A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day - HAPPY THANKSGIVING!....11-28 thru 12-01-02

Billie and Mama_Bear

[Mama_Bear]

As we come together with family and friends and bow our heads in thanksgiving, let us remember our servicemen and women who are far from home during the holidays. In remembering them, let us also give thanks for the sacrifices of their families who will have an empty chair at their Thanksgiving table this year. Let us be ever mindful of our freedoms and the price that has been paid, and continues to be paid, in order to preserve them.

This Thanksgiving Prayer, by Kathryn Kay, is thought to be the poem which inspired President John F. Kennedy's most memorable words:

"Ask not what your country can do for you,
ask what you can do for your country."

Thanksgiving Prayer

God, ev'ry year about this time,
according to routine,
I've bowed my head in the accepted way
and offered thanks, like some well synchronized machine
that prayed because it was the time to pray.
But, God, this year is different, this year I seem to feel
America's Thanksgiving is my own,
that in my nation's gratitude I have a part that's real,
a part that until now I've never known.
And, God, this year a deep humility has filled my heart,
a newborn pride rings true thruout my soul
because I do belong, because I have and am a part,
a tiny part of one tremendous whole.

I think I know the feeling of those first Americans
who said, "We must give thanks for this, our land."
I cherish now the rights that are each woman's, ev'ry man's,
the rights I've just begun to understand.
This year my heart has learned
what all Thanksgiving Days are for,
true thankfulness at last I realize,
but, God, I'm sorry that it took the tragedy of war
in other lands to open up my eyes.
Again I bow my head but this time deep within me stirs
a mighty prayer, part of one vast design,
"God, help me make America as proud that I am hers—
as I am proud, and grateful she is mine!"

"Thanksgiving Prayer" was published
in Kay's book "If the Shoe Fits" in early November, 1941.

In 1789, the father of our country, George Washington,
issued the first official Thanksgiving Day 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 favour: And whereas both Houses 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 and signal favours 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 TWENTY-SIXTH 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 favourable interpositions of His Providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; --- for the great degree of 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 favours 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 publick 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 unto us); and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase 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, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.

(signed) G. Washington"

Thanksgiving is a time for counting blessings,
for drawing near to family and friends,
and for sharing the bounty of God's gifts.

Our cup runneth over; for this,
Lord, we give thanks this day.

During this Thanksgiving weekend, if you have a moment, please sit down at our table and share what you are especially thankful for, what Thanksgiving means to you, or a special holiday story, recipe or memory. There is always plenty of room at our holiday table for our Finest FRiends.

Turkey In The Straw
Over The River And Through The Woods
Colors Of The Wind
Old Home Place
Amazing Grace
Give Thanks




Stop by and say hello when you can.
Our regular "A Few of FR's Finest" thread will return on Monday.

THIS WEEK'S THREADS

11-25-02 The Guild
11-26-02 wirestripper
11-27-02 Carlo3b



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 an FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~ Mixer

A reminder from Billie...

[SAMWolf]

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

[Cold Heat]

Thanks for the keeper's!

What a great day this is!

And to all our troops and ships at sea!.................Happy Thanksgiving! We are thinking of You!

[ST.LOUIE1]

A special Thanksgiving treat for my Bro!

Sounds just like Mom. Before she gave YOU the genes. LOL!!

You're so cute, Sis.... and silly. : )

[Mama_Bear]

Thanks, Cindy, for the link to the Thanksgiving page. Lots of interesting links there. Tomorrow, when things calm down some, I am going to spend more time there. :-)

[Mama_Bear]

Hi, John. I guess I missed you again, huh? Hope you are having a nice day. :-)

[Mama_Bear]

Thanksgiving hugs to you both!

[Mama_Bear]

Hi, fly-guy. Happy day to you. :-)

[Mama_Bear]

Happy Thanksgiving to Jim, Sheila, John, Tami and Chris.

Jim, I see this is the day that you registered. Is this FR's birthday?

I know you have heard this hundreds of time, but thank you, once again, for this site. :-)

[Mama_Bear]

A blessed day to you and yours, LadyX.

[Mama_Bear]

Morning, Meek. Happy Thanksgiving to you and Ming and your dad. :-)

[Mama_Bear]

Morning, Gail. Thanks for your Thanksgiving greetings. Wishing you a blessed holiday.

[Mama_Bear]

I'm sorry, I completely missed your day in the spotlight yesterday, but I skimmed over the thread this morning. Thanks for your recipes and wit. Tomorrow, when I have more time, I am going to go back and read the thread in detail.

A Happy Thanksgiving to you and belated congratulations on being our Featured FReeper yesterday. :-)

[Mama_Bear]

Knighthawk, so nice to see you here! Thank you for the Thanksgiving wishes.

[Mama_Bear]

Happy day to you, FRiend. :-)

[Mama_Bear]

Thanks so much for taking time to stop by with your Thanksgiving wishes. Have a blessed holiday.

[Mama_Bear]

Hi, it's nice to see you here.

Thanks for making this thread special.

It's people like you, who take time out of your day to stop by, that makes this thread special. :-)

Happy Thanksgiving!

[Mama_Bear]

Well, another fine day we've gotten ourselves into.

Indeed! LOL. Happy Thanksgiving to you, FRiend. :-)

[lodwick]

Adventures in Sunday School Sunday School children had to choose a Bible character they would most like to be and why. A little girl wanted to be Mary because she was the mother of Jesus; one young boy wanted to be Joseph, because he was Jesus' father, another David because he was strong and brave and slew Goliath and yet another Jonah because he went for a ride in a whale!! One quiet, young man chose to be "Lo". When told there wasn't a character called Lo in the Bible, he replied "Oh yes, there is -
Jesus said, "and Lo, I will be with you always"!

A father was reading Bible stories to his young son. He read, "The man named Lot was warned to take his wife and flee out of the city, but his wife looked back and was turned to salt."
His son asked, "What happened to the flea?"

[Mama_Bear]

Believe it or not, I was going to post that hostess babes graphic that you made for us...you beat me to it. It hasn't been posted for awhile, and it is my favorite.

Happy Thanksgiving, special person. :-)

((((((((hugs)))))))))

[lodwick]