Thanks for giving!

This year, Thanksgiving Day falls on Thursday, November 26, the same date President George Washington chose in 1789 for a day of public thanksgiving and prayer. In 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln called on Americans to observe the last Thursday in November as a day of thanksgiving. In 1941, Congress established the fourth Thursday in November as the federal Thanksgiving holiday, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the resolution.

Some people make all of November a season of thanksgiving by naming one thing they’re grateful for each day. At New Journey, giving thanks is already part of our weekly worship. Each Sunday, as we celebrate Holy Communion, we join in the Great Thanksgiving. When we hear, “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God,” we answer, “It is right to give our thanks and praise.”

On November 22, Commitment Sunday, we will give thanks for the ways God has blessed us in the past year. With thankful hearts, we will respond by offering our commitments of time, talent, and treasure. Those commitments are one way we live out our stewardship theme, There Our Hearts Will Be.

Even with November nearly half over, there’s still time to try a simple practice. Each day, name one thing you’re thankful for and thank God for it in prayer. It might be a person who called just when you needed to hear a friendly voice, a moment that made you laugh, or something ordinary you usually take for granted. Taking a moment to give thanks can help us notice blessings we might otherwise miss.

Give it a try. I know I am.

Yours in Christ,
Pastor Phil