Understand the Heart of Thanksgiving!
I’ve been reading about thanksgiving, and have recently come across some challenging examples of this from other cultures, that I want to share.
...continue reading this devotion.Thanksgiving
How about some humble pie?
Corrie Ten Boom tells this story in her book, Each New Day. “When I saw Sadhu Sundar Singh in Europe, he had completed a tour around the world. People asked him, Doesn’t it do harm, you’re getting so much honor?” The Sadhu’s answer was: “No. The donkey went into Jerusalem, and they put garments on the ground before him. He was not proud. He knew it was not done to honor him, but for Jesus, who was sitting on his back. When people honor me, I know it is not me, but the Lord, who does the job.”
...continue reading this devotion.What do you want?!
When our son Pete was six, it was a Depression year and the bare essentials were all we could afford. We felt we were richer than most people, though, in things of the mind and imagination and spirit. That was a comfort of sorts to us, but nothing a six-year-old could understand.
...continue reading this devotion.Are you glowing?
This is a true story. When I wanted to ‘pop the question’, I planned the whole event out very carefully — the restaurant, the roses delivered to the corner table between two big windows overlooking the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, an especially made heart shaped cheesecake (her favorite) with beautiful orchids atop for decoration.
...continue reading this devotion.Happy Todanukah!
For the first time in over a 100 years, Thanksgiving and Chanukah will fall on the same day, November 28th, 2013. Some have termed it “Thanksgivukkah”, however my wife calls it, “Todanukah”. (The Hebrew word for “thanks”, is “toda”.) According to one calculation, the next time that Thanksgiving and Chanukah will align perfectly will be 79,043 years from now! I expect we will all have gone to our reward by then.
...continue reading this devotion.Ya Can’t Always Get It the Way You Want It!
We’re preparing to celebrate our 7th Thanksgiving here in Israel, and as you may or may not know, the majority of Israelis have never heard of this holiday. So it’s always an adventure on the day we go out hunting for a turkey and all the other Thanksgiving foods which Americans are normally accustomed to. You see, most Israelis have never contemplated the idea of cooking a turkey whole, (not that the little Israeli ovens could even fit one if they had).
...continue reading this devotion.Present Yourself!
One Christmas morning, a 3-year-old girl was caught up in the excitement of gifts and giving. She was picking up, examining, shaking, and guessing what was inside every package. Then, in a burst of inspiration, she picked up a big red bow that had fallen off one present and held it on the top of her head. She looked up at her father with twinkling eyes and beamed a smile as she said, ‘Look at me, Daddy! I’m a present!’
...continue reading this devotion.