Do I Feel "Thankful," or just "Lucky"?

As another Thanksgiving rolls around, I've enjoyed seeing all of the November Facebook posts each day where people recount what they are thankful for.  I am reminded of the trend several years ago when Oprah advised viewers to start a "Gratitude Journal."  Each day they were encouraged to simply reflect upon their day and recognize and record what they were grateful for in that 24 hours.  Brilliant idea, and people reported their outlooks being changed.  When they realized how many good things occurred in the space of a day, good things many of us take for granted as we become consumed with life's struggles and disappointments, their outlook became much more "positive."  They discovered the psychological truth that "being happy with what we have" overcomes the frustration we feel over the things we do not.

The Facebook posts and Oprah's Gratitude Journal are wonderful starts, but today lets go that next step and realize that we human beings only experience "thankfulness," or "gratitude," toward a SOMEONE.  Otherwise what we're feeling is really just "lucky."  Without there being a God that we thank for the incredible gifts of taking our next breath, food to nourish ourselves with, family that we love; what we express when recounting our "blessings" isn't truly gratitude or thankfulness, but a laundry list of how chance has favored us.  If God is not there at the beginning of the "giving chain" that brings us existence, nourishment, and love then these things have not come to us by any great purpose; we simply lucked out! Instead of gathering around a Thanksgiving dinner table to recall what each of us is most "thankful" for, we should probably all meet up at the nearest riverboat casino and take turns rolling the dice.

But no, Thanksgiving is a tradition retained in our culture because whether or not His Name is spoken, in our heart of hearts each of us senses that there is something more at work in life than the roll of the die.  Each of us have been blessed, blessed by a God Who loves us.

So what am I thankful to Him for today?  I am thankful for my children, who are miracles.  I am thankful for this home I live in, that He brought to me through the friendship of Jim and Kathi Strunk.  I am thankful for the dishes given to me by my friend Amy.  I am thankful for the bed I sleep in, that came to me through my sister's generosity, and the pots and pans I cook with that were housewarming gifts from my brother.  (Get the sense somebody started over recently?)  I am thankful to my parents for a lifetime of support and for the incredible feast and night of fun that lies ahead of us.  I am thankful to God for the car that is continuing to run, a year past what I thought it would.  Most of all though, I am sincerely thankful to God that He loves a silly creature like me, that He calls me "son."  I am bewildered that given all the grandeur in this universe He made, He would want to dwell in my soul. I am blessed, more than I could or ever will deserve ... as are we all.  Happy Thanksgiving my friends.

Freaking Me Out

So I came home today and flipped on the television. I start flipping channels and, hey - that's Jon Bon Jovi sitting next to Oprah. That I had to see. They were talking about the inauguration. Hey, there's Forest Whittaker too. I left the show on in the background as I started the computer and logged on to check my e-mail.

I heard them as they spoke about how our new president's attitude of hope and public displays of affection for his wife had already begun our country's "healing process." PDA and national healing? Jon, don't you go giving love a bad name! My next thought was, "People, you've got to put the brakes on. Your expectations are just too high; no man can live up to them." Just then I spotted an e-mail from my buddy Pete, directing me to the White House's site, where President Obama's team had laid out his social agenda:

Gay Rights

• Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBT Couples...
• Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage: President Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2006 which would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman and prevented judicial extension of marriage-like rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples.
• Expand Adoption Rights: President Obama believes that we must ensure adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation. He thinks that a child will benefit from a healthy and loving home, whether the parents are gay or not.
• Promote AIDS Prevention: ...The President will support common sense approaches including age-appropriate sex education that includes information about contraception, combating infection within our prison population through education and contraception, and distributing contraceptives through our public health system. The President also supports lifting the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. President Obama has also been willing to confront the stigma -- too often tied to homophobia -- that continues to surround HIV/AIDS.

Embryonic Stem Cells and Abortion

• Supporting Stem Cell Research: President Obama and Vice President Biden believe that we owe it to the American public to explore the potential of stem cells to treat the millions of people suffering from debilitating and life-threatening diseases. Obama is a co-sponsor of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007, which will allow research of human embryonic stem cells derived from embryos donated (with consent) from in vitro fertilization clinics. These embryos must be deemed in excess and created based solely for the purpose of fertility treatment.

• Supports a Woman's Right to Choose: President Obama understands that abortion is a divisive issue, and respects those who disagree with him. However, he has been a consistent champion of reproductive choice and will make preserving women's rights under Roe v. Wade a priority in his Adminstration. He opposes any constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's decision in that case.
• Preventing Unintended Pregnancy: President Obama was an original co-sponsor of legislation to expand access to contraception, health information, and preventive services to help reduce unintended pregnancies. Introduced in January 2007, the Prevention First Act will increase funding for family planning and comprehensive sex education that teaches both abstinence and safe sex methods. The Act will also end insurance discrimination against contraception, improve awareness about emergency contraception, and provide compassionate assistance to rape victims.

What good things are we expecting President Obama to accomplish, that they can outweigh this social agenda coming to fruition?

And when Jesus drew near and saw Jerusalem he wept over it, saying, "Would that even today you knew the things that make for peace! But now they are hid from your eyes" (Luke 19:41-42).