Thankful For A New Day

I was just counting up. I've voted in nine presidential elections. I voted for the loser five of those times, so I have a lot of experience being the loyal opposition.

With that in mind, I'd like to say that I'm thankful that this country has proved that a person of color can be elected to our highest office. It did bring tears to my eyes to think about that amazing achievement. I wish Martin Luther King could have seen this day!

1Peter 2:13, “For the Lord's sake, respect all human authority - whether the king as head of state, or the officials he has appointed."

I offer my respect to this president-elect, and I will pray for him to daily receive the wisdom and courage he will require to lead us for the next four years.

Thankful For The Election

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I'm thankful that I live in a place where we can speak freely and vote our conscience, and that once the vote is tallied, we accept the results and go forward. There are a lot of places in the world where that isn't the case.





So don't forget to vote today, and do it with JOY! Like these guys:



The November 30 Day Thanksgiving Challenge

Principles

"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost."

John Quincy Adams

Thankful For The Unseen Host

“When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. “Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha. “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire."
II Kings 6:15-17 (New Living Translation)

When I feel surrounded and embattled, I am thankful that the battle belongs to the Lord.

The November 30 Day Thanksgiving Challenge

Thankful For The First Baptist Choir

Today, and every Sunday, I'm very thankful for the First Baptist choir. We have 32 choir members, ranging in age from 13 to 82, and, even though we take all comers, they are good! It's amazing that without auditions, without any real restrictions except that their voices be fully changed and that they have some rudimentary music reading skills, we are able to tackle just about any music I choose for them to do.

But there's more to be thankful for than that.

I tell people all the time that I get to work with the most wonderful group in the church!

These folks are unconditionally loving toward each other and toward me. They are faithful in their attendance and work hard in our rehearsals. They laugh together. They love to truly worship through music, as much at rehearsal as on Sundays. They see their musical gifts as an offering to the Lord and to the church, not a means of making much of themselves. They pray for each other. If someone misses rehearsal they call to see if that person is sick. They shepherd one another, and love one another. They welcome newcomers into the group with open arms. They pass their love of choral singing down through the generations of their families (we have several generations of three different families, and three married couples in the group). They cheerfully do whatever crazy thing I ask them to do. They laugh at their occasional mistakes and go on to try even harder. They laugh with those who laugh, and mourn with those who mourn. They are what I call "real church".

I could go on and on. I love all of them! It's an honor to know them and a privilege to lead them.

The November 30 Day Thanksgiving Challenge

Sunday Stroll-November 2, 2008

My neighborhood seems to be at it's peak for fall color this weekend. When the trees are so spectacular, it would be easy to dwell on the larger vistas that allow me to see several trees at once, and the way their foliage contrasts so beautifully. These are just a few steps from my house, looking across a nearby church's lawn.

The wonderful thing about participating in Aisling's Sunday Stroll, though, is the way it forces me to look at smaller views, and take pleasure in the somewhat quieter things I can see on that scale. For instance, in my own yard I have a little serviceberry tree. I love this small, multi-stemmed understory tree. In the spring it has white flowers, blooming quite early. Then it has small, purple, edible fruits in June, which are quickly raided by the birds. In fall it turns a wonderful lemon yellow.

I've posted about the oak leaf hydrangeas before. They are another plant that gives you something interesting every season. They even have a birch-like peeling bark that is interesting in the winter. Right now they are turning a mahogany brown.

This rock-spray catoneaster was sown by the birds, I think, right along our fence, and I left it to become part of the "woodsy" section of our yard. Structurally, it's pretty interesting, "splashing" every which-way, it's branches lined with small, shiny, deep green leaves, and, in summer and fall, red berries. It's starting to turn Illini orange, so you know it was meant to be in our yard!

Near it, there is still some lamium (dead-nettle) blooming. This foliage will soon turn a deep purple, but for now it acts like it's April.

Finally, the smallest plant of all in my yard is this moss. Some people really don't like to have moss in their lawn, but I think it's beautiful, and naturally belongs in that wet and shady area. I love the bright chartreuse color and soft velvety texture against the the dark green spiky grass.

That's my stroll for the day. If you'd like to see what others are finding on their strolls, go to

The Quiet Country House.

Not Thankful TO God, But Thankful FOR God

From Phillip at The Thinklings

"If I lost my country, my home, my family and life as I know it, God would be enough...because he would have to be. He would be enough because I had nothing else. (Having lost all of my earthly possessions once in a robbery/fire, I speak with some authority on this subject. That was a time when I learned a little better what "dependence on God" really meant.) Israel had to lose everything in order to quit turning to idols. (They never had a problem with idolatry again after the exile.)

With that realization, what's really scary to me about that question now is that I have to rephrase it: "Is God himself enough for me really? Even when I have everything else?"

Even when the guy I like is President?
Even when I live in the greatest nation on earth?
Even when I live in a beautiful home with a nice yard?
Even when I have a great wife and 4 perfect children?
Even when I don't worry where my next meal will come from?
Even when I have all the entertainment and diversion I need?

Is God still enough? Is he really all I need? Am I living like He is, right now when I have so much?"

As a reminder why, in all circumstances, He should be enough:



The November 30 Day Thanksgiving Challenge

The November Challenge I'm Giving Myself

Now that it is November, and we're heading toward Thanksgiving, it's time to start thinking about gratitude. I don't think one day will do it, do you? We really should devote the whole month to it. That's what I plan to do here for the next month. Every day I'll post about something I'm thankful for, from the glorious to the mundane.

Want to join me? Jump in on the comments and tell me what you are thankful for. Or, if you have your own blog, post there about something you are thankful for, and I'll link to you in a special section on my side-bar.

491 Years Ago....