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I hope this newsletter
finds you well, warm, and surrounded by family, good friends and good
neighbors, that you have meaningful work in your life, that you have
pastimes or activities that give you joy and allow you to express your
creative side, and that you know contentment in some way. I guess it is
particularly around this time of year that I feel particularly thankful;
isn’t it nice that our leaders have set aside the fourth Thursday of this
month in order to allow us to express our thankfulness for all the ways that
we have been blessed. From having food on the table (and stores for the
winter in the freezer and pantry), to the companionship of family and
friends, to the roof over our heads, to the warmth of a comfortable bed in
which to sleep, to good health or even if our health isn’t so good, the fact
that we live in a country where excellent medical care is readily available
is a reason to be thankful.
Did you ever sit down
and be intentional about making a list of the things for which you are
thankful? It might be an interesting activity to do that alone and with
your family. Who knows what might come to light as each remembers and
expresses gratitude for all the ways that their life has been blessed. From
time to time, I receive tidbits from friends and other sources so I thought
that I would share this one with you. It came from Matt Donnelly in
Christianity Online:
“God
gives us different gifts and talents because God values variety and because
God wants us to need and enjoy one another. Each of us brings something to
the table that is uniquely ours. Over the years, I’ve developed this line
of thought into what I call “Technicolor theology”. In other words, I’ve
come to believe that God prefers Technicolor over monochrome, community over
isolation, Rocky Road ice cream over vanilla. As we come to value the gifts
of others and welcome our differences, we produce a heavenly symphony that
brings joy to the heart of God. . . God created rainbows and color film. We
serve a gracious God who values community, passion, humor, flamboyance, and
all those other gifts, talents, and personality traits that give color to
life and bring us joy. I like colorful people because they remind me that
we serve a colorful God who gives different gifts and talents to be used for
his glory.”
As we gather together to
celebrate and offer thanksgiving this year, let us honor the differences
among us and celebrate all of the ways that God uses us all together that
God’s will shall be done. As we gather around the heavily-laden tables on
Thanksgiving Day, let us remember those for whom Thanksgiving might not be
so bright this year and consider ways that we might work to improve life for
them before the next Thanksgiving Day rolls around. Please share your
thoughts with me so that we can brainstorm about ways that we might work in
serving others together.
We will begin a new
sermon series in worship during November called “Thanks-living” and I look
forward to where God might be taking us in that journey. In the meantime, I
encourage you to take a walk outdoors as you are able, breathe in deeply,
feel the crunch of falling leaves under your feet, smell the hint of
wood-smoke in the air, enjoy the warmth of the sun shining on your face, and
as evening falls, look for the harvest moon and as always, let us give
thanks.
Shalom,
Pastor Pam
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