This year...things were a little different for me at Thanksgiving! For the first time in many years, I was not able to go home and be with my family...and that was kinda hard. However, a big group of us "homeless singles" here in Loma Linda got together to cook and celebrate, and that helped ease the homesickness. ;-) As you can see with the slide show above, we had a wonderful time.
To celebrate, we decided that we wanted to make a REAL (versus a fake, of course) home cooked meal! And as much as possible, we wanted it to be vegan as well. So all the food was made from scratch and without milk and eggs! And I must say...it was one pretty incredible meal! (All our parents would have been proud!) ;-)
The menu?
Jonathan and Val made roast, mashed potatoes, salad and "tangelo juice!" (The salad came from the community garden in Jonathan's back yard that everyone's been helping with! And the juice came from his limes and citrus! It was awesome!) Edwin and I made gravy. Dave made Pecan pies...even the crusts! (These were a real hit!) I made cookies and rolls. (Haven't been in the bread-making habit for a couple years now, so it was really fun to knead the bread for the rolls and watch it rise! And now all of us are hooked on them, so I've made them three more times since Thanksgiving!!) Rick made yams. And Season and Vanessa made pumpkin pies...not just ordinary pumpkin pies either! But the delicious vegan kind...with awesome decorations! (I could take some tips from them!)
The Activities!
After we'd stuffed ourselves royally (Jonathan said we hadn't eaten right if we didn't need to un-button the top button on our pants after lunch), we sat around the table and read verses on "Thanksgiving" from the Bible. I'd had fun collecting and drying maple leaves for the occasion, which I had written everyone's name on, as well as a Bible verse. After we read from the Bible we talked about things we were thankful for. Then we attacked dessert! After that, we cleaned up all the dirty dishes and then went for a walk up in the mountains. It was truly a special memorable day that I will never forget!
But there are some other things that I wont forget from this Thanksgiving season either!
Because of Thanksgiving, the topic of "Thankfulness" has been much on my mind. (Understandably, right?) So for the last few weeks, off and on, I’ve been researching Bible verses on the subject of "Thanksgiving." I knew it would be a blessing...and it was! Of course, I thought I knew what I should be thankful for...but the thought that prompted the whole study was, "What does God want me to be thankful for? What is important in His eyes?" We are told in Heb 13:15 that the fruit of our lips is thankfulness. But what kind of fruit is "thankfulness"?
For starters, something I found again and again was the urgent promptings... "Give thanks to the Lord for His mercy endureth forever!" In fact the phrase "His mercy endureth forever" is listed over 250 times in the Bible alone! (Check out Psalms 136!) Think of it...He’s mercy doesn’t just forgive me today...but for all eternity. Now that’s a "Mercy" that’s pretty important, wouldn’t you say?
Of course, we’re all familiar with the verse from I Thes 5:18
"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."
Yet, sometimes I’m still tempted to ask, "Are you sure that means EVERYTHING God? Does it mean giving thanks that my mother has lived most of her life in pain as she struggled with her health? Does it mean giving thanks that one of my patients died? Does it mean giving thanks for the times of tears and pain? Does it mean giving thanks for prayers that aren't answered in the way I'd hope? Does it mean giving thanks for the fires and trials that I have to watch others endure? Does it mean giving thanks that the Devil seems to be attacking me harder than ever the more time that goes by? Are you sure, it means EVERYTHING God?" And He smiles down at me... "That’s what I said, my child!...In EVERYTHING!!!"
Well, I really already knew all this...but it’s good to be reminded! Of course, God knows how to get specific as well, so I’d like to share a list of things that God wants to make sure we REMEMBER to be thankful for! They go like this:
Things that WE SHOULD BE THANKFUL for!!!
- That we serve the God who made the Heavens! Ps 96:1-6 (Nothing is too small for Him!!)
- That we serve a Holy God!! I Chron 16:8-11 (We can be thankful for that because perfect Holiness can do no wrong!)
- That He gave us His blood! Matt 26:27-28 (It’s interesting to think about the fact that our blood leaves stains...only Christ blood makes stains (our sins) go away! Now that’s really something to be thankful for!!!)
- That He not only heals, but keeps us alive and has delivered our soul from the grave. Ps 30:3,4 (How often do we think about the fact that without God there is no life....spiritually or physically?! Yet, we go on with our daily lives, as self-made men and women, hardly stooping to acknowledge our mighty God and the breath He daily gives!)
- That He is our avenger! II Sam 22:48-50,Ps 18:47, Ps 94:1 (We don’t have to fight back when we’ve been wronged, for God is fighting for us!)
- That we have Deliverance from darkness, and Victory!! I Cor 15:57, Col 1:12-14 (Do we realize the depths of darkness that we have been rescued from??)
- That we can triumph in Christ! II Cor 2:14 (Not only victory but triumph...rejoicing, celebration!)
- That we have SOMETHING...even when we don’t have enough. God may multiply the loaves and fishes. Matt 15:36 (Praise Him for what He promises to do in our lives, even if we don’t see the results yet too!)
- That He's covenanted to be in a relationship with us forever!! Ps 105:8 (His covenant isn’t for just a few months or years...and doesn't end when "death does us part"! It’s forever!)
- Last, but not least, even in the MIDNIGHT of our lives, when life makes absolutely no sense, we are to give thanks to God! Ps 119:62 (As we all know, the blackest hour is just before dawn...and it appears even in that blackest hour...we are to be thankful!)
As my parents always taught me..."Rather than curse the darkness, light candles!" And I think that principle is very evident all through scripture as well! Even when it seems like life couldn’t get darker...God wants us to be thankful! All things that happen may not be good at the time, but He promises, "they all work together for good..." So praise the Lord not only for the sunshine (very important not to take for granted) but also for the midnights!! Yes, I know...that's pretty backward from the world’s way of thinking, but thankfully we serve a God that knows much more than the world.
Pretty incredible, huh?! And of course there is sooooo much more!! I wonder how much closer we would be to God if we truly thanked Him for everything (both good and bad) that He sends our way? How much closer would we be to those we love if we had a "grateful attitude" for all that they do for us...in stead of complaining about what isn't done? Obviously, an attitude of THANKSGIVING should be at all times and in all circumstances...even if, like Paul and Silas, we're locked in a prison in chains. But if we can't "be thankful" now in the little things...what makes us think we'll be able to be thankful when the really big dossers come? (Hmmmm.... something more to ponder!)
Thank the Lord, that His mercy does endure forever...because I've still got lots of thanking to do! ;-)
"Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men." Ps 107:8
*For a few more important things to thank God for...check out my "Sharing Time" for Nov 2007.
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