This time of the year can too easily become one long meaningless holiday blob—Thanksgiving merged into Christmas—without time to truly reflect on the significance of either of these special days! But we don’t have to allow this to be the case in our personal lives and don’t intend to do so. We want to express our thanks to God for his goodness, mercy, and faithfulness to us, and our thanks as well to our friends and family who bless us with their interest and love.

It’s worth noting that in the life of ancient Israel King David considered thanksgiving to God to be of so much importance that, on the day that the ark of God was brought to Jerusalem, he assigned specific Levites to “celebrate and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel.” His admonition to them was “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples. Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; speak of all His wonders. Glory in His holy name; let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad.” 1 Chr 16:4-10.

And with the desire to express something of what is in our hearts at this Thanksgiving season, we share the following with you.

THANK YOU, LORD
“Thank you, Lord, for your beautiful things,
For ears that hear, for birds that can sing.
For warmth of the sun on bubbling springs,
For eyes that can see your beautiful things.

Thank you, Lord, for the flowers that grow,
For summer and rain, for winter and snow,
For mountains above and valleys below,
All speaking aloud of your power and love.

Thank you, Lord, for the sorrows and sighs,
For winds that blow, for rivers that rise,
For rain that frames your bow in the skies,
Helping me lift my wondering eyes.

Thank you, Lord, for your grace which has shown
The glory of God in the face of your Son,
For Jesus Who died, now risen above,
More glorious than all is JESUS-the gift of your love.”
-Patricia H.Owens