Happy Thanksgiving Indeed!

"Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:" Psalms 50:14

  Thanksgiving has been a special time for me through the years and many times I forget just why we celebrate Thanksgiving. For instance, did you know that that after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth in 1620 that they had lost all but 53 people. 
  That first year in America was extremely difficult for the Pilgrims. It must have been exhausting for those left behind to carry on in a strange land. Another thing that I didn't know was the food that was eaten. Historians say that fowl was eaten, not necessarily wild turkey but some kind of bird was eaten. 90 Native Americans joined the Pilgrims for that first Thanksgiving and the honest truth is the Pilgrims themselves didn't call their meal Thanksgiving but thanks was obviously given.
  Though much of that first Thanksgiving is a mystery, one thing is clear. The Pilgrims were grateful for having survived horrendous situations. 
  Obviously the things that I endure are nothing in comparison to what our forefathers went through but I am thankful for God's blessings during the last year: I have become grandmother to two more little boys whom I love deeply, I have a new job that I enjoy. My health has been fairly good and I have a warm home. My parents are still here for me to enjoy their wisdom and the rest of my grandchildren and my children melt my heart.
  My prayer for you as you celebrate this day is that you recognize where your blessings come from and thank God for them.

Come Ye Thankful People Come

Composed by George J. Elvey in 1858 (with lyrics by Henry Alford), "Come, Ye Thankful People, Come" is a classic Thanksgiving hymn.

The first verse of "Come, Ye Thankful People, Come" serves as an invitation to Thanksgiving worship of God:

Come, ye thankful people, come, raise the song of harvest home;
All is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin.
God our Maker doth provide for our wants to be supplied;
Come to God's own temple, come, raise the song of harvest home.

Thank you Heavenly Father 
for all you have given to me and my family.
Help me not to be thankful just one day a year but every day.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.