What are you thankful for?

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and, right now, the thing I seem most thankful for is the opportunity to sleep in. A purely selfish pleasure, I admit, and one that invariably leads me, this holiday season, to be thankful that I don't get to sleep in more often. That when my alarm goes off in the morning, I have to get up, because I have a job to get to.

In Deuteronomy 28, we are told that, if we obey the voice of the Lord, His blessings will "overtake" us. I can't think of a better blessing than being able to serve the Lord and to serve others. And while we open our doors to the lost and hopeless, the hungry and homeless, we are able to offer them food and shelter, physical and spiritual. Because of the generosity of so many people. The bounty of God and the compassion of our community never ceases to amaze me.

So this Thanksgiving, while we follow the pattern set by the pilgrims in 1621 and thank God for His "harvest" bounty, I'll also be thankful for His everyday blessings. For a job and my health. For a working vehicle and the ability to go to nearly any corner and buy gasoline for it. For our country and the men and women fighting to protect it. For the freedom to express our faith and to stand for our principles. For government, yes, even government, and that we live in a democratic republic, where we have a right to a voice without fearing imprisonment or worse should we choose to exercise that right. For our family and friends. And for our neighbors.

And my prayer is that I never again take these everyday blessings for granted.

Have a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving!