CCOG Newsletter

I don't know much about baseball (if you need expertise see Bro. Mike). I do know that this World Series was special. It was the first Series appearance for the Rays and only the 2nd for the Brewers. After 57 years of trying, the Brewers won their first World Series ever! There may have been some fans (and even players) who assumed that they could never win, that they would have to be satisfied with less.

The enemy will often try to convince us of the same thing. He will tell us that our prayers will never be answered, or even that our prayers are not being heard! He will whisper to you that you should stop trying, stop believing, stop fighting. "It has been so long," he might say, "If it was going to happen, it would have been by now." But the truth is that as long as there is life there is hope. God's ways are not our ways. His timing is not our timing (come on, God!). His thoughts are so much higher than our thoughts. Keep playing - the victory is coming!

American Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November each year.

We have presidents Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt to thank for that.

So every year, many Americans get that Thursday off, and we spend the day with those we love. There are many ways to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Some families have a special recipe that is always made, like grandma’s pumpkin pie. Other families have a special tradition, where everyone shares what they are grateful for. Some families volunteer, helping those in need on Thanksgiving every year. These are all great things to do!

Regardless of how we celebrate, taking a day off for giving thanks is important. Yet as Christians, we don’t just wait until the fourth Thursday of November.

Following Christ means that we are “giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” [Ephesians 5:20 ESV], as Ephesians 5 exhorts us.

Did you hear that? Always and for everything! We never stop giving thanks for everything in our lives. Thanksgiving isn’t just a holiday; it is a way of life for those of us who know God as our Father through Jesus Christ.

When our lives are marked by thankfulness, others will want to know where our joyful gratitude comes from. Then we can introduce them to Jesus, and they can join us in our thankfulness.