Holidays, …or “Hollow-Days”?

What is the point of a holiday? Is it just to have a day (or a week) off from work or school? Is it just to spend time with distant relatives you never spend time with otherwise? Is it just to kick back, have fun, and watch the big game?

Or is it something more?

There’s a line in ‘Rocky‘ that illustrates this point perfectly. Rocky Balboa goes on a date with a girl he likes (Adrian), on Thanksgiving. He’s completely oblivious to that fact, though. Adrian even explicitly points out that it’s a special day, but Rocky responds, “To you, it’s Thanksgiving. To me, it’s Thursday.”

Think about that…

We humbly trust in the Power of Giving Thanks…

This post from our good friend “Pgh” was a wonderful reminder last year of how and why we should always give thanks, no matter our circumstances.

We’re honored to be able to share it with you again. 

–JTR & GBL

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Every year, on the Tuesday evening before Thanksgiving Day, our congregation gathers to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. And, while we seek to be in a mind of praise and thankfulness EVERY day, there’s something about this particular evening that sharpens that focus.

It is truly a time of praise, worship, and thanksgiving.

This particular Tuesday evening, our Pastor delivered a message on “The Power of Giving Thanks“. It will change MY life forever, and from the heart, I would like to share his thoughts with you.

We humbly trust in the Power of Giving Thanks

Every year, on the Tuesday evening before Thanksgiving Day, our congregation gathers to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. And, while we seek to be in a mind of praise and thankfulness EVERY day, there’s something about this particular evening that sharpens that focus.

It is truly a time of praise, worship, and thanksgiving.

This particular Tuesday evening, our Pastor delivered a message on “The Power of Giving Thanks“.  It will change MY life forever, and from the heart, I would like to share his thoughts with you.

A Meditation on Giving Thanks

by: Godsbooklover

If you’ve been following our blog for awhile, you may recognize this post from mid-July.  But it seemed like an appropriate post for both Thanksgiving AND (shudder) Black Friday, since it mentions gift-giving.  And hey, I’m recycling! How very politically correct of me, right?  

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I didn’t grow up saying grace.  I didn’t grow up thinking ‘grace’.  I didn’t understand grace, and I couldn’t define it.  But after nearly thirty years of adulthood, and being an active Christ-follower, I was pretty sure that I could define “grace” in a pinch.

Until recently.

I was reading Colossians in my Greek Interlinear New Testament.  (Don’t be too impressed…I only know enough Greek to be dangerous.)  I was looking at the word translated as “thanksgiving” or “gratitude.”  It looked like “eucharist.”  That can’t be right.  Eucharist has to do with communion, I thought.  I never was sure, in my liturgical childhood, exactly what the word meant, but I assumed it meant ‘communion’…and by communion, I meant the Lord’s Supper, the bread and the cup offered to the congregation.

What does it really mean to be ‘thankful’?

We realize that this blog tends to focus on the negative…pointing out evil and absurdity, as we see them; they are far too easy to find.  

Here’s some respite, some thoughts which focus entirely on what is positive.  

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I didn’t grow up saying grace.  I didn’t grow up thinking ‘grace’.  I didn’t understand grace, and I couldn’t define it.  But after nearly thirty years of adulthood, and being an active Christ-follower, I was pretty sure that I could define “grace” in a pinch.

Until recently.

I was reading Colossians in my Greek Interlinear New Testament.  (Don’t be too impressed…I only know enough Greek to be dangerous.)  I was looking at the word translated as “thanksgiving” or “gratitude.”  It looked like “eucharist.”  That can’t be right.  Eucharist has to do with communion, I thought.