Straight From The Hart

Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. (Melody Beattie) Americans need a day dedicated to gratitude. I have noticed that in the lineup of most of our holidays that Thanksgiving is perhaps the one least given over to secularism - the one we still observe in a traditional fashion. We need it to keep our focus clear and to teach our children what it means to be thankful for family, friendship and faith. We need a time to gather around the table with extended family and enjoy turkey and dressing and gravy, two kinds of potatoes, cranberries, hot rolls, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie and whipped cream. We need it, not for the calories, but to create an awareness that there are those who don’t have those blessings, because in the hectic pace of our everyday lives we tend to forget those in need. Family and food are important, but above all else, Americans need a rededication to our faith. Faith brought the pilgrims to the ne...

One of my preacher friends on Facebook reported last week that  one of the children in his Sunday School class brought his Bible to him with a very puzzled look on his face.  The young man said, “Pastor, I’m having trouble finding the Thanksgiving story in my Bible.  Is it in the New or the Old Testament?” That may bring a smile to the faces of those of us who are Bible students but it illustrates a very important truth  - that it is impossible to separate the true meaning of Thanksgiving from some very profound tenets of the Judeo-Christian belief system, i.e. that God is sovereign, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He is faithful to the nations whose people are faithful to him. There are many parts to a traditional American Thanksgiving celebration.  If we wanted to alphabetize them it would be easy because  we could put them all under the letter “F”. First and foremost to some is the Food.  We Americans love our turkey and dres...

It’s almost Thanksgiving so let’s talk turkey.  I was reading through some back issues of my Bittersweet magazines and found a great artic le written by Doug Sharp based on an interview he had done with John Earl Kays of Falcon MO back in 1978, known at the time to be one of the best turkey hunters in the area.  Doug’s informational essay detailed the amount of patience and skill required of the hunter to harvest “the big one” and it certainly made me appreciate the convenience of buying my turkey at the grocery store. We had a skilled turkey hunter in the church I pastored in Farmington and when he invited Milan and me to his home in Doe Run to eat fried turkey, we didn’t hesitate, although we had no idea what we were in for. Usually his wife did the cooking but when it came to frying the wild turkey fresh from the hunt, John took over the kitchen.  He sliced up the turkey breast into small thin pieces about the size of a large potato chip, breaded them in his ...