Happy Thanksgiving! What an absolutely wonderful day. No shopping, no wrapping or putting together of anything. Just family, friends and football. Love and friendship celebrated with that perfectly cooked bird and all the trimmings, followed up with a dessert of your choice. Then a little Turkey Bowl action, the annual backyard football game. This event was first played to create room for my favorite, cold turkey sandwiches and the dessert you missed on the first go around.

As you settle in at the table and pull up your chair, don’t forget the most important part of the day, saying Grace.

We have so many things to be thankful for in our great Country each and every day. Take the time to teach the children and young folks a few of these during your Thanksgiving Day blessing. Here is a preview of my message.

Thank you God for our Savior Jesus Christ. Through him all good is possible.

Thank you for the Great Nation in which we live. Its unlimited beauty and bounty of natural resources. Let us never take it for granted.

Thank you for the brave servicemen and women who protect and preserve our freedom. Without them we could not enjoy the simplest of things. Please keep them safe and provided for at home and abroad.

Please help our leaders to guide us in the name of Good. To resist evil and corruption. To strive for peace but to always protect our Homeland and defend the innocent.

Please provide solace and comfort for those that have an empty chair at their table, are fighting illness, tragedy, or might just need a helping hand during a tough time.

And thanks for bringing family and friends together to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday and for the wonderful feast of Autumn and those who prepared it.

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

Now let’s eat!

Your Thanksgiving Day blessing is a personal choice. The most important thing is taking the time and bowing your head. There are many traditional prayers that families offer that have become their annual blessing. The saying of the Lord’s Prayer after Grace is another great way to offer additional thanks and praise. The holding of hands around the table is a great show of Christian unity. Going around the table and having everyone express something they are most grateful for is always interesting.

The truth is there’s no wrong way to say Grace, only what is best for each family or gathering. The most important thing is the sincerity and offering of gratitude. A child’s reciting of, “God is great; God is good, let us thank him for our food, by His hands let us be fed, thank you O’Lord for our daily bread,” at the family table may be the most special Thanksgiving Day prayer possible.

Dave’s Remembrance II

The turkey running for his life can mean only one thing, Black Friday and the Christmas shopping season are upon us. The Salvation Army is already working hard at it; ringing the bells and making sure those familiar Red Kettles are set up at every shopping destination.

I have always been a believer in the work of the Salvation Army. They do more good in our community than space allows me to write. Most importantly the money dropped in those Red Kettles and donated to our local Salvation Army stays right here at home, to help anyone in our area that needs it.

A lifetime friend of mine Dave Sechler, shared basketball and the importance of the “Sal” with so many of us. Sech left us much too soon. Last year in honor of him