Thanksgiving Eve

It is a beautiful day.  The sky is clear, the air cool.  There is a slight breeze that almost makes it sweater weather – but not quite.

And I am thankful!

Tomorrow may be a stressful day, as we participate with the church in feeding 500 people who are less fortunate than we are.  (I don’t think it should be too hard to find those people, given the economic conditions).  I was appointed a leader of those who are to serve the meal, actually dip the food onto plates, as well as make sure things are kept clean, and people are helped along.  It’s stressful because I don’t really know a lot of them very well.  But, after tomorrow, we should know each other quite a bit better, I should think!

And I am thankful!

Financially, this was a good year.  We didn’t get rich, by any account, but we really have more than enough.  Business was good, even with the loss of the pool company as one of our customers. 

And I am thankful!

We were blessed with the birth of Lilly, David’s daughter.  Such a beautiful little girl!  We were worried about our visit with David this year; our relationship has not been good the last few years.  But we had an excellent visit; I had such a good time getting to know Stephanie, Katy, Emily, and, of course, Lilly.  But I really enjoyed being with David, and seeing him interact with Stephanie and his girls.  He is a good man.

And I am thankful!

We were also blessed with the birth of Cade, Elizabeth’s son.  What a joy!  We were able to fly out to Colorado and visit with Elizabeth, Bernard and Cade, and that was such a good visit.  Elizabeth is a good mommy.

And I am thankful!

And there is so much more!

And I am thankful!

Let There Be Life

Every Sunday, Mike asks us to reflect for the week upon his sermon, and that’s what I’d like to try to do here.  This is really for my benefit, but if it helps you in some way, I’m happy about that.  You may not agree with everything I say, you may not agree with the points that Mike has made … that’s okay.  Disagreement and dialogue are tools for growth, and I know I have a lot of growing to do!

First, I want to present the outline of Mike’s sermon.

LET THERE BE LIFE

"You shall not murder.”

Exodus 20:13

WHAT THIS COMMAND IS NOT ABOUT:

It is not prohibiting killing ANIMALS.

Genesis 9:3, “Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.”

It is not prohibiting capital PUNISHMENT

Leviticus 24:17-18, "If anyone takes the life of a human being, he must be put to death. Anyone who takes the life of someone’s animal must make restitution – life for life.”

Romans 13:4, “For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.”

It is not prohibiting going to WAR

Ecclesiastes 3:8, “…a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.”

HOW THIS COMMAND APPLIES TO THE FAMILY

God says NO to SUICIDE

Romans 14:7, “For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone.”

Job 14:5, “Man’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.”

God says NO to MERCY KILLING

Job 12:10, “In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.”

God says NO to ABORTION

Psalm 139:13-16, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

Looking For Results

Proverbs 20:4, “A lazy man does not plow in season;
          so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing.”

Plowing is the unseen and unappreciated work of a farmer.  Through much of history – and still in many parts of the world today – it meant trudging behind an ox or horse, trying to keep it going in a straight line, walking over clods of dirt being broken up by the plow.  Today in America, it’s done by Super Tractors, but even then, it must be rather dull and mind-numbing.  Regardless of how it is done, it is certainly not glamorous.

That’s true of most of what we call “work.”  It’s not fun to watch or talk about.  It’s rather dull and mind-numbing sometimes, maybe punctuated by moments of excitement – or – maybe not.  It’s just doing what’s necessary to produce the final result.  It’s what we all have to do on our jobs:  the unseen, unappreciated, dull, mind-numbing, four-letter word, “WORK.”

It amazes me here, that the lazy man doesn’t do any work, but he still looks for a harvest!!  How foolish is that?!  Hard work is not glamorous, and seems so unrewarding, when harvest is so far away.  It may even seem to be a waste of time.  But it is that hard work of preparation that makes the frantic pace of harvest bearable, and increases the yield, and thus the profit.