Friday, November 13, 2009

“OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS”

“Over the river and through the woods, to Grandma’s house we go. The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh through the white and drifting snow.”

I learned this Thanksgiving song when I was in grade school. I sang this first verse to my son when he was two or three years old. He seemed to like it.

In today’s world maybe Grandma is rearing the grandchildren. Or Grandma lives with her children and grandchildren. Maybe she lives in a retirement apartment. Or she resides in a nursing home. Maybe something has come between the parents and Grandma and they are estranged.

Let’s imagine the children and their parents DO go to Grandma’s. They could go by car. My mother and I went by plane one Thanksgiving. In cities like New York and Chicago, the family might take the subway trains or the elevated.

The original reason for celebrating Thanksgiving was to give thanks to God for the bountiful harvest. The pilgrims wanted to remember where their great blessing came from. Now, in these present, times, shouldn’t we gather together for the same reason?

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

A THANKSGIVING PRAYER

Dear God:


We thank You for all you have given us in order to live as a nation. Remind us, please, of the reason we celebrate this season. Let us remember that we live in a hard-fought freedom. Help us remember the ones who gave and presently give of their lives so we can continue to be free. Let us count our blessings You have bestowed upon us, Your children. Let us receive with gratitude the food we will partake of as we sit with our families. We ask these things because of Your great grace and mercy for us.

In the name of Jesus

AMEN

Monday, November 9, 2009

WHO WE THANK AND WHY

“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord,, all you lands.

Serve the Lord with gladness.

Come before His presence with singing.”

Psalm 100:1-2 (NKJV)




The Doxology we sing on Sunday mornings tells us we are to “praise God, from whom all blessings flow” reminds us of the reason we are to praise Him. All blessings come from out Lord. Blessings come in many forms. Some we recognize, others are hard to see until after time passes.

A friend at church praises God for her illness these past two years because it has allowed her to draw closer to God. I have learned to accept my limitations with my chronic illness and I have also gotten closer to the Lord.

A couple went through a time of depression when two of their three children, their son and their youngest daughter, were deployed to the first Desert Storm, Both children returned home safely. The daughter returned home, started back to college, got married, she and her husband started a family. The daughter and son-in-law turned their life over to the Lord and became strong Christian parents, working in the church. The now grandparents and those who knew the family and prayed for them during that tough time still thank God for what He did.

God Alone

  Jesus and the children at our church's prayer walk.          I will both lie down in peace and sleep;  For You alone, O LORD make ...