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| Thoughts Across the Garden Gate
Another Inspirational - from Parson Don Ca�on City, Colorado - U.S.A |
| Updated: 16-November-2007
� 2007 -"Thoughts Across the Garden Gate from Parson Don" Donald R. "Don" Brown, Ca�on City, Colorado - U.S.A This site may be freely linked, but not duplicated in any way without permission Each devotional was written by Parson Don Website design by Marv |
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| THANKSGIVING TO GOD
Most everyone of my generation is familiar with the old song, "Count Your Many Blessings, Name Them One By One". A few years ago when it was a more common hymn, while singing in the choir, I would love the expressions on the director's face as I slightly raised my voice and altered it to "NAME THEM TON BY TON"! Soon the entire choir was gleefully singing my rendition. It would take volumes to make an adequate list of what we should be thankful for. We, especially we Americans, take our blessings much too for granted. Any list I have ever made, no matter how long has always been topped by "My salvation, two lovely wives (one at a time of course), my freedom in America. Another blessing I have been very thankful for is having grown up on a farm. This is where one truly learns self-control, God's provision and true independence, while at the same time learning the importance of dependence on God for all things. One of my chores on the family farm in Louisiana was rising early mornings. I always carried a large container of chicken feed. As I approached the chicken yard, the entire population of "chicken city" came running toward me clucking and cackling in eager anticipation. They knew what I was carrying. What a picture of God's children in relation to their heavenly Father! The Psalmist says: "The eyes of all look expectantly to You, and You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing." Psalms 145:15,16 - NKJV. It was a simple matter for Old testament readers to see the parallel between the opened hand of the farmer and the opened hand of the heavenly Father. Theirs was largely a rural society. Most of us today live in an impersonal, largely urban sprawl. Our children (and sometimes we) consider the local supermarket to be the ultimate source of food and drink. In deed, our affluent secular society is in danger of simply taking all our material blessings for granted. How important that we, during this season of Thanksgiving, first, recognize with gratitude the Source of our daily sustenance, and second, pass the knowledge along to our children and grand children. We must constantly remind ourselves and those entrusted to our care to look BEYOND the supermarket, BEYOND the department stores or shopping all, to the opened hand of a heavenly Father who "so loved us" and still loves us, that He gave His only Son to live and die for us -- and, with Him, continues "freely" to give us "all things"to support our body and life. "Praise God from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son , and Holy Ghost!" |
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