This coming Thursday is the official beginning of the holiday season. Who cannot be thankful in our time? I am glad that we have Thanksgiving as a special day set aside to recognize that we are a people most blessed. Each of us, no matter how few our resources have many reasons to thank God.

If we were to list all that we were thankful for, how much of a page would we fill? Or, how many pages would we fill? What we are grateful for is very much dependant on who it is that provided us the blessings. If we are self-reliant and believe that all we have is a result of our effort, there is not much gratitude expressed. If, however, we see God as the one who provides us with everything then expressing our thanks will be an endless
expression.

All of us are a product of our environment. We look back over the years and we can see things that really mattered to us. The first thing that comes to mind is family. My parents had eight children. We did some
not-so-nice things and paid a severe price for it. But, in the end, we were still family. We had some "dysfunction" but we were all we had so it behooved us to make a real effort at times to be family. We also had a spiritual heritage. Church meant something to us in our formable years.

Even in the worst weather you saw our family in church. We had great Bible class teachers and it was necessary
for us to sit still for the sermon no matter how long it was. From that experience we developed a faith that took
us into adulthood where we came to understand what being a disciple of Jesus entailed. It goes without saying that I am thankful for my immediate family. I am proud of my kids. They have been a real blessing to me. My wife is the best. We have been together for nearly fifty years and I have no idea where I would be were it not for her.
I am grateful for each of you. We have been together for nearly 27 years. I had no idea I would be here
this long and who knows what God has in store for me in the near future. It is not hard for me to be thankful because I know that God has supplied us with all that we have or want. How are you doing with your list? Do you see God supplying your needs and wants? There is no greater moment then now for you to express your thanks for His wonderful blessing.

Our God is Awesome
Norm Russell