Dear Friends,
Every year in November we are given a special opportunity to reflect on our many blessings. I am thankful in November ...
- that I live in a land where my vote – if not my influence – counts exactly the same as the vote – if not the influence – of the world’s richest man.
- for those bright and honest minds, wherever they are, who manage my retirement account.
- for the brilliant red and yellow and orange leaves that burst on the landscape in an October instant, here and gone, like a flash of insight in my mind.
- for the wide-eyed, open-minded curiosity of the third grader, excited about learning all things.
- for the cornucopia of produce from our fields of abundance to share with those who struggle in deserts of scarcity.
- for shrinking tumors and growing hearts.
- that, in this time of economic turmoil, the dollar is my helper and not my god.
- for friends who have my back in the dark of night.
- for Family Promise ... and for those who choose to sleep a night in cardboard boxes to bring promise to families who have no home but a box to sleep in night after night.
- for the legal system at its best, when fairness and equality and justice prevail.
- for all those who will vote against organized gambling in our state, helping to prevent a compulsion that destroys individuals and families and communities.
- that Beth Ferrell will be in our church on Thanksgiving Sunday to share her ministry with us.
- for our ability to support missionaries like Beth Ferrell, who share the love of Jesus with a desperate world.
- for the separation of church and state, protecting my freedom to worship without oppression and to honor my country without intolerance of others.
- for those who consistently vote to support our schools and public education, the foundation of our freedom and leadership in the world.
- for the twelve wonderful years and three special anniversaries I have shared with Sue.
- for nine years of new life Jessie has brought me.
- and the new life Jesus gave me when he went to the cross.
Thank you for the world so sweet.
Thank you for the food we eat.
Thank you for the birds that sing.
Thank you, God, for everything!
What are YOU thankful for this year?
God is good ... all the time!
Pastor Ron
|
Howland United Methodist Church