Thanksgiving History

The Thanksgiving Proclamation-
George Washington


3 October 1789

By the President of the United States of America: a Proclamation.

"Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor--and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me `to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.'

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be -- That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks -- for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation--for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed--for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted -- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions--to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually -- to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed--to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness onto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord -- To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us -- and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.


Given under my hand at the City of New-York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789".

George Washington

Thanksgiving – The Day
 
Proclamation Establishing Thanksgiving Day October 3, 1863


"The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe had enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years, with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the independence of the United States the eighty-eighth".

Abraham Lincoln

A Thanksgiving Day
by B. F. King


O Lord, with humble hearts we pray
Thy blessing this Thanksgiving Day

And ask that at table place,
Where grateful folk say words of grace,

That Thou will come to share the yield
Thy bounty gave to farm and field.

We pray thy love will bless, O Lord,
Each hearth, each home, each festive board;

And that Thy peace will come to stay
Where candles glow, Thanksgiving Day.
Amen

Today I am Thankful For

On This Day; I am Thankful For:

Forgiveness & Forgiving!

This past week found me being taught a lesson that, to be honest, I didn't really care to learn and certainly could have lived without (by my then standards) It was a lesson on truly forgiving someone that has wounded you deeply.

We often; as Christians, talk about forgiveness and for the most part I believe that we as the many membered body of Christ manage to pull it off quite well. But there are times when finding forgiveness in your heart is all but impossible to do. You want to. You try to. But somehow that forgiveness that you are trying so desperately to get a firm hold on manages to elude you and it's frustrating.

Resounding loudly in your spirit you hear the words "Forgive as Christ forgave you" but try as you might you just can't seem to really and truly do it. If you think about the ~wrong~ then you really haven't forgiven. If you talk to another about the ~wrong~ then you really haven't forgiven. If this ~wrong~ seems to continue to be the focal point in your prayers then you really haven't forgiven. What you are is looking to quickly be vindicated and that just isn't how the Lord works. (vengeance being His and all that).

Finally; with a broken (former proud and haughty spirit) I found my way to the Throne Room of Grace and told the Lord that it just wasn't within my power to forgive this. I have never been one to be able to hold a grudge and at 52 years old I did not want to begin now. I wanted to go back to the same loving person that I was before this event occurred and simply pretend that it never happened. But I couldn't; no matter what I did. I didn't like this person that I had become in less than a week. I want my life back! I wanted my self back!

The magnificent thing about the Lord is that when you shut up long enough for Him to be able to get a word in edgewise that He actually has quite alot to say about love and forgiveness. He should; being that He lived His whole life and then died based on the principles of love and forgiveness.

The thing about forgiveness is that if your heart is so full of love, full of grace, full of mercy, full of God then there is no place in to hold malice, vengeance, grudges and all of the awful things that the Enemy would prefer to see in there. There is just no room for it. The Lord can and will stuff your heart so full of wonderful feelings that you think that it can not possible hold any more and then He'll still continue to stuff more great things in there. Majically; as He is filling your heart with love, compassion, mercy, grace and all of the warm and fuzzy feelings that there are to have then pretty soon you discover that you have just walked off and left behind those awful feelings that had tormented you. It just doesn't matter anymore.

It isn't easy and it doesn't happen over night but I found that the more that I was willing to cooperate with the Lord to bring about a change in me then the quicker the changes began to take place. Just saying ...

There will be times during the course of your life things are going to happen that are painful, that don't make sense, that aren't fair. People are going to hurt you and they are going to let you down. Sometimes these things will be done accidentally and sometimes these things will be done on purpose. Regardless; don't let then hold you back and don't let them change who you are. You may not always be able to find it within yourself to forgive someone but the Lord is always ready to step in and show you how and sometimes even supernaturally do it for you.

So; I start this week off as a better person than I was the week before and I thank God for these chances (no matter how painful they are) to grow as a person, grow as a Christian and put into practice at least a few of the things that the Bible speaks of.

Thank You Lord!

“Let your beauty be found in “the hidden person of the heart,
with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit,
which is very precious in the sight of God.”
1 Peter 3:4

November 11th Veterans/Armistice Day

History of Veterans Day

World War I – known at the time as "The Great War" - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of "the war to end all wars."

In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words:

"To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…"

The original concept for the celebration was for a day observed with parades and public meetings and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11:00 a.m.

The United States Congress officially recognized the end of World War I when it passed a concurrent resolution on June 4, 1926, with these words:

"Whereas the 11th of November 1918, marked the cessation of the most destructive, sanguinary, and far reaching war in human annals and the resumption by the people of the United States of peaceful relations with other nations, which we hope may never again be severed,

and

Whereas it is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations;

and

Whereas the legislatures of twenty-seven of our States have already declared November 11 to be a legal holiday: Therefore be it Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), that the President of the United States is requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on November 11 and inviting the people of the United States to observe the day in schools and churches, or other suitable places, with appropriate ceremonies of friendly relations with all other peoples."


