As we prepare our hearts, minds, and table for Thanksgiving, Psalm 100 is the perfect Psalm: 

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing. Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name. For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”

Psalm 100 reminds us that Thanks-Giving enlarges our hearts! In this season of Thanksgiving I share with you Howard Thurman’s Litany of Thanksgiving:

“Today, I make my Sacrament of Thanksgiving. I begin with the simple things of my days: Fresh Air to breathe, Cool water to drink; the comforts of home. For these, I make an act of Thanksgiving this day!

I bring to mind all the warmth of humankind that I have known: My mother’s arms, the strength of my father, the playmates of my childhood. For all these I make an act of Thanksgiving this day.

I pass before me the mainsprings of my heritage: The fruits of the labors of countless generations who lived before me, without whom my own life would have no meaning; The seers who saw visions and dreamed dreams; The workers whose sweat has watered the trees, the leaves of which are for the healing of the nations; For all these I make an act of Thanksgiving this day.

I linger over the meaning of my own life and the commitment to which I give the loyalty of my heart and mind: The little purposes in which I have shared with my loves, my desires, my gifts; The big hope that never quite deserts me, that I and my kind will study war no more. 

All these and more than mind can think and heart can feel, I make as my sacrament of Thanksgiving to Thee, Our Father, in humbleness of mind and simplicity of heart.” (Meditations of the Heart, p. 147-149)

Thanksgiving day is a time to pause and reflect, a day that launches us into the days ahead with Gratitude. Embracing a lifestyle of gratitude, we live a life of love as we’ve been loved. Have a blessed Thanksgiving, see you in Church!

Through Christ,

Pastor Doug