THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION

It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord .
We know that by his divine law, nations like individuals, are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world. May we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war which now desolates the land may be a punishment inflicted upon us, for our presumptions sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people?
We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity, we have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown.
But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.
It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent father who dwelleth in the heavens.

Abraham Lincoln 1863

Why Do We Celebrate?
America’s first Thanksgiving, in 1621, was a three-day celebration of feasting and recreation. The prior year was the Pilgrims’ first winter at Plymouth, and it was so harsh almost half of the colonists perished.
By the second harvest, there was reason to rejoice. A peace treaty was signed with the Wampanoag, the Pilgrims’ Native American neighbors. And Massasoit, their leader, shared his agricultural expertise, which resulted in a bumper crop. As was common in England, where the Pilgrims originated, they chose to commemorate their bounty with a harvest festival.
Most accounts of the actual event mention neither turkey, nor pumpkin, our modern Thanksgiving staples. Indian corn was plentiful, however. Four valiant Pilgrim housewives supervised the feast that Massasoit and 90 of his people attended, bringing five deer as their contribution to the communal table.

I’M THANKFUL FOR (unknown author)
…..the mess to clean up after a party because if means I have been surrounded by friends
…..the taxes I pay because it means that I’m employed
…..the clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat
…..a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a Home
…..My shadow who watches me work because it means I am out in the sunshine
…..The spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking
…..all the complaining I hear about the government because it means we have freedom of speech
…..weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day because it means I have been productive
…..my huge heating bill because it means I am warm
…..the lady behind me in church who sings off key because it means that I can hear
…..the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because if means that I’m alive
…..the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

LISTEN WITH YOUR HEART

I went to see a new doctor recently. The way he listened to me, I felt important and that every thing I said to him had value. It reminded me of a boss I once had that gave you his undivided attention when you were speaking to him and made you feel really special.

While I was waiting in the doctor’s office, I picked up the Ladies Home Journal magazine to read to pass the time. One article caught my attention. It was written by Dr. Stephen Post, Ph.D & Jill Neimark. It was telling about a near-fatal accident a Psychologist, Daniel Gottlieb, had in which his cervical spine was severed, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. While laying in ICU, a nurse approached him and spoke about her struggles and while listening to her, he realized he could live as a quadriplegic and still help save another life just by listening, listening with his heart.

Researchers found that former American prisoners of war didn’t break down from physical deprivation & torture as quickly as they did from solitary confinement - separated from other prisoners with whom they could talk and know the other prisoners would listen to them.

It seems to me that listening to others is something we all should cultivate.

A Wise old bird sat on an oak
The more he saw, the less he spoke
The less he spoke , the more he heard.
Lord, make me like that wise old bird.
Anon

I think Bill’s mother was like that wise old bird. When with a group of people she sat back and let other people talk. When asked why she was so quiet, her reply was: “I learn more that way.”

When we really listen, we are affirming the teller’s essential worth. When we listen and are listened to, we begin to feel secure in our relationship with others. Only by listening (with our heart) can we know what a person is thinking or feeling. People like to be with those who show they really care about them. Everything worthwhile that we become is the result of someone believing in us.

VETERANS DAY

Armistice Day , now called Veterans Day, is the anniversary of the official end of World War I, November 11, 1918. It commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies and Germany. This day was set aside to reflect and remember the sacrifices men and women made while serving in the Armed Forces.

A much loved song was written in 1918, GOD BLESS AMERICA1
Sometimes it takes someone who fled oppression to put into eloquent words what makes America and its freedoms so precious. Irving Berlin, who left Russia as a 5-year-old named Israel Baline, wrote, “God Bless America" in 1918. But he didn’t know what to do with the song until 1938, when World War II was threatening Europe.

He revised it for Kate Smith, who sang it on the radio on ARMISTICE DAY IN 1938. It was an immediate hit.

In gratitude to his adopted country, Mr. Berlin established the God Bless America Fund, and he donated the royalties for the song to the Boy and Girl Scouts of America.

God bless America, land that I love
Stand beside her and guide her
Through the night with the light from above
From the mountains to the prairies
To the oceans white with foam
God bless America, my home sweet home
From the mountains to the prairies
To the oceans white with foam
God bless America, my home sweet home.
God bless America, my home sweet home.