King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes that there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven. As we celebrate Thanksgiving Sunday, it’s time for us to remember God’s faithfulness in our lives and express our gratitude to Him. We have so many reasons to thank God because we enjoy God’s abundant blessings that many around the world are not able to benefit from. Last week we watched a video of a brother in Laos who went through 10 years of persecution because of his faith. How can we not thank God that we don’t have to worry about anyone or anything coming after us when we gather together to worship God?
There is an old hymn written by Johnson Oatman, Jr. The refrain goes like this
“Count your blessings, name them one by one
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.”
It’s a simple hymn that reminds us how important it is to count the blessings God has bestowed upon us. Just like the Israelites in the wilderness, our lives are filled with discontentment. We easily forget what God has done in our lives as if we are suffering from a spiritual Alzheimer’s disease. We grumble about what we don’t have and even our prayer lists are full of things that we want. Let’s count our blessings as we go through the Thanksgiving week. Share with your families and friends of amazing things God has done in your life.
What are you looking forward to this year’s Thanksgiving week? I’ve been getting countless emails of black Friday sale ads at various shopping centers and websites. And I have to admit I’ve been looking at every single website and ads to see if there are good deals out there. They were just too hard to resist. Lord, help us! Are you looking forward to watching and playing football? I know that some of our young adult members will be playing in a flag football tournament this weekend and many people will be watching football games on TV.
My family will have a Thanksgiving luncheon with a small group of people. I miss having large gatherings on Thanksgiving Day with my extended family. This year will be the second year of not having a pot luck luncheon with my grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. Ever since my grandmother passed away we stopped meeting as a big group and I have to admit that I miss it very much. I will also miss my brother as well because this will be our first Thanksgiving without him. He was usually the one who initiated family gatherings and our family surely will miss him very much.
There is a new tradition that started with Reina being born on Thanksgiving Day four years ago. We will be celebrating Reina’s birthday when we have our family gather on Thanksgiving Day. God has been so faithful to Reina over the last 4 years. She’s has grown up to a beautiful young girl and my wife and I know that it was because of our awesome parenting skills. Ryan is so strong and healthy as well. As many of you know, Ryan loves eating and we love feeding and watching him eat especially when he puts on a cheesy smile after being satisfied over food. And the list goes on and on. Thank you Lord! 

From Pastor Brian’s Heart
November 18, 2012

Many major retailers such as Target, Walmart, Toy R Us and others will be opening their stores on Thanksgiving Day evening, alluring people to buy those Black Friday bargains in lieu of having Thanksgiving dinner at home. Some stores plan to be open much of the day Thursday. Someone jokingly said, “They might as well start serving turkey dinner in the stores.”
Now Black Friday is slowly invading Thanksgiving Day, and who knows, in the near future, Black Friday might take over Thanksgiving Day completely? Retailers are all about responding to customers' needs and wants, and apparently that demand is growing every year. But Thanksgiving Day becoming the new Black Friday doesn't sit well with us believers.
How are you planning on spending your Thanksgiving Day this year? Thanksgiving Day is a family celebration marked as a sense of gratitude people feel for all the good things in life that God has done. This is done by offering prayers, sharing meals and spending time together. Family members and relatives who haven’t seen each other for some time come together and catch up on lost times and reconnect.
I have nothing against shopping smart and finding bargains, and spending our money wisely. But I think there are things that are more important in life than just shopping smart and finding bargains. In this day and age, we live a very busy life. It’s not just at work that we are busy. Our children are busy with activities around school and with other after school activities. If we add church programs and activities, there is hardly any time left for even family to spend an evening together. Nevertheless we still can manage to set aside some time for family since there are many days in a week. If not, in a month. However, when it comes to Thanksgiving Day, there is only one day out of the year that families and relatives can come together to share a meal and spend meaningful time together. Are we going to let Black Friday creep into Thanksgiving Day and take away the time we can spend more meaningfully?`
Also there is a more important reason that we shouldn’t let Black Friday invade Thanksgiving Day. Our Forefathers proclaimed National Days of Thanksgiving to Almighty God since 1777. George Washington, our first president, wrote his National Thanksgiving Proclamation, in which he said, “It is our duty as a people, with devote reverence and affectionate gratitude, to acknowledge our many and great obligation to Almighty God, and to implore Him to continue and confirm the blessings we experienced….”
Let us not forget to give thanks to God for his amazing love and grace. We often focus on negative things in life, and we worry, get angry and complain. Thanksgiving Day is the day we can change our focus on how blessed we are for our God who loves us unconditionally and cares about everything that concerns us.
This year will be the first year our family will have one family member missing when we come together for Thanksgiving Day. Our son, Chris, left for Okinawa, Japan for his military assignment a few weeks ago and will not be with us on Thanksgiving Day this year. It will not feel the same without him, and we will miss him very much. We’re going to have to settle with FaceTime if he is not flying. How about you? I hope all of you will not miss anyone when you get together with your family on Thanksgiving Day and enjoy wonderful meals and spend a lot of time together.  And most of all count your blessings and give thanks to God for His goodness and faithfulness. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

From Pastor Neil’s Heart
November 18, 2012