Thanking God for blessings back then, here and now, and those that await us on the other side!

Paw Paw Mac with my nephew Thomas Allen

Yes, Virginia, there is a fellow who calls himself the real Santa, and yes, you did observe correctly because he does need a little less padding for his suit as of this Monday morning, November 29, 2010. Greetings to one and all and welcome back to my world where blood glucose meters reign supreme. What a wonderful holiday it was for us and our clan. I sure hope each of you enjoyed your time off and were able to spend it feasting with family and friends. I know that's not possible for everyone but it is good to have old fashioned traditions that make this time of year so extra special. My nephew put up the photo of himself with his great granddad on Facebook and that is the man I mention so often in my writings. That would be none other than Andrew Rancher McMillan, a giant to so many of us in our family. I saw a Facebook entry written to my sister from a lady who was rehearsing what it was like as a young lady to be a guest at one of our holiday meals. She mentioned Granny Mac's cornbread dressing and homemade chicken and dumplings. My grandmother's cooking was legendary and I am blessed abundantly because my mom picked up right where Granny left off, my sisters are great cooks, and my wife is our own local version of Betty Crocker. Don't go saying anything about all these cooks around my blood monitoring meter because just hearing about this makes him very nervous. Back to my grandfather. He worked hard all his life. He was a man who was faithful to his faith and his family. He was also a man who literally relished in being surrounded by family on special holiday gatherings. I can hear him as everyone stood waiting for the prayer. He looked around and made sure everyone was ready. He then would turn to my grandmother and simply say: "Okay Mama we are ready." She was a great prayer praying granny and when she finished we began, just like we did last Thursday. They were making memories and you can tell they stuck. I hope someday someone will read a note or text message or video greeting from our great grand Madeyn Joy and she will be talking about way back when her Grand Poppy so relished being surrounded by family on special holiday gatherings.

I do hope you all took the time to read our first President's Thanksgiving proclamation. I am not a Washington scholar but I have read several books about him. He was a larger than life figure in real life. He believed in the founding enterprise of our nation and he knew that God was involved. He strongly believed in the providence of God. I have always believed that this is why he was so fearless in battle. The numerous first hand accounts of the many times he had horses shot out from under him or came back with musket ball holes in his clothing attest to the fact that he would abandon himself into the hands of God as he went forth to battle. He was not a well educated man in terms of formal academic training but he did love to write and keep up correspondences with many different individuals. He may have had help on some of his official writings but he was known to labor over them to make sure the words conveyed the message he wanted heard. I dare say that proclamation I shared has more of God's truth in it than what is heard from far too many of our pulpits today. I think it very well portrays the founders' sense of what it means to have religious freedom while at the same time acknowledging the Almighty God as our ultimate source. Thank God for men like Washington who had something to do with you and I being able to have a time set aside called Thanksgiving.

I say all of that to say this: God is not just the God of the past but He is with us even as we take our next breath. For those of us who have answered the call to embrace Jesus as our Savior, He is also with us after we take our last breath. I know I am waxing somewhat nostalgic today and I am not ashamed of the tears that come when I think of the heritage God has provided to me. Those are sweet tears. They are tears of remembrance and tears of anticipation because I will see them again when I reach the other side. There is also an encouragement to get up and get busy in the life we have before us. We will not leave our own legacy by only dwelling on the past. I will never forget a sermon I heard many years ago that God used to get my attention where I lived at that time. Essentially it was a time when I had to face up to the calling God had on my life. If not me, who? If not now, when? If you are a believer you have a calling on your life. It may not be as a pastor or Bible teacher but I can tell you it is a full time calling. How could that be? Because we are 100% born again on a full time basis, therefore, we are to be about our Father's business even as we go about the many activities that fill up our busy lives. Called to make a difference. Called to be His hands extended. Called to care, yes, called to care enough. That is the here and now aspect of answering that great question: "After I leave for world's unknown, what will I leave behind?" That's a pretty good question to start my day off, and yours as well. May God bless us all as we each seek to find our answer to it! Amen.            .....More later.