Food For Thought

Well, with the advent of the awaited cold, or should I say much cooler weather, it’s beginning to feel like the holiday season should. The year is winding down and as it was being discussed at coffee this morning in about six more weeks the New Year will have arrived. Isn’t it ironic how we begin the season by giving thanks for all the many blessings of life, then express our love for one another by giving gifts and sharing the blessings of life, and then we plan, scheme and calculate, how we can grab and take all we can get our hands on for the next nine months, so we can once again give thanks for all we have? Just food for thought in your New Years resolution planning.
I stuff the turkey every year with good things from the shelf; Then when everything is ready I sit down and stuff myself. Then it’s time to look around and survey all my blessings and giving thanks for all the wonderful things I possess in this life. Lord, thank-you for this sink of dirty dishes for it means we have plenty of good food to eat. Thank-you for this big pile of dirty clothes for it means we have plenty of them to wear. Thank-you for these unmade beds for they were very comfortable and warm last night. Thank-you for this finger-smudged refrigerator, that desperately needs defrosting, for it has served us well for many years. Our family is grateful for the tall green grass, that needs mowing, for we much enjoy our private yard. Thank-you for that slamming door for it shows our children are healthy and able to run and play. And Lord, the presence of all the chores awaiting me says that you have richly blessed this family.
[James 4: 13-17] There are loved ones that are missing from the fireside and the feast; There are faces that have vanished there are voices that have ceased; And we know they passed forever, from our mortal grief and pain; And we thank thee, Heavenly Father, for the blessings that remain. Thanksgiving! Oh, Thanksgiving! And their love once blessed us here, that so long they walked beside us, sharing every smile and tear; For the joy the past has brought us, but can never take away, the sweet and gracious memories grow dearer every day; For the faith that kept us patient, looking at the things unseen, knowing Spring will follow Winter, and the earth again be green; For the hope of that glad meeting far from mortal grief and pain; We thank thee, oh our Father, for the blessings that remain. (Author Unknown) You might get the idea I don’t think much of planning ahead but, that’s not my thoughts at all. A person would be a fool to not plan and have goals and aspirations in this life for we never know how long we’re going to have to endure the trials of life. But, on the other side of that coin, we don’t know how long we’re going to have life. I read this the other day: “I would rather live my life as if there is a God, and die to find out there isn’t; Than live my life as if there isn’t a God, and die to find out there is.” Evil is very strong in the world today and with the media pushing every possible scenario which opposes the teachings of the Bible at the younger generation convincing them of a “better” lifestyle, evil is going to get stronger. Examine your life and honestly ask yourself, “Is my life really following God’s will?” We’re being whitewashed with the concept that life itself is going to be rewarded with eternal life with God, or reincarnation, for eternity. If that’s true, why then did Jesus give His life for the sins of man? Food for thought in your spiritual New Years resolution plans.