Thanksgiving

I frequently sat down to my meat with thankfulness, and admired the hand of God's providence, which had thus spread my table in the wilderness. I learned to look more upon the bright side of my condition, and less upon the dark side; and to consider what I enjoyed rather than what I wanted; and this gave me sometimes such secret comforts that I cannot express them; and which I take notice of here, to put those discontented people in mind of it who cannot enjoy comfortably what God has given them, because they see and covet something that he has not given them. All our discontents about what we want appeared to me to spring from the want of thankfulness for what we have.

From Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe (pub.1719)

 

Amazing Grace!

Why Go To Church?

A Church-goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday.  "I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons.  But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them.  So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all." 

This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor.  It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:

"I've been married for 30 years now.  In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals.  But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals.  But I do know this…they all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work.  If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!"
When you are DOWN to nothing...God is UP to something!  Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible!  Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment!