A Few Of FR's Finest....Every Day....11-27-03 thru 11-30-03....Happy Thanksgiving To The Finest

Mama_Bear | 11-27-03 | Mama_Bear

[dansangel]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997. Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.

We're having fun and hope you are!
~ Billie, Mama_Bear, dansangel, dutchess, Aquamarine ~

Thanksgiving
by Edgar Guest

GETTIN' together to smile an' rejoice,
An' eatin' an' laughin' with folks of your choice;
An' kissin' the girls an' declarin' that they
Are growin more beautiful day after day;
Chattin' an' braggin' a bit with the men,
Buildin' the old family circle again;
Livin' the wholesome an' old-fashioned cheer,
Just for awhile at the end of the year.

Greetings fly fast as we crowd through the door
And under the old roof we gather once more
Just as we did when the youngsters were small;
Mother's a little bit grayer, that's all.
Father's a little bit older, but still
Ready to romp an' to laugh with a will.
Here we are back at the table again
Tellin' our stories as women an men.

Bowed are our heads for a moment in prayer;
Oh, but we're grateful an' glad to be there.
Home from the east land an' home from the west,
Home with the folks that are dearest an' best.
Out of the sham of the cities afar
We've come for a time to be just what we are.
Here we can talk of ourselves an' be frank,
Forgettin' position an' station an' rank.

Give me the end of the year an' its fun
When most of the plannin' an' toilin' is done;
Bring all the wanderers home to the nest,
Let me sit down with the ones I love best,
Hear the old voices still ringin' with song,
See the old faces unblemished by wrong,
See the old table with all of its chairs
An I'll put soul in my Thanksgivin' prayers.

In searching for a Thanksgiving prayer, I came across this from last year. I don't think I could find anything more fitting to include in this years Thanksgiving presentation. Thank you, Michelle Malkin, for this.....

November 27, 2002

By Michelle Malkin

Dear Heavenly Father,

As we gather together to count our blessings, 381 years after the first Thanksgiving Day, we realize how little appreciation we have expressed for this thy bounty:

For sunbeams and sunsets and sun-kissed cheeks, for rainbows and raindrops and rain sticks, for mountain dew and prairie frost, for harvest moons and shooting stars, we give thee praise.

For Blueberry Hill and Blackberry Creek, for Apple Valley and Orange County, for Plum Borough and Peachtree City, for Pineapple Park and Coconut Grove, we give thee praise.

For coal miners and construction workers, for truckers and bakers, for mail sorters and short-order cooks, for ranch hands and stage hands, for accountants who keep honest books, for politicians who keep their promises, for stay-at-home moms and double-shift dads, we give thee praise.

O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, we thank you this day for "Proud to Be an American" and "These Colors Don't Run," for "Let Freedom Ring" and "Of Thee I Sing," for "Every Heart Beats True" and for "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue."

For Purple Hearts and Bronze Stars, for Green Berets and Gold Stripes, for the 10th Mountain Division and the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, for the KC-130 Crew and the 101st Airborne Division, for the soldiers and SEALS and special forces who made the ultimate sacrifice this year, and for all who continue to protect and to serve, we give thee praise.

For the Border Patrol and citizens on patrol, for the National Guard and Guardian Angels, for the USO and the VFW, we thank you, O God, our creator and redeemer.

For the Pentagon rebuilt and Ground Zero restored and the faith of a nation renewed, for "Semper Paratus" and "Non sibi sed patriae," for "Never forget" and "Never surrender," for freedom from fear and freedom to dream, for free minds and free markets, for freedom with responsibility, we give thee praise.

For the Song of Solomon and the Prayer of St. Francis, for "the Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer," for "without vision we perish," for Proverbs 28, for John 3:16, for "The Old Rugged Cross," for "The Solid Rock," and for "What a Friend We Have in Jesus," we offer eternal thanks.For "All men are created equal," for "Tear down this wall," for "Ask not what your country can do for you," for "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty," for "I swear to uphold the laws and Constitution of the United States of America, against all enemies foreign and domestic," we give thee praise.

