I hope all of you my blog readers will have a Blessed and Thankful Thanksgiving! 

What is Thanksgiving truly about and what kind of holiday should it be. I have posted a video that talks about that along with the written transcript on my faith based blog. Here is the link  to the posting GodLess Thanksgiving 11-26-09.

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 of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLICK THANKSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors 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 favorable 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 enable 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 has been pleased to confer upon us.

(Read all of George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789.)

by the President of the United States of America

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful years and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the Source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.

(I don't believe we know for sure if President Lincoln ever came to put his faith in Jesus but this still is something we should read. Do read  all of it 1863 Lincoln Presidential Proclamation.)

(Here is a great Thanksgiving story even though my guess is this man doesn't take part in the Thanksgiving holiday. The story should also make all of us think.) 

A man thought to have been in a vegetative state for 23 years was conscious throughout the entire ordeal.

 Rom Houben of Belgium was diagnosed as being in a vegetative state after a car wreck, but doctors now know the 46-year-old man was aware of his surroundings, heard what was being said, but couldn't respond. He has been provided with equipment to read and type since this discovery, and with therapy, he is now able to communicate. Bobby Schindler of Terri's Foundation reacts to the news.

 
"This isn't the first time we've heard this or we've read that something like this has happened where someone has emerged from what doctors were saying...was a persistent vegetative state, and I think it illustrates why we need to stop dehydrating to death these people who are labeled in this highly subjective diagnosis," Schindler contends.

(Read more of the above story  right here.)

The American Family Association (AFA) is suspending its Christmas-season boycott of Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic.

The suspension of the boycott is in effect until at least Saturday. A Gap official has reported to the pro-family group that it will unveil a new Christmas-themed commercial this weekend. AFA says it is suspending the boycott "in good faith" until it has an opportunity to view the new commercial.
 
The boycott was initiated after the clothing company refused to use the word "Christmas" in its ads and promotions. Also, some people were upset over a Gap television ad that mentioned a host of other holiday traditions along with Christmas.

(As I have posted before I am not a fan of these boycotts trying to make a store use Merry Christmas. Think about it the one who's birthday we honor at Christmas do you think he wants his  name used to sell such and such game, movie, book, etc. and that he is concerned that some company isn't wishing people Merry Christmas. I think what would make him more please is if followers of Jesus went to the places who don't say Merry Christmas and showed them Jesus through words and actions. Don't boycott instead touch hearts and souls for the Lord. Read about the above issue Gap boycott on hold.)

It's the story of a nine-year-old campaign endorsement, a vote on the Senate floor and a long-term political friendship between an Iowa Republican and a Nebraska Democrat.

Clashes over the Senate health care bill apparently have no bounds.

Iowa, governor hopeful Bob Vander Plaats criticized former Gov. Terry Branstad, a fellow Republican, on Monday for endorsing Nebraska Democrat Ben Nelson in his 2000 campaign for the U.S. Senate. (Pinning Nelson vote on Branstad?  )

That endorsement, Vander Plaats said, helped Nelson eke out a 15,000-vote victory over his opponent, which gave him his first Senate win and put him in the position to advance the health care bill last Saturday.

“Ben Nelson gave Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid the vote he needed to get the 60 votes to steamroll Republican opposition,” said Vander Plaats.

“Whatever happens from here on out, Terry Branstad is going to have to accept some responsibility, because he was a very active supporter of Ben Nelson in his first campaign for the Senate.”

(As a Nebraska voter I believe Ben Nelson vote last Saturday night was wrong and I hope he pays for it at the next election. However,  I don't think we can blame Terry Branstad who lives in Iowa. At the same time we all need to be thinking about what those who we put in office will do. Ben Nelson last Saturday night put his party ahead of what was best for  the voters of his state and every American. He voted to raise taxes and for all tax payers to pay for abortions. He can never again  tell the pro life voters of Nebraska with a straight face that he is pro life. )