I know Nicky wrote a little Thanksgiving letter to us all via e-mail (and God bless you Nicky for doing so :) ), but I figured to also give you one as well now that we approach the Thanksgiving weekend.
For me, this time of the year has always been one of serious reflection for me. Many would do that around New Years's Eve or Day, looking upon what to look forward to or what to watch out for the new year. But I like to think of Thanksgiving as THE time for that because it's a time to really give thanks for what God has given to us and through how much He's been with us through the bumps and turns in life. Sure, we are suppose to be giving thanks to Him every day, but the whole idea of having family and friends together in fellowship and devouring a turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and the whole dinner table basically makes the idea much more special (OK so the whole "dinner table devouring" scenario is only what I do, but let's not get too much into that and leave it where it is, OK? Good.)
I don't know much about what you've experienced lately in your life that you're truly thankful for, but there is always something. And even the times that life has got you down you can be thankful for too. This might raise an eyebrow or two, but if you think about it real hard, the downs of life has its merits. This past Saturday, my youth group talked about the subject of making wise choices and the consequences of not doing so. The one thing we agreed upon is that we as people do make stupid choices sometimes and the guilt that comes with those choices can make us sometimes feel we're stupid too. Does that mean guilt was designed to be bad? Not really. Maybe it feels that way, but feelings can betray us. God's the one who designed guilt and He did so for the sake of having us understand the errors of our ways and, in turn, make us to be better people for Him. So consider that when you give thanks to God. Thank Him for what he's done for us, through the good and the bad.
I have to say this: I am thankful for a lot of things for this semester. I regret many things too, whether it's missing out on bible studies or Aflame meetings, slacking off in my schoolwork even though I'm only taking my final two classes ever at Queens College, and not updating this web site frequently. But I know things happen for a purpose and many turns come down that walk we choose to go on. I will say this: I am thankful to have wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ like you folks that I know I can turn to when life just doesn't seem to like me. I am thankful that I have had Campus Crusade for Christ in my life for the past five years and that it has really changed my perspective on what life is really all about and who it should be used for.
And I am thankful that God is Almighty, that He is our Father, and that He loved us so much that He had Jesus pay the price for our sins with his blood shed for us on the cross. I am thankful for His efforts to have us come to Him and I know all of you are too.
Keep these thoughts in mind when you sit down at the dinner table on Thursday. Have a great Thanksgiving folks, I hope to see you soon when we all come back on Monday with an extra twenty pounds in our stomachs. God bless and be seeing you!