It’s been an extraordinary week of THANKSGIVING in the FirePlace on the Blessed App!  On Tuesday of this week, we talked about ThanksLIVING with a focus on daily, habitual gratitude every day of the year, not just Thanksgiving.  On Wednesday, ThanksLIFTING which made the connection between gratitude and serving others in need.  It’s THANKSGIVING DAY and Erik did a bang up job co-teaching with me from Psalm 100.  The Plymouth Rock pilgrims were inspired by Old Testament pilgrims who traveled to Jerusalem three times a year for their own Thanksgiving feasts!  And our final Friday focus is ThanksFORGIVING from Colossians 3:12-13.  We set a new record for giving of 80111 and supported RESCUE MISSION ALLIANCE with our generous gifts!  Saturdays we will be testing a 9am EST FirePlace start time on the Blessed App!  And Sunday, Dec 7, we will test a live church broadcast 10:30 am EST – 12:30 but you’ll be listening in on a live church service 11am-Noon from King Street Baptist Church in Cocoa, Florida.  Melanie, Collin and her family as well as Stacy, Al and Deanna were there live few Sundays ago!

For over twenty years, my family has gathered at my sister’s home in Largo for Thanksgiving Homecomings that included things like a homemade potato canon, flag football, scooter rides, kite flying and of course, always Ron’s incredible FRIED TURKEY!  But for the first time this year in over twenty years, it looks like that tradition is no more.  Families have grown up, moved on to other traditions, and my sister and her husband are alone.  And for the first time, my wife and my daughter’s enjoyed Thanksgiving with just us right here in our home.  Ham, green beans, baked mac n cheese, mashed potatoes, corn, and rolls.  We didn’t have anything for dessert but I have a chocolate chip cookie stash and we’re going to Starbucks for Cake Pops in a little bit!  What are ya’ll having?  What are your traditions?  Reply on here, I want to hear and read all about it!

Let me leave you with one Old Testament and one New Testament verse that puts our Thanksgiving gatherings in proper perspective!

Old Testament: Deuteronomy 8:10-11, 17-18 (ESV)
“You shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Take care lest you forget the LORD your God… Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth…”

This establishes thanksgiving as a sacred duty to remember that God is the ultimate source of every blessing, guarding our hearts against the pride of self-sufficiency.

New Testament Culmination: 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (ESV)
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

This radicalizes the command, moving thanksgiving from a response to prosperity to a constant posture of the heart. For the believer in Jesus, it is an act of faith that trusts in God’s sovereign goodness within any situation, not just for the pleasant ones.  True thanksgiving is the faithful surrender that remembers God’s provision in plenty and clings to His sovereign purpose in hardship. It is the definitive mark of a life lived by faith in the will of God.

I’m praying God’s riches blessings for you and your family this special day and hope you’ll reach out if I can help in any way!  I provide one on one pastoral sessions through a google meet video link and bring whatever kind of support you need for a financial donation through the ministry square link.  If you feel led of the Lord to support the work I’m doing both on the Blessed App through the FirePlace and with Link Chapel, I want to thank you for your generosity!  God will bless you back because it’s good, fertile, gospel ground to sow seed in!  Give a gift, leave a comment, and invite others to see what God is doing with all this on your social media platforms.  Invite them to download the Blessed App, follow Pastor Dan, and join the FirePlace LIVES most mornings at 8 am EST!