no propaganda please Loc: moon orbiting the third rock from the sun

his morning I was thinking about Thanksgivings past, and a story came to mind. SWMBO and I were at a seminar, and during one of the breaks, we met a couple only a few years younger that we are. they told us about their kids, a 10 year old boy and a 13 year old girl at the time and one of their most memorable Thanksgivings. the kids were starting the whinny stage, not nice enough clothes, a little TV an old car, you know the drill. This was before I phones, tablet computers and all those other gadgets, but the kids felt put upon, and couldn't find anything to be thankful. The wife's grandfather had a house way back in the woods, which, after his passing,still stayed in the family. They decided to take the kids to the house and spend a few days there not telling the kids what was in store for them. The house was in the middle of the woods in Michigan (where this couple lived back then) It had a wood burning stove for heat and cooking, a cistern with pump for water, and an out house, a two hole no less. The couple told the kids that grandpa was raised in this house, along with his two sisters, sharing one bedroom with the parents, and blankets to provide privacy and keep the warmth in around each bed. The couple and their kids stayed for four or five days, no amenities at all. Deer and owls, hawks and chipmunks, many bears wandering through heating hardy because they were getting ready to hibernate. For the first two days the kids whined and pouted, nothing was right, fair, or welcome. Then the animals got through to the kids and they started to realize the beauty of god's world. The girl started to draw pictures of the animals, the boy used his camera to take lots of pictures of animals, their tracks in the mud and snow, and each other chopping wood, pumping water and other chores. By the time they left, they know about God's gifts, were looking forward to sharing them with their friends and thought it was the best Thanksgiving they had ever had. Apparently the kids went back to the house a few times, before moving away to marry and start their own families. The year before we met them, the man said his son took his wife and kids to share the gift that has kept on giving through the generations.
Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends on OPP, may God's blessings be with you, and His love abound. NPP and SWMBO

fiatlux

So thoroughly enriching and welcomed, thank you. Have already shared this with my friends at work.

no propaganda please Loc: moon orbiting the third rock from the sun

You are welcome. Giving thanks is something we should do daily, as there are so many things to give thanks for. Have a good Thanksgiving, remembering to thank God for your life and friends. We will be doing what we do most years, having two Thanksgivings. Tomorrow we will be at the church providing meals for all who want them and Friday we will have Thanksgiving with the families of "our boys" who are local including Pete and David. We are cooking as we post, pies in the oven, apple crumble next up for those who don'tlike pumpkin pie.

no propaganda please Loc: moon orbiting the third rock from the sun

Crosswalk the Devotional


A Countercultural Christmas
by Sarah Phillips, Crosswalk.com Contributor

"Brothers and sisters: You know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; the night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and lust, not in rivalry and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh." -Romans 13:11-14

The first purple Advent candle is about to be lit. The once dark wreath will shine unevenly with one solitary light.

Advent is one of my favorite seasons in the Christian year. It's a special time where we reflect on the darkness and trials of this world in the light of our hope in Christ. We remember how, after centuries of waiting on the part of the faithful, God bridged the chasm between humanity and divinity through the humble birth of Jesus.

I've always loved Advent for its joyful anticipation of the Christ-child, but I also love it because it's a bit countercultural. Its sparse purple and pink decorations stand in stark contrast to the glitz the rest of our culture displays often weeks before Thanksgiving arrives. You see, Advent was not designed as a simple memorial of a past event, to bring us up to Christmas day and leave us there. Its purpose is to point the faithful towards a future event - Christ's second, glorious coming. This is why churches that celebrate this liturgical season read about the Lord's coming in both the Old and New Testament throughout the month of December.

The dramatic imagery found in these readings is far removed from the quaint Christmas decorations that currently surround us. They have a jolting effect as they remind us that our lives now should be lived in light of eternity, not in keeping with the current standards.

In this first Advent reading, Paul's words to the faithful carry a tone of urgency. He uses the image of awakening from a deep sleep. But notice he is not shaking his brothers and sisters out of their sleep at sunrise, but while "the night is advanced." In other words, it's not enough to simply wait for Christ to show up, but we must prepare beforehand. We need to seek God's grace now to help us eliminate sin from our lives

This is where the hard work of Advent comes in. This joyful season requires an examination of conscience. It's a time to reflect on the areas where we lack or on the recurrent sins in our lives, and to seek God's grace to help us to change.

Perhaps this seems like a real downer of an activity during the most wonderful time of the year. But let me share with you why, for me, it's never really been a downer. Have you ever failed to prepare for a big event (or had nightmares that you did?). Have you ever found yourself awake at night, panicking because you're envisioning yourself without a dress on your wedding day or lacking your PowerPoint slides for an important presentation? Needless to say, the joy and success of these events would seriously be compromised should these nightmares come true.

Surely, all good things in life require preparation. And God, in His mercy, has given us the gift of time to prepare for His arrival, which no doubt, will be the most important event we ever experience.

Intersecting Faith & Life: Take time this week to reflect on the joy of Jesus' first arrival and then, confident in His love for you, ask God to reveal to you the ways in which you need to prepare your heart to meet Him on Christmas Day.

Further Reading
Matthew 3:1-2
Psalm 139:23-24

fiatlux

The moment is our gift: who can properly prepare for it? Best surrender all to Christ; he will always be there.