well said jimi we had our last month hope ypu all enjoy this thanksgiving. from your friends from the north dave
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Desert Eagle Sent: November 22, 2006 9:18 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [VFB] True Spirit Of Thanksgiving The only fishing related part is, the Indians tought them how to fish, (probably wet flies...;-)) Jimi He deserves our thanks Posted: November 22, 2006 1:00 a.m. Eastern By Judge Roy Moore © 2006 Thanksgiving Day, like so many holidays, seems to have lost its original meaning. The Pilgrims would be surprised to learn that the tradition they began has now become a day to thank the Indians and to enjoy turkey, football and Christmas preparations. The first Thanksgiving celebration in 1621 did involve feasting with Indians, but it was about thanking God for His providential hand so evident in their endeavor and, indeed, their very survival. To appreciate why the Pilgrims were so thankful, we must understand the difficulties they had been through the year before. In the summer of 1620, the English settlers left Europe in the Mayflower bound for the fledgling Virginia colony. Instead, they were blown off-course to Plymouth Rock at Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The records of William Bradford, governor of Plymouth Plantation, describe the Pilgrims' arrival in November 1620: Being thus arrived in a good harbor, and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of Heaven who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof, again to set their feet on the firm and stable earth, their proper element. That first winter, almost half of their number died from starvation and disease. In the springtime of 1621, however, an English-speaking Indian named Squanto walked into their settlement and, among other blessings, showed them how to hunt and fish and to plant corn and other crops. When the harvest came, they had food in abundance. A day of public Thanksgiving was declared, and the friendly Wampanoag tribe was invited to join the Pilgrims. After a moving thanksgiving prayer by William Brewster, they enjoyed three days of turkey, venison, hoecakes, vegetables from the English gardens, and fruit pies from dried fruit the Indians had prepared. Many competed in shooting contests, wrestling matches and foot races. Two years later, Gov. Bradford publicly proclaimed another Thanksgiving celebration for Nov. 29, 1623, asking that all Pilgrims, with your wives and little ones, do gather at the meeting house ... there to listen to the pastor and render thanksgiving to Almighty God for all His blessings. Thanksgiving always was and shall forever be about thanking God for our blessings. Our first national Presidential Proclamation acknowledged a "day of public thanksgiving and prayer to ... Almighty God." President George Washington declared it was "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 favor." With the encouragement of Congress, Washington set aside Thursday, Nov. 26, 1789, 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. ... Thanksgiving Day proclamations were made by many presidents, but it was not until the time of President Abraham Lincoln that it became an annual event. In 1863, in the middle of the Civil War, Lincoln turned the attention of our divided nation to "the Source from which the blessings of fruitful years and healthful skies come" and the "ever-watchful providence of Almighty God." Lincoln called on citizens "in every part of the United States ... to observe the last Thursday of November as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens." Every president since Lincoln has made similar Thanksgiving Day proclamations, and in 1941, Congress made the fourth Thursday of every November a national holiday. While the date has not changed, it seems that recent decades have transformed Thanksgiving into a generic time of "giving thanks" or of "being thankful" for our blessings, but without giving due credit to "the Source" from Whom those blessings come. Some might deny the spiritual battle that rages around us to separate our nation from its godly foundation. However, as Christ is taken from Christmas, and Easter become more about hunting colored eggs than celebrating the resurrection of our Lord, the secularization of our "Holy Days" becomes much more apparent. This Thanksgiving is a great opportunity for our nation and for each of us to turn our hearts and prayers to the "Father of lights," thanking Him for "every good and every perfect gift" that we so easily take for granted.