An Act (52 Stat. 351; 5 U. S. Code, Sec. 87a) approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday— a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as "Armistice Day." Armistice Day was primarily a day set aside to honor veterans of World War I, but in 1954, after World War II had required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in the Nation's history; after American forces had fought aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress, at the urging of the veterans service organizations, amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word "Armistice" and inserting in its place the word "Veterans." With the approval of this legislation (Public Law 380) on June 1, 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

Later that same year, on October 8th, President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first "Veterans Day Proclamation" which stated:

"In order to insure proper and widespread observance of this anniversary, all veterans, all veterans' organizations, and the entire citizenry will wish to join hands in the common purpose. Toward this end, I am designating the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs as Chairman of a Veterans Day National Committee, which shall include such other persons as the Chairman may select, and which will coordinate at the national level necessary planning for the observance. I am also requesting the heads of all departments and agencies of the Executive branch of the Government to assist the National Committee in every way possible."







To this day we honor all of the brave men (and women) of the Military Armed Forces along with their families and thank them for their dedication in service.

If you live in a country that is free- Thank A Veteran!

Heroes Die for Me

by Jamie Burns

I am the flag

I look down upon this land called America .

I have been here since this great nation was formed,

I have seen each battle fought

I have seen the heroes die for me, for my country

Thank you all those of you

Who have kept me flying in the breeze

Keeping this country united as one.

Thank you those of you who have sacrificed your lives,

Giving up all that I may still fly,

Watching over the citizens of this nation.

Thank you all those of you who have ever fought,

I am ever grateful for you.

 

 

You risked everything; you faced death each day,

Faced fear, faced many terrible things.

And because of you, my thank you's ring out,

Filling the sky, echoing from the hills

They find their way to the graveyards,

And to all of you still living,

You are a special kind of person.

To anyone who has ever served this country,

And to those serving today

Thank you.

As I watch life from atop my flagpole,

As I think of all you've done,

My feelings become too powerful for words

And all I can say is thank you.

Today I am Thankful For

On This Day; I am Thankful For:

Our Country!



Dearest Beloved Abba Father,

Today, as Americans, we have been given the opportunity to start fresh. A new dawn under our leader President Barack Obama. It doesn't matter who voted for whom; Mr. Obama is our President- the leader of this once great nation- that can be a great nation again.

I ask My Lord that you guide President Obama in all that he sets his hand to. That you strengthen him and infuse in him to the very innermost core of his being with righteousness, grace and mercy. That he will lead us into a future that is greater than the past we leave behind. That he will; as our forefathers have done, lift our nation up to the very pentacle of greatness and restore her to glory.

Help us my Beloved Lord to put aside our difference so that we may love one another because of or diversity; as it is that diversity that makes us greater than the sum of just one person. Help us to value our resources and to waste not in all areas of our lives. Help us to treasure all the wondrous things that this planet provides lest they  vanish tomorrow under our thoughtlessness.

I ask Lord with a humble heart that you weaken the evil and strengthen the righteous from one end of this planet to the other. That good will rise up and triumph over bad so that freedom continues to ring not only in this great Nation we call home but every nation that aspires to live Godly lives.

It is only through Your Grace and Your Mercy that the United States of America still stands as the greatest place in this world. Continue to bless us though we are undeserving of Your divine favor.

It is in Your Mighty Name Jesus and under Your Shed Blood that I pray all these things and more.

Amen and Amen!

Dearest Reader

Dearest Reader,

As I awoke this morning and set down at my computer to decide what I would post today on my Blog I found, instead, my mind wandering to the list that I need to make for our Thanksgiving celebration.

My daughter and I combine each of our family meals for Thanksgiving and in addition I also make a smaller meal for just my husband and I to munch on through the weekend as we trim our Christmas tree. So; I must make two separate lists- the list of food to make to take to her house and the list of food to make to keep here at my house. Sometimes it can be a little maddening and I have been know in the past to mix up the two lists and end up bring food that my daughter has already prepared thus giving her a double portion of one thing and missing another. As I said; it can be a little maddening to keep up with.

As I turned my eyes away from my computer screen to focus on my list making; again, my mind began to wander and instead focus on all of the things that I have to be thankful for. Of course family and great friends top the list along with having a roof over my head, plenty of food to eat, heat in the winter, air conditioning in the summer, clothing and so on. But these are the things that Jesus Christ promised us anyway in Scripture and naturally we are thankful for these things that He promised us. But He never stops there; does He?

No.

He always goes beyond the simple things (that we so often take for granted) and even when He blesses us in ways that should completely knock our socks off .. then too we seem to take a ~mmme, whatever~ attitude about it. We get spoiled. It happens.

I am guilty at times of having wonderful things occur in my life that instead of falling to my knees and Praising God for them at the instant it happens I am too busy twirling around in excitement and diving in to enjoy that particular blessing. Giving my thanks for it seems almost an after thought- not the main focus. Shame on me.

