Thanksgiving and the Detroit Lions

Fifty-six years of Thanksgiving celebrations and many of them included the obligatory torture of watching the Detroit Lion's "play" football. I just Googled the Lion's Thanksgiving day record and got a somewhat dated but revealing stat. It said: From 1934 to 2007 the Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day record stands at 33-33-2. In other words they've virtually cancelled themselves out over the years! I believe that in my life time they were more like 3-30. I will never understand why we spent the afternoon on such a special day watching their futility. However, I believe that it was because there was nothing else to do after we ate. Back in them thar days we had channels: 9, 7, 4 and 2. The Lions were on TV 2. After dinner we were a bit lethargic and so the game filled time.

I thought that Lion's Watching was a necessary part of Thanksgiving until 1997 when I first arrived in Brazil. Thanksgiving was the Hudson's parade and then the Big meal followed by the Lion's game followed by Alka-Seltzer followed by an antidepressant. Over the years I became thankful that I wasn't a dyed in the wool Lion's fan.

I have shared before how that it wasn't until I got to Brazil that I celebrated my first REAL Thanksgiving. It took place in downtown Sao Paulo in a new church plant in a country that doesn't even celebrate Thanksgiving. It was a normal day for the Brazilian population but not for us.

There were many missionaries present and we were new to the field. We felt a bit lost but I will never forget that Thanksgiving. We had a big meal... but wait a minute! There was NO parade and NO Lion's game! WHAT?? How was this Thanksgiving??

What really floored me was what followed the meal. We gathered together to share blessings of what God had been doing in our lives during that year. We sang hymns of praise in the most heavenly choir of veteran missionaries and then we went around the room and each family praised God for His wonderful provisions, protections and presence in their lives and ministries. It changed the way that I looked at Thanksgiving! TG should have always been that way but it wasn't until a radical move to Brazil that it became something other than a hedonistic party.

Since that first Thanksgiving in 97 we have emphasized that type of celebration, whether here in Brazil or in the States. In fact just a year ago we were getting ready for a family get-together that would be spent (at least a part of it) in praising the Lord for His goodness and greatness.

So, whats to be thankful for this year, our first "Empty Nest" Thanksgiving? Much! My lovely wife and I love each other! We know many couples who don't. We have seen God's blessings over every one of our 34 years of marriage. We have daughters and sons-in-law who are born again, who love each other and who are serving the Lord of the Harvest! We have seen God provide in a miraculous way for Abby to be at College. We have three lovely grand kids. We are being used by God to share His Gospel. We have seen Him bring in some of the harvest already!

We are SO blessed! And, one more thing, we don't get the Lion's game down here!!

Happy and blessed Thanksgiving to you all!

Tottering!

I was watching my one year old grandson, Brandon, today. He had on some baggy little shorts, weird flip-flops over his socks, and he was tottering. It made me think about how I often feel these days. Funny how that when we are little and "innocent" and tottering in our baggy pants, with our little potbelly sticking out from under our t-shirt we look precious. When we are older and tottering in our low slung trousers and the same potbelly, we looks pathetic! I guess that the two drastically opposite points of view are based on the viewer's chronological perspective. Brandon is growing and I'm dying. He is cute because the little guy has a lot to learn and we love to see him progress. The old guy has already had his chance at learning and what he is progressing toward is not quite so much fun to ponder. When I have these weird thoughts I praise my God because He never lets go of my hand whether a tottering little guy or an old one. And I found this verse to prove my po...

What Are You Worth?

What are you Worth? Have you ever thought about what you are worth? In investing circles there is a term used to gauge this exact question, it's called Net Worth. You take all of your assets, like property owned, funds in your bank account, clothes, jewelry, car, etc.. You total all of these things. You then take everything you owe, like mortgage, car loan, and credit card debt, and you subtract these items from the first total. This gives you your net worth. That number represents where you are financially. Most people never stop to think about this number because they don't understand anything about it. They never have two nickels to rub together. They live from hand to mouth and know (or at least believe) nothing will ever change so, they fall into the "daily grind" mentality. Psalm 49 should be a great encouragement to such as these. The sons of Korah write about them. These sons write about all of us. They call all people everywhere to listen to their wisdom. Bo...

Church Isn't a Place

Many times we say, I'm going to church on Sunday. What some fail to understand is that "church" isn't a building. I remember our pastor saying, "the church is an organism, not an organization." He was teaching us the Bible truth about the church. Jesus Christ is the head of the body, and the church is his body on earth. Another pastor once said, "God's hands have human fingers." This is a difficult concept for some to grasp, pun intended. However, it is important to understand that God accomplishes his work through human beings. He uses us, the church, to do his will and work. It's not that if we don't do his will that he is stymied. But he does use willing servants. To be in the church, one must be a part of the family. You cannot be in the church if you don't have the Savior. The church is not for the lost; it is for the edification of the saved. The lost can come and hear the message of salvation. But the church is made up of t...

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