Thanksgiving and Praise 17  I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice         and call on the name of the Lord. 18  I will pay my vows to the Lord         in the presence of all his people, 19  in the courts of the house of the Lord,         in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord! – Psalm 116:17-19 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)- Thanksgiving celebration will come to us later in the last week of November this year. I hope that this reflection from the heart will provide some perspective as we prepare for the thanksgiving season. When the Pilgrims landed in 1620, there was no Holiday Inns or Comfort Inns or McDonalds or Burger Kings. And of all places to land-the old rocky coast of New England-when they have steered south and landed on the warm shores of Florida. That was a rough winter, too. History tells us that half of them died. Yet in the fall of 1621, Governor William Bradford brought the people together by a proclamation. “For thanksgiving unto God.” They had no television, no football games, no bands and celebrations. Rather, they listened to a three-hour sermon followed by a dinner of venison, fruit and wild turkey. Bradford wrote in History of Plymouth Plantation that the pilgrim fathers were “not a little joyful” when they arrived at “Plymouth. Being thus arrived in good harbor, and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of heavens who had brought them over the fast and furious ocean.” (William Bradford, 1590-1657. Public domain). I’m confident the pilgrims took time to count their blessings for God’s Great Faithfulness to them. Perhaps they sang the words of Psalm 103: Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! 2  Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits” (vv. 1, 2 NKJV). At thanksgiving we need to count our many blessings, genuinely thanking God, for since that first celebration 398 years ago, our nation has come a long way. We have 7 percent of the world’s land area, comprise 4.44 percent of the world’s population but 6 percent of our population control more than one-third of the world’s good and services. Our country is the 3rd or 4th largest wheat producer in the whole world but U.S rank first in crop volume export-about 50% of what we produce. We produce 32.1 percent of the world’s corn and export 20% percent all over the world. About 19.63 percent of world’s meat is produced in the U.S. Our factories produce many goods as Russia and Western Europe combined. Of the world’s 1.2 billion cars, more than 25 percent are found on US highways, more 300 million registered cars. These are only few things that we can count. There are more blessings before us and out there to count. As the hymn suggests: “Praise God from Whom all blessings flow, Praise Him all creatures here below, Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts, Praise, Father, Son and Holy Ghost.” (Thomas ken, 16;37-1710, Public domain). With deepest gratitude, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!