Thank You, Lord, for Leading Me

https://ew.com/tv/2018/05/23/mark-wahlberg-captain-kangaroo/

This being the month of November and the time we think about the things for which we are thankful, I want to share a story with you. It’s a true story. A couple of months ago, the Children’s Directors stopped in at our prayer group and said she was having a time getting people to commit to having the “Children’s Moments” message.

I felt convicted. As we were leaving, I told her to put my name down for some Sunday in November. As I drove away, I received the message I would use. Yesterday was my day to talk to the children. Here is my script I used:

Good Morning, boys and girls.

We are in a new month. Do you know what it is?

What holiday do we celebrate near the end of this month?

Can you tell me why we take the time to observe this holiday?

On the first Thanksgiving: The Pilgrims gathered to give thanks to God for the bountiful harvest. This feast was especially dear to them because the winter before they had very little to eat. They were grateful to God for His provision for them.

A lot of your grandparents, when they were kids, watched a television program this man had. His name was Captain Kangaroo. He told those who watched about two “magic” words, “Please” and “Thank you.” When we use please, we ask nicely that something be done for us. When we say thank you, we show that we are grateful for what they did for us.

We should say “Thank you,” to God for everything we have. When I was in the third grade, my teacher told our class that Thanksgiving was about giving thanks for what we had to eat, even if it was peanut butter and jelly.

Before you go to Junior Church, let’s bow our heads and thank God for all He gives us.

Dear Father God: We thank You for Your Son, Jesus, who died for our sins. We thank You for our families, our friends, and our neighbors. We thank You for our Church and for all those who work to keep it up. In the Name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

The children were quite attentive. They gave the answers to my questions. Just before I explained the idea of saying please and thank you, I had the sound/tech man put a picture of Captain Kangaroo on the screen. The congregation responded with his name and the magic words.

I wasn’t expecting that kind of response from the children and, especially, not from the adults.

My praise is for God leading me by giving me the message and for the kindness of the congregation displayed by their reaction to seeing Captain Kangaroo.