Before I sit down with family and friends for the feast, I want to thank God for blessings and gifts and wonders that surround me today. I want all of this to be about a grateful heart. I hope it's contagious, Giving thanks, that is.
Deborah Norville, of TV reporting fame, wrote a book on Thank You Power that I found very helpful for contemplating Thanksgiving today. It's a short book, she shares her faith with us, and reports on the power of gratitude to do wonderful things. People who learn to give and share thanks with God and others, get closer to happiness and healthy lives, than those who feel they've accomplished everything by hard work and by themselves. She bases a lot of what she says on a Duke University Study on happiness and gratitude.
This blog today is not about her book, but her inspiration to give thanks. I want first to proclaim I am grateful to God for all that I have. The best is an eternal perspective that comes with a deep and personal relationship to Jesus. Knowing that God loves me, forgives me because of what Jesus did, makes everything else that much better.
I thank God for Elaine. We've been sharing thanksgivings since 1998 when we had just barely met. I dragged her to Ohio to meet the family, scared her to death in the process, but she survived that introduction and it has made giving thanks to her and for her that much better. Thank you Elaine, I hope you are feeling better real soon.
I thank God for my family, both the one that brought me here and the one I had some influence on. My dad is 92 and still going strong, and I am thankful for all that he has done as an example, and as an encouragement to me. Rocky, my Step-mom, keeps him going and out of trouble so I am thankful for her as well. Have a safe trip back from Ohio where my two brothers are celebrating together.
I thank God for my brother Bruce, Kelly too, he gets credit here too, but Bruce is a pastor and closer in geography, and we are able to encourage and motivate each other in ministry, which has been a real blessing to me too. We've also been pretty competitive, and our churches have at times been close in size, and so there has been some natural comparisons and wondering whether he is doing better than I am... That's one of the reasons to be thankful, and to be careful about, you can't build your gratitude on what you have or don't have, sorry about that, Bruce. Gratitude goes to being aware of what is reality is, and that's very important too.
Andy and Casey, my two sons, bring a great deal of gratitude into my heart as well. Andy and Maggie had Oscar who is now four. I get to be Pop Pop, and chauffer to Pre School sometimes, and that is a blast, even if it is really early in the morning. Casey was in a play for the last few weeks, that is a joy to watch him on stage, helping people to think and appreciate what we have in life. Good job Casey, you will continue to bless others with your acting. Here is a plug for your new graphic novel "All Fall Down" coming out soon.
God has blessed me with a calling and a place to share that gift at Liberty Grove United Methodist Church in Burtonsville. It's been four years of ministry together that has inspired me to thank God for such a place where we love each other, and care about the community and the world and do something about it. May God continue to pour out on us his strength and Spirit to be a blessing for others.
Food is coming and I love to eat, but it also serves as a very visual reminder of God's creative power, and the variety of food, signifies how great that love of God comes in a variety of ways, people, experiences and moments when we pause to remember how we got here, and who we really belong to.
Have a great Thanksgiving
Pastor Jeff
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