thanksgiving

this may be the cutest toy ever....i love getting educationl and meaningful toys for my kids that are fun too. i got a great deal on this mayflower & thanksgiving feast set, and the three youngest LOVE it! without having any desire to promote a toy company, let me share that my last three toy purchases (gracie's doll house, noah's castle, and now this) have been from fisher price, and all have been toys that the three youngest have enjoyed playing with together ( 2 girls & a boy, ranging from 1 to 7) quite remarkable, and it makes me happy.

i hope it helps them to gain a better understanding of and appreciation for thanksgiving. i do love thanksgiving, and i hope they will too. there are so many reasons to love thanksgiving: history, food, family, friends, but most importantly the concept of gratitude.

brock & i were assigned to speak in church last sunday. the first time i have spoken in english to an english congregation in at least 8 years. so lucky that we were asked to speak about thanksgiving and gratitude.

have you noticed that it is impossible to feel proud or sad or angry while feeling grateful? it's great therapy. the lord knows that it makes us happy and humble, and that is why he asks us to do it.

i talked about that, and other things, and also about this:

on oct 3, 1863, abraham lincoln called for a national day of thanksgiving on the 4th thursday of november.

two and a half years into the civil war, with no end in sight (another year and a half of fighting left). such a dark time in u.s. history, and this is what lincoln had to say:

"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 unequaled 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 has 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 one 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."

i absolutely adore lincoln, and am continually amazed by his insight, intelligence, wisdom, and courage. i cannot deny that i the spirit of the lord flowing through his writings. and i am inspired that he called for a day of thanksgiving (which had not consistently been practiced up to this time), giving credit to god for so many blessings, when things were so very bleak. 

(not exactly what i said in my talk, but what i really feel)

i am fighting off a cold and feel heavy, thick, and mushy.....hope this post makes sense.

Comments

[David Limburg]

Do you remember when we were in Gettysburg in '88? There I bought that large poster of the Gettysburg Address superimposed over scenes from Lincoln's life. It hung in our entryway for a number of years. One of the kids, probably Jill, has it now, I think.

Lincoln has been a lifetime hero of mine, also, at least since I took that class in the Hisory of the Civil War at the U in '68.

DAD

[This Girl Loves to Talk]

I just bought out our fisher price nativity set today. :) my girls LOVE IT... that thanksgiving one isnt available here, but it is cute.

my 2 year old has been playing all day with the nativity and the angel when pressed down on the roof it plays silent night.. what sweet babies we have :)

[Julie Stout]

i bought the nativity set too bobbie, but my kids don't know it yet....i'm glad to hear that your kids enjoy it so much, hope mine will too.

[Mary Smith]

What a great quote from Lincoln. I love him, too. I am regretting that I was too stressed about the baby sleeping and getting food ready to really express our thanks and gratitude at dinner :( We found your bench so that the pilgrims and indians can eat properly again. I need to talk to you more about the people code...