Up and down week.  There are some days that I just have to sit and absorb, not trying to decipher. 

I am thankful for all of you that I send these posts out to; and to those that I just send things out occasionally each of you is special to me.

We will have Teresa and Ian over tomorrow for our Thanksgiving dinner; will just have to catch up on everyone else as we can, everyone is so busy.

Even Teresa and Ian have to work tomorrow, but they are right here in town and late afternoon works for them.  Teresa just getting up and Ian not yet having to go to work.

There are some jobs, no matter the date on the calendar, that people have to work.  We know the obvious, police, fire, emergency dispatchers, military, hospital employees, nursing home staff, etc.  But there are many more, both Deed and Teresa work at dams where they must have coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Ian is working where they must have someone there, on duty, at all times.

Having been one of those in a blue uniform, we learned, early how to celebrate such mile stones a little differently, often not being able to do things on the date of the event.  It is just something you do when you serve in those capacities.

I am not a fan of those retail outlets that stay open on Thanksgiving, to me, they are letting down their employees.  If someone needs something that bad they can get it the day before or do without.

Having said that, though, I remember one Thanksgiving that we were going down to Carla’s parent’s house where we all gathered for the celebration.  Ken got very sick and we couldn’t go.

NO stores, of course, were opened on Thanksgiving back then.  Vicki was very disappointed, first because we couldn’t go and then because we didn’t have the traditional dinner.

I called my former co-worker at Safeway’s, Skip Keyes.  He met me at the store and helped me get the groceries I needed to have the traditional dinner at our home.

We could have made a Thanksgiving dinner with what we had – probably beef from the freezer.  The day doesn’t depend on what you eat, but the celebration of thanking God.

Still it made one little girl happy.

To all of you, thank you, and may GOD truly bless you EVERY SINGLE DAY!

“Every man is as close to God as he wants to be; he is as holy and as full of the Spirit as he wills to be....

Yet we must distinguish wanting from wishing. By "want" I mean wholehearted desire. Certainly there are many who wish they were holy or victorious or joyful but are not willing to meet God's conditions to obtain. “   AW Tozer

1 Chronicles 28:9 And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.

Serve with a perfect heart AND a WILLING mind...if thou SEEK Him, He will be found of thee;

A lesson I need to learn.

AND sometimes it is sooooooo hard. 

Some days I just wake up and feel I am the fly in the ointment of God’s people.  Just can’t get squared away.

The feeling can last a while, finally, I am reminded that it is MY obligation to seek God and His direction.  He will not impose His will on me without my willingness to follow Him.

Sometimes it would be a lot easier if He did.

This is the time of year that Americans are reminded to be thankful for what they have.

Unfortunately, our society in all its wisdom, wants to declare that God has nothing to do with it and that we are just to be thankful for each other, etc.

What they forget is that the First ‘record’ of Thanksgiving feast in America was done by the Pilgrims.  Yes, they invited the Wampanoag Indians to the feast because they provided support and teaching to the Pilgrims and they wanted to thank them with a dinner.

But, it was also a time of thanking God for His Blessings – modern day twisters like to forget that happened and try to deny it happened.  The fact they were pilgrims, a religious group, who came to America to practice their religion without interference should be enough to put to rest any claims they didn’t thank God. 

It is so very sad, our children are being misled.

While it IS a good thing to be thankful for all that we have, most of us realize that we need to thank God EVERY day for His many blessings – it also helps keep us from that ‘oh, me’ syndrome we might get.

Revelation 7:11-12 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,

¹² Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.

Amen, indeed!

Later, Art :-)