Happy Thanksgiving!

I love Thanksgiving! I love the whole week of Thanksgiving! It truly is my favorite holiday, I guess because it is centered around being grateful for what we already have - not for what gift we just opened. There are no material gifts involved. I love the thought of millions and millions of people sitting down together with people they love, all at the same time, and just being grateful . That's all. No piles of wrapping paper, kids fighting over toys, trips to the mall.


I found this quote that I love on the Internet last night:


"When you strip away every illusion of success. When all earthen treasures fail. There is only one thing remaining, but that is the greatest treasure of all - the love of God our Creator.

If we are to celebrate Thanksgiving with prayers of praise that will not fade. If we are to give thanks with smiles that are more than superficial, we must set our priorities straight. The essence of Thanksgiving is not to be found in the cost of the goods and services that may fill our horn of plenty. The important things are the resources we bring to adversity. What strength can we call upon when these earthen treasures fail?

When the act of counting our blessings leads to the anxious condition of counting upon our blessings then the meaning of Thanksgiving is diminished. But according to Biblical witness Thanksgiving is something we do when the troubles of the world are still very much with us. It's not a question of waiting for that moment of euphoria when you seem to be carried away on a cresendo of good feeling. To give thanks is to take up the tangled threads of your life and present them to God come what may."


Here are a few pictures from Thanksgivings past: