, and from seemingly sincere to disingenuous. Many of the speeches acknowledge that co-workers, bosses, and family have helped them make it to this moment.

With this week being Thanksgiving, I couldn’t help visualize the variety of thanksgiving that is done in these and other settings, both secular and faith-focused, publically and privately. Giving thanks, true thanks from the heart, is always appropriate, not just on the one day our nation sets aside for giving thanks, but each and every day. Take a moment to consider how you give thanks. Do you recognize who it is that provides you with all that you have? Do you recognize that you didn’t get to where you are all by yourself?

My family has adopted a time of acknowledging our thanks around the Thanksgiving table. It is our custom to pray before meals, but during Thanksgiving we make a point of sharing a few words about those things of which we are specifically thankful. Together, we recognize that God is our Provider, and that he has generously given us each other, to love, care for, support, and encourage each other. It is a time to talk about being content with what God has provided throughout the year.

In the good times, in the difficult times, I am steadfastly sure that God is there in the midst of things, whether he is rescuing, protecting, comforting, or binding up our wounds. I am thankful in all these circumstances. I am thankful, for my family, my family in faith, my friends, old and new, near and far. Also, I am thankful that God not only works in my life, but in theirs as well. I hope this week is full of joy for you all, and that you can find plenty of things of which you are thankful.

“I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation” (Psalm 118:21).

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess 5:16-18)

Thanksgiving Eve

I guess it wouldn’t be too improper to call today Thanksgiving Eve. Today, like many of you, I’m making final preparations for company and cooking. I’m leaving my brother-in-law in charge of the games on TV, and my sister will certainly help clean up after dinner. My niece and nephew are bringing the entertainment (piano solos and a fusion of several board games), and my mom is bringing the holy grail of desserts, the pies. Each of us has our own talents and opinions of how to do things. Some like things more lively and some appreciate the quiet. Some want the dog in the house and some don’t. Some want to run around the yard and others look forward to their nap (uhm, I mean to their football game.) I am thankful that we were raised to value each other and to get along. Even when there are those rare disagreements, we strive to use the WWJD principle so that we can quickly overcome the problem and get back to being the family God wants us to be.

No matter the differences, it is more important to get along with one another and treat one another with love, than it is to win an argument. Even in communities where there are cultural and economical similarities, problems naturally arise. The trouble is not that there is a problem, but it is in how we deal with the problem. In chapter 4 of James, the scripture is very clear about how to deal with problems in a Christian manner. Verse 1-2a begins the teaching with, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it.” Christ calls us to move past the temptation to judge others, so that we may deal with our everyday struggles with grace, humbleness, and above all, love.

Think back to the story of the first Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians. They chose to help each other, bringing what they had to the table for their mutual benefit. I like the graphic of the dog and cat above because it is a picture of how we should make an effort to work together, bringing our gifts to the table and show grace regarding each other’s flaws. I hope you take time to look around at your family and the community around you and find reasons to be thankful, even thankful for the differences that we have. Enjoy Thanksgiving and make time to keep your whole community in your prayers, thanking God for all the benefits we are able to enjoy.

So... if you still need reasons to be thankful, enjoy this top ten list I found:

What To Do When The Turkey Is Burned, OR
Top 10 Reasons To Be Thankful Anyway

10. Salmonella won't be a concern.
9. No one will overeat.
8. Everyone will think it is Cajun Blackened.
7. Uninvited guests will think twice next year.
6. Your cheese broccoli lima bean jello casserole will gain newly found
appreciation.
5. Pets won't pester you for scraps.
4. The smoke alarm was due for a test anyway.
3. Carving the bird will provide a good cardiovascular workout.
2. After dinner, you can take the bird to the yard and play football.
1. You'll get to the desserts quicker!

Thanksgiving History and Traditions

Next week is Thanksgiving, and time is short for preparing for all the customary details. This year is a little trickier as there will be one dinner at my house, and one on the weekend at Dad’s vacation spot, each with a variation of family attendees. For some time we have already been in discussion of who is bringing what, and where we will be. Our tradition includes gathering, creating a “kid space” for them to run and play, locating the football games on TV, telling all the old (and new) family stories around the table, and scouting out the perfect nap place. One of our best traditions is saying grace, not in the usual way, but by going around the table with each person, young and old, telling what they are thankful for. I am thankful that we are able to get together and spend time visiting, laughing, and playing with the kids. I am thankful for being a part of a family that is unified by our faith in Christ and our desire to follow Him.

While I was preparing for our holiday, I came across a website that gave some great information about the history of Thanksgiving. There I discovered (and rediscovered) a few interesting facts beyond the grade school picture of that first Thanksgiving in 1621 where the Pilgrims and the Indians sat down and shared a meal together. Many people assume that the annual celebration continued from that moment on in its same form. Actually, for some time after that first shared meal, Thanksgiving was loosely celebrated. Eventually the celebration was proclaimed by governors of the colonies who set the date according to their own timing. The first national day of Thanksgiving was established on Dec. 18, 1777 after the American victory at Saratoga, when the Continental Congress declared that “the good people may express the grateful feelings of heir hearts, and consecrate themselves to the service of their divine benefactor.”

The day before, General George Washington wrote that we should “express our grateful acknowledgements to God.” Then, as president, he set aside the last Thursday in November in 1789 "to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God." The next four Presidents (with the exception of Jefferson) issued their own proclamations of a day of Thanksgiving, and then the tradition temporarily fell back to local communities. It wasn’t until 1863 that the tradition was re-established by Abraham Lincoln, in answer to a letter urging him to set a national day of Thanksgiving. Every President following Lincoln has issued an annual proclamation calling for a day of Thanksgiving to be held on the fourth Thursday of November. I found it very interesting to read the various proclamations, ranging from FDR’s 1933 Depression era message thanking God for His blessings, to Truman’s 1945 message where he celebrates peace and prays that Americans express thanks to God “in our homes and in our places of worship, individually and as groups.”

There is JFK’s 1961 proclamation which begins by quoting Psalm 92:1 saying, “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord” and then urges all citizens to use the holiday, not just for rest but as a day of contemplation. He asks people to tell the story of Thanksgiving to their children to help them understand our national heritage and the necessity of the blessing of God. Both Bill Clinton’s last and George Bush’s first proclamations recite details of the first Thanksgiving and remind us to be thankful for God’s blessings. (To read these proclamations, go to
http://www.pilgrimhall.org/ThanxProc.htm).

I hope that in preparing your grocery list and your guest list you will also prepare your heart for a time of contemplating all that God has blessed you with. As you make decisions about whether to use the good china or the paper plates, that you will decide to set aside time that day to, as a gathered group, lift up prayers of thankfulness to Almighty God who blesses us, so that we will be a blessing to others.