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Wednesday, February 1, 2012

AFTER CHRISTMAS IS A SEASON OF THANKSGIVING


If Christmas is the season of giving, it seems only appropriate that the following season should be the season of thank you.  If I didn’t think that people would revolt at extending the holiday season I would say that thanksgiving belongs in the middle of January.  Everyone has received a lot from many and so now is the time for thank you cards.  Alicia and I certainly have a lot to be thankful for this year, with generous gifts given to us from this congregation.  I have discovered over the years that I am slow at writing thank you cards.  This does not mean that I am not thankful, instead it simply means that it is a practice that I did not get into the habit of as a child.  This is why I was happy to finally finish thank you notes only six months after Alicia and I were married.
There are different ways to be thankful, though. I personally like to be able to go to the people and thank them for their wonderful gifts. For many children, you can see their thankfulness not necessarily in their works and actions toward the giver, instead in their words and action toward others about the generous gift.  Many a Sunday School teacher has experienced this first hand. The young boy that brings in his new toy wanting to show off the treasure given to him by Grandma and Grandpa is another great example.  He shows what is important to him to those people in his life that are important to him: his friends, his family, and to those he respects.
It seems appropriate then that in the church the season that follows Christmas is Epiphany.  A major focus of Epiphany is ministry; the telling of others what God has given us.  We have been given everything through the child that came at Christmas. There are many ways to give thanks unto the Lord.  We worship and adore him here in church, giving thanks to him.  We also have the chance to be like the young child again, telling others; “Hey look at what has been given to you and remember a Savior who is Christ the Lord.

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