Happy Thanksgiving!

I have very much to be thankful for this year.

My wife and I are in good health. We have no debts. We have a warm (and dry at the moment) home to live in. We have plenty of food to eat.

I feel very blessed to have been born a US citizen.

My wife is not US born. She was born in a country that had been taken over by communism (that is the end result of the socialism that some think we need in this country). The things her family experienced are very different from what we Americans are used to. It is literally similar to some of the movies you may have watched about people trying to escape communist countries.

I am thankful to live in a free country.

We have the right to disagree (even openly) with our government. We can disagree with the policies the government has. We can openly campaign to change those policies. We also have the responsibility to make sure those we put in office respect that right and the freedoms this country was founded on.

The first settlers celebrated Thanksgiving for a good reason.

In the first year of the settlement, many, many of them died. The socialism they practiced at first led them to nearly total starvation. The idea of spreading the wealth (or in their case the supplies needed to survive) nearly always fails at some point. Their thanksgiving was a celebration of survival. It was a thanks to God for still being alive and for God helping them to be prepared for the coming winter. They were also thankful for the help of the Native American Indians.

When you compare what we have to what others are thankful for – you feel humbled.

Imagine half the people you know dying in one year like the early settlers. Imagine leaving everything you own behind fleeing to an unknown country like my wife’s family. Imagine those in places right now that do not have enough food to eat. Imaging living in a mud hut in poverty like Obama’s brother.

I am truly thankful for what I have been blessed with.

While not everything has been wonderful this year, God has really blessed me in many ways. The rest, God is just preparing bless to later.

God bless you all and I hope you have a happy thanksgiving.

*Update*

One more thing to be thankful for. My brother and his wife just had their third child today and everyone is healthy.