For iron will, for steely resolve, for mettle tested and time-worn, for uncommon valor that never sleeps, for steady hands, sturdy legs, broad shoulders, and level heads, for stiff upper lips, for blood, sweat and tears, for conquering our fears, and for unbending courage in the face of the unknown, we give thee praise.

O Father, we come to thee on this national day to join with heart and voice all the people of our blessed land to honor and thank thee. We ask you, Lord, as our forefathers did in times of strife, "to inspire our commanders both by land and sea, and all under them, with that wisdom and fortitude which may render them fit instruments, under the providence of Almighty God, to secure for these United States the greatest of all blessings: independence and peace."

For precious life itself in this great nation—under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all—we thank thee, O Father. Amen.

Michelle Malkin is author of Invasion: How America Still Welcomes Terrorists, Criminals, and Other Foreign Menaces to Our Shores. Click here for Michelle Malkin's website.

Copyright 2002 Creators Syndicate, INC.

This holiday thread will run through Sunday, November 30th.
Please drop by when time permits and share a cup of fellowship
with us. New FRiends and old FRiends are always welcome at
our cyber table. So, pull up a chair ~ we are glad you are here.

We now return to our regularly scheduled program...

To you and your family,
from the "Finest" hostesses ~
Billie, Mama_Bear, Dansangel, Dutchess, Aquamarine

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 11-24-03...Military Monday 11-25-03...Countdown To The Holidays 11-26-03...Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar.
2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up.
3) In the next box enter your name in the "Calendar Text" field and then click on submit.
4) If any of the screens fail to load simply click on refresh in your browser and that will usually fix it.
5) If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me a FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~Mixer

Click on the photo to view the album. To
submit your photo, please contact danangel or .45man at danbh59@yahoo.com
and include Freeper Photo Album in subject line.

[deadhead]

Don't think so Meg, I have that picture on my profile page.

[MEG33]

I should look at profile pages more often!Great page.

[LadyX]

Rounded up a few guys to wish you a

Hope it has been a good one!

[The Mayor]

Happy Birthday

[Calpernia]

It is Aeronaut's Birthday? Thanks for the heads up!

I'm so wrapped up in the demise of Hillary, I'm missing some important things!

[MEG33]

I found out on the Canteen thread and came over here to share it.

[Dubya]

Is Thanksgiving a Religious Holiday?
By Tom Barrett

Thanksgiving is a national holiday. But long before it was recognized as such by President Lincoln, Americans understood clearly that it was a special time for a Christian nation to set aside time to thank their Heavenly Father for His many blessings.

103 Pilgrims arrived on the Mayflower on the shores of Cape Cod in November, 1620. 51 of them died that first terrible winter. Yet even in the face of such great loss, they set aside a day for prayer and Thanksgiving after their first harvest. Although it was not recognized as such at the time, this was the beginning of the yearly Thanksgiving celebration.

Over the years Americans celebrated Thanksgiving informally without benefit of any governmental proclamation. After all, God's children have never needed the approval of government to offer thanks to Him.

In 1817 the State of New York adopted Thanksgiving as an official holiday. Many other states followed suit, until in 1863 Abraham Lincoln appointed a national day of Thanksgiving. Since then, every President has issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation for the fourth Thursday in November. These proclamations, even when uttered by the most immoral of presidents, always mention gratitude to God. This is because they know that most Americans still acknowledge that God is the source of every good thing we receive.

If you would like to know what God thinks about all this, look at I Thessalonians 5:18: "In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God for you." In Philippians 4:6 the Apostle Paul says, "Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

But Paul also says, "In the last days people will be ungrateful." (2 Timothy 3:1). We see a lot of that these days, don't we? As a nation, we have been blessed with abundance unknown in many parts of this world. In fact, the poorest American would be considered wealthy in many nations. Yet many refuse to even acknowledge the God Who has blessed them.

