Our Heritage — God’s Provisions — Our Blessings
Crossroads for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Beyond:
Personal Reflections
On Valley Radio This Weekend, Nov. 30 – Dec. 1,
or Online HERE Anytime
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“It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.”
(George Washington, 1789)
“When you have eaten and are full, remember to bless the Lord your God for the good land that He has given you. … Lest your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord, … and you say in your heart that it is by your own power that you have obtained all this wealth … and you walk after other gods, and worship them.” (Deut. 8:10-19)
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Personal Reflections on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Beyond
This is a wonderful in-between season when we are still savoring the memories of Thanksgiving past while at the same time getting ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus and the joys of Christmas.
In our Crossroads program this weekend, Rita and I will take one more look back at Thanksgiving. It must be important because “Thanksgiving” in its various forms is mentioned 139 times in the Bible. And as we mentioned last week, God reminds us in Deut. 8 not to become so proud of our achievements and our riches that we forget to thank Him for making it all possible.
To do that, we’re going to play a little game that you can play along with us. We will take each letter of the word “Thanksgiving” and attach to it something for which we are especially thankful.
This is a game that my family has played together over the years to help us keep the spirit of Thanksgiving alive, so put your thinking caps on and join us.
To get us started, attached below is a sample of some of the things we came up with.
T-H-A-N-K-S-G-I-V-I-N-G
T — is for this special season of “Thanksgiving” itself, dedicated to thanking God for all of our blessings and also for the “Time” that He has given us to spend with our family and friends.
H – is for the promise and the hope of “Heaven” that God has prepared for His people, for the Judeo-Christian “Heritage” on which America was founded and still stands, and for our “Health”.
A – is for “America” itself, land of the free and home of the brave, an exceptional nation founded on the ideas of Faith and Liberty, and for the “Abundance” that we enjoy from God’s hand. Laus Deo!
N – is for the many good “Neighbors” we have in the Valley. Jesus emphasized the importance of this by commanding that we love our neighbors as ourselves — the second of the great commandments.
K – is for “Kin”, which includes our extended families, past and present, near and far. This is a source of indescribable joy that represents the fruit of our love and of our labor.
S – is for our “Sovereign” God, for our “Savior” whose birth we celebrate at Christmas, for the Holy “Scripture” to light our way, and for “Safety and Security” provided by our military, law enforcement personnel, and other first responders.
G – is again for God and for the Grace that He extends to all of us as sinners. As President Reagan said, “If we ever forget that we are One Nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”
I – is for “Industry” – the ability, the drive, and the desire to work and to succeed. It stands for the “Independence” that our Founding Fathers fought and died for. Yes, we stand on the shoulders of giants.
V – is for the Shenandoah “Valley”, for the beauty of its lands, for the common faith of its people and their churches, and for every “Victory” we achieve of Truth over Lies and of Good over Evil.
I – is again for the “Inspiration” of our Founding Fathers in establishing a nation with Christian values and on Constitutional principles, and for the “Intellect” that God gave us for thought and reason.
N – is for “Nice” people all around us, and for “New” ideas and “New” mornings that greet us every day with “New” opportunities and challenges which invite us to explore “New” frontiers.
G – is for good “Churches” and for good “Government” of the people, by the people, and for the people, with its inspired Constitutional system of checks and balances and the separation of powers.
Crossroads: Where Faith and Culture Meet
For more on all of this, please join Rita Dunaway and me on our Crossroads radio program this weekend. It will air on WBTX (1470 AM and 102.1 FM) Saturday at 4:00 p.m. and again on Sunday at 7:30 a.m., followed by WSVA (550 AM and 92.1 FM) at 8:30, ESPN (1360 AM and 106.9 FM) at 9:00, and on WNLR (1150 AM) at 11:30. You can also listen online by clicking on the Crossroad’s menu shown on our home page at www.valleyfamilyforum.org.
Crossroads is entirely listener supported, and we deeply appreciate your prayers, your encouragement, and your financial support of these programs. If you would like to help, please send your check to Crossroads at PO Box 881, Harrisonburg, 22803. All donations are tax-deductible.
From the Crossroads Team with Thankful Hearts,
Dean