I have decided that from now through the remainder of this Thanksgiving season that I will post a list of questions "Today I Am Thankful For"  that I hope will have us really examine our day and see all of the beautiful ways that God has blessed us over and beyond the things that He has promised us in His Word.

I hope you will join me each day and share your daily ~blessings~ as well. You can post your response in the "Comment" section or keep them private on a piece of paper on your desk.

God Bless You Dearest Reader as we focus this month on our many, many blessings.
Much Love;
~Lazzy~

“Let your beauty be found in “the hidden person of the heart,
with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit,
which is very precious in the sight of God.”
1 Peter 3:4

Velvet Trinket Bookmarks

~SEW~ Easy Velvet Bookmarks

Materials:

Velvet strips of fabric - 9 inches long by 2 inches wide per bookmark
1 inch Ribbon Clamps
Jump Rings (O rings)
Various Trinkets of your choosing (think vintage!)
Flat nose pliers


Instructions:

1. Cut fabric to 9 inches long by 2 inches wide.

2. Double over your fabric so that you have velvet on each side.

3. Sew along the top, open side and bottom in a corresponding color thread.


 

4. On each of the top and bottom on your bookmark affix a Ribbon Clamp with a pair of flat nose pliers. Crimp tightly.

5. Attache a jump ring (O ring) to the hole in your ribbon clamp.

 

6. Adorn with your trinket and close the jump (O) ring.



* You can add as much length or adornment to your bookmarks as you like by simply continuing to add another jump ring and more trinket.

* If you should have a difficult time finding 2 inch velvet ribbon- you can always purchase 1 inch ribbon and sew them together with each of the velvet facing outward

Very Easy, Very Simple and a Double Cute gift when paired with a vintage book.

The Circle of Love

~ The Circle of Love ~


The circular path of the Blood began in Heaven "before the foundation of the world" (1 Peter 1:18-20).

The blood of Jesus was not an afterthought of the Creator taken in surprise at the fall of man. God never plays catch-up to Satan. If He did, Satan could lead God.

No.

Before God created man He knew he would fall. Before God formed man He foreordained his redemption with "precious Blood." Divine plans originate in the Father. Somewhere in the divine council rooms of Heaven, the Father put forth His plan for man.

Man would be spirit. In God's image. On God's order and kind. Therefore, man would be able to fellowship God. Man would be able to love God. Man would be created to work with God; to have dominion over the works of God's hands. For such high eternal purpose man could not be a robot. Spirit man would be given a soul; a mind, a will, and emotions.

Fallen Lucifer would tempt man's will. Man would fall into the tempter's hand. But God would redeem man. God would design man for redemption in his creation. God would make man a creature of blood. (God was not restricted to create creatures of blood. Angels were not created with blood. Lucifer was not created with blood.)

God would call man Adam, connecting him in the wonderfully revealing Hebrew language to blood (dam) and to the ground (adamah). Both blood and ground are red (adom). God would put spirit man and his soul into a body of flesh made of the dust of the ground. (See 1 Thess. 5:23.)  The life of the flesh would be in the blood (Lev. 17:11,14).

Man's body; an earthen vessel; could be broken and the blood poured out, a life for a life. If the Divine One would go to earth Incarnate and live without sin in "a body prepared," His vessel could be broken and His perfect Life poured out in His Blood for the remission of all sin.

In some eternal moment, in some heavenly place, the One we call Savior agreed to fulfill the Father's great plan of redemption. First in Heaven, and eventually at Calvary, our Lord Jesus offered Himself through the Eternal Spirit, without spot to God (Heb. 9:14).

The Psalms records Jesus' words, in glorious contrast to the rebellious words of Lucifer, "Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God..." (Ps. 40:7-8).  (See also Heb. 10:5-10)

In what is a great mystery, God the Son became, "...the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8). "For asmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold...But with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you"  (1 Peter 17:18-19).

The Blood line began in Heaven. It circled earthward first in revelation through types and shadows. For God had to reveal to fallen man the place and the power of the Blood of the Lamb to redeem him. God Himself shed the first blood in type when He made coats of animal skins to cover man.

Blood would cover man until he was again fit for glory. The blood of every animal on every legitimate altar of Old Testament times was to reveal the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

"For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul"  (Lev.17:11).

The precious Blood was manifested in the earth when Jesus came. John the Baptist looked upon Jesus and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). The earthly part of the Blood's path was consummated when the manifested Lamb poured out His life in His Blood on Calvary's altar.

The circle of the Blood turned upward again on the third day. Our Lord Jesus Christ arose; triumphant over death, hell, and the grave; and carried His own precious Blood into the Heavenly Holy of Holies where it was accepted for man.

The resurrected Lamb closed the circle giving glory to God the Father. The powerful, redemptive Blood is returned to its Heavenly Terminal. There before the throne of the Living God, the Blood ever speaks "mercy" for man (Heb. 12:24).

The Family Of God