So, is Thanksgiving a religious holiday or a national holiday? In many places it is simply another opportunity for a long weekend and a chance to get together with family. In millions of homes this week people gorged themselves with delicious food and watched sports. No one said a blessing over the food that God had provided. No one took a few moments to share the things for which they should have been grateful. In these homes, they didn't even understand Who it was they should be grateful to. For these people, it was just another holiday.

In other homes, it was a religious holiday, as it has been from its inception. The family members and guests honored the Lord. They thanked him for the food he had provided. Many took time for each family member to share something for which they felt especially grateful. These homes were blessed. I feel sorry for those which missed this experience.


THE FIRST THANKSGIVING DAY PROCLAMATION
President Abraham Lincoln, 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 defense 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.


THANKSGIVING DAY PROCLAMATION (Excerpt)
President Andrew Jackson, 1867

"Let us remember that He has covered our land with greatly needed and very abundant harvests; that He has caused industry to prosper, not only in our fields, but also in our workshops, in our mines, and in our forests. He has permitted us to multiply ships upon our lakes and rivers and upon the high seas, and at the same time to extend our iron roads to far into the secluded places of the continent. He has inclined our hearts to turn away from domestic contentions and commotions and to walk more and more in the ancient ways of loyalty, conciliation, and brotherly love."

[LadyX]

Slipping in a bit of humor:

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him.
As he sits, the waitress comes over and asks for their orders.

The man says, "I'll have a hamburger, fries and a coke,"
and turns to the ostrich, "What's yours?"

"I'll have the same," says the ostrich.

A short time later the waitress returns with the order.
"That will be $6.40 please," and the man reaches into his pocket
and pulls out the exact change for payment.

The next day, the man and the ostrich come again and the man says,
"I'll have a hamburger, fries and a coke," and the ostrich says,
"I'll have the same."

Once again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change.

This becomes a routine until late one evening, the two enter again.

"The usual?" asks the waitress.
"No, this is Friday night, so I will have a steak, baked potato
and salad," says the man, "same for me," says the ostrich.

A short time later the waitress comes with the order and says,
"That will be $12.62." Once again the man pulls exact change
out of his pocket and places it on the table.

The waitress can't hold back her curiosity any longer.

"Excuse me, sir. How do you manage to always come up with the
exact change out of your pocket every time?"

"Well," says the man, "several years ago I was cleaning the
attic and I found an old lamp. When I rubbed it a Genie
appeared and offered me two wishes.

My first wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything,
I would just put my hand in my pocket and the right amount of
money would always be there."

"That's brilliant!" says the waitress. "Most people would wish
for a million dollars or something, but you'll always be as rich
as you want for as long as you live!"

"That's right. Whether it's a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce,
the exact money is always there," says the man.

The waitress asks, "One other thing, sir, what's with the ostrich?"

The man sighs, pauses, and answers,

"My second wish was for a tall chick with long legs
who agrees with everything I say."

[MEG33]

LOL!Glad to see you!I'm reading the live thread describing the Reagan hit piece.So far it's 70% a hatchet job on Nancy 30% Reagan.

[WVNan]

Hope you are still here Maggie Malone, so I can say hello and Loveya.

[WVNan]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AERONAUT! Cheese, how old are you anyway?

[LadyX]

Uh oh - Sistah lurks and catches Little Maggie telling jokes..:(

Loveya2, Nan....

[The Mayor]

LOL that was cute..!

On that note, Goodnight to the Finest..

[LadyX]

This must be The Golden Oldies Hour - LOL

[The Mayor]

That's so cute!

[LadyX]

Good night and God bless, Rus...

[MEG33]

Great birthday message ,Nan!I told Aeronaut my age had been outed by LadyX and WVNan!

[LadyX]

I'm ashamed I failed to ask when your birthday was, Meggie...um...when was it?

[MEG33]

I do not have birthdays...;0

[LadyX]

"I do not have birthdays.."

I see - just Mile Markers??!!

LOLOL