ThanksgivingDay

Happy Thanksgiving!

"The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage." Psalm 16: 6

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits; who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy mouth with good things." Psalm 103: 2-5

We truly have so much in our lives for which to be thankful. The above verses say it so well! The first one is a favourite of mine. I used to take my wonderful Christian heritage for granted, but not anymore. The Lord has blessed me beyond measure, both physically, and spiritually.

This is one of my favourite seasons, even if I'm Canadian! I do have American roots, but beyond that I believe it's a wonderful tradition to pause at least once a year, and make a celebration out of being thankful! I noticed something recently in the stores and in the newspaper adds that made my heart ache, though. Instead of "Happy Thanksgiving" a new saying has evolved; "Happy Harvest" or "Harvest Savings", etc. If we as a nation forget to give thanks to God, what will become of us?

The following two pictures are from my vintage postcard collection. (circa 1908) Aren't they pretty?

I love the story of the Pilgrim Fathers, and how they journeyed across the Atlantic Ocean in the Mayflower ship, to seek out a new land where they could have religious freedom, and so began the great nation of America.

A few years ago, the Sunday School class I was teaching dressed up and participated in a "Pilgrim Party." I explained the story of the pilgrims to them, and gave them a short quiz. One of the questions was; "What was the name of the boat that the pilgrims sailed on?" Colin, my nephew, answered; "The Cauliflower!" Well, he is Canadian, so I guess you have to excuse him!

Here is a photo of that fun time:
October, 1997
Left to right: Tanya, Amanda, me!, Colin, & Matthew, the Indian brave.

If you are interested in seeing more family photos of past Thanksgiving times, please click here.

What are you especially thankful for this year? Your health? Your home? Your freedom to worship in the church of your choice? Your family? Take a few minutes to think about it, and count your blessings! Isn't God good?

A Hymn of Praise....

We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing;
He chastens and hastens His will to make known;
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing,
Sing praises to His name: He forgets not His own.

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,
Ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine:
So from the beginning the fight we were winning;
Thou, Lord, wast at our side, all glory be Thine!

We all do extol Thee, Thou Leader triumphant,
And pray that Thou still our Defender wilt be.
Let Thy congregation escape tribulation:
Thy name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!

(Netherlands Folk hymn; translated by Theodore Baker.)

This page written on October 2, 2000

Graphics from: