Gratitude and Thanksgiving

     “Praise the Lord! How good it is to sing praises to our God…Sing to the Lord with Thanksgiving!” I have never counted the times the Bible admonishes us to be grateful, to thank and praise God, but it’s a lot. Thanksgiving and praise are a major motif in the Psalter, ancient Israel’s hymn book. And […]

Now Thank We All Our God

I love Holidays: the Fourth of July with its parades, picnics, fireworks and reminders of our nation’s brave but modest beginning: Labor Day, the end of summer, a time to remember and be grateful for the hard work of many of our fathers who labored for long hours at difficult jobs. My father was a railroader, […]

Some Thoughts on Gratitude & a Prayer of Thanksgiving

    It doesn’t have to be the blue Iris, it could be weeds in a vacant lot.. just pay attention, then patch a few words together.. this isn’t a contest, but the doorway into thanks… – Mary Oliver, Praying It begins with simply paying attention, noticing, seeing the countless gifts we are given every […]

Keeping a Good Thanksgiving: Part 8

Part 8: Cranberry Apple Ice The one Thanksgiving constant in my life, in addition to turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, pumpkin pie and Now Thank We All Our God, is a delightful dish called Cranberry Apple Ice. My mother made it every year and on occasion I was drafted to help by turning the […]

Keeping a Good Thanksgiving: Part 7

Part 7: Thou’st Made the World Too Beautiful Poets remind us to pay attention. It’s one of the reasons to read poetry. They see things most of us miss because we are so busy, in a hurry always to get to the next appointment, the next luncheon engagement, the next item on our full and […]

Keeping a Good Thanksgiving: Part 6

Part 6: “What a View!” “Gratitude isn’t what you give in exchange for something: it’s what you feel when you are blessed – blessed to have family and friends who care about you, and want to see you happy. Hence the joy from Thanksgiving.”                 ~ Will Schwable, […]

Keeping a Good Thanksgiving: Part 5

Part 5: What You Feel When You are Blessed I want to now reflect on gratitude and giving thanks. Thanksgiving requires people, food, and the practice – the discipline – of gratitude. When I was a child I had to be forced to say “thank you.” The situation was usually this: a birthday card arrived […]

Keeping a Good Thanksgiving: Part 2

Part 2: A “Perfect Meal” Thanksgiving requires people and it requires good food. That’s first. The second important idea in our text is “Hooray for the Pumpkin Pie!” The problem with that is that you and I live our lives miles away from our food. Earlier harvest festivals were celebrated by people who did the […]

Keeping a Good Thanksgiving: Part 1

Greetings to our lovely readers! In these busy weeks – the first of the 2013 holiday season – we are pleased to offer you a series of posts on the subject of Thanksgiving. Delivered by Dr. Buchanan on October 29, 2013 in a speech titled, “Keeping a Good Thanksgiving: Hooray for the Pumpkin Pie,” we […]

Thoughts and a Prayer for a June Weekend

Praise The Lord! Praise The Lord, O my soul! I will praise The Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long. Psalm 146 I’m reading a remarkable book, My Bright Abyss, Meditation of a Modern Believer, by Christian Wiman. Wiman is a poet, the Editor of […]