Thanksgiving 2017

Hi, 

Thanksgiving is just around the corner with Christmas and Kwanzaa close behind.  Kwanzaa is a week long celebration held in the United States  and in other nations about the West African Diaspora in the Americas.  It celebrates African heritage and begins December 26 and ends on January 1.  We are a blessed people and so we have many things to be thankful for.  How do you celebrate Thanksgiving?  Let me give you an idea of what our family does for Thanksgiving.  To begin with we gather at my in-laws which means an hour or so road trip in the morning.  They live on a farm with horses, cows, and a lake.  Oh, and there are plenty of fields where we can shoot clay pigeons.  That's right!  It is a yearly event and everyone participates as we line up safely and carefully to take turns shooting at the clay pigeons.  We do that rain, snow, or cold without fail.  It just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without the skeet shoot and cleaning the guns afterwards. Of course I am still looking for a good recipe for clay pigeons!!! Some of us go food shopping  around noon while others begin prepping the food we have on hand.  Everyone contributes something to the feast.  after the guns are cleaned and the honey do list is taken care of we settle in for some double decked four handed pinochle.  That usually takes us up to dinner.  

When it is time to eat, buffet style, we gather in a circle in the kitchen, there are about 32 of us, and we hold hands while going around the circle twice to give thanks for something God has blessed us with.  No repeats!  Then we say grace and dig in.  It takes all day to get ready for that meal and only about 15 minutes to feel stuffed.  Ahhh, but it is worth it because of all the other traditions that go along with it.  Later we gather around the player piano and sing, badly but with feeling, some old songs.  Then it is time to leave and we have a nice ride home.  Thank you Jesus for family, no matter how crazy they may be.  

Do you have family?  Perhaps you do have family but are not close with them.  That happens in this world.  I pray that your relationships with your family are healed, in the name of Jesus.  However, if you do not have family that you can be close with then may I suggest that you go to church because church is all about being family.  We are one in the body of Christ with Christ as the head of the family.  Oh, we bicker and squabble like any other family to be sure, but we forgive and love each other the way Jesus loved us and still does.  It is a wonderful time of the year and to me it is almost magical because of the LOVE that permeates the air at home, in church, and in the community.  We want to share that love of God with you so please come to church and give God thanks for all those blessings that you have.  It will put a smile on God's face.  Celebrate, have fun, worship the LORD our God, praise the name of Jesus, and eat too much.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Be safe.

God loves you and so do I,

Pastor Bruce