Thank God for Thanksgiving

The fall holiday season is heating up and Thanksgiving looms on the horizon. I really love it because it is such a mixture of family, and history, and faith. Of course

When I was little we always went to my Mother's family celebration. One time I remember we went to my Father's mother's and celebrated with my uncles and cousins. Of course later, football got associated with Thanksgiving Day, and the Parades on TV in New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago became part of the tradition.  

I really love the story of the Pilgrims who suffered the first year in Plymouth and survived. I like to read it during the season and give thanks for all they did to make our nation strong and free and Christian. 

In the Bible there are lots of prayers and offerings of thanksgiving. Psalm 100 is an example. The Book of Nehemiah contains lots of examples of thanksgiving prayers, but Thanksgiving is not a religious observance. It does mean giving thanks to God for blessings and grace. Thanksgiving is a day which our whole country recognizes that there really is a God and that he is ultimately in control. Many people don't want to call America or the United States a Christian nation, but our government has declared the fourth Thursday in November to be Thanksgiving Day. It is a memorial of the Thanksgiving the Pilgrims held after their first and most dangerous year.

I guess I still call America a Christian nation. President Obama did not, and lots of other people would not agree with me. But they might not agree when I call America my country, either. Well, that's tough. It is my country and, if I want to call it Christian, I guess that's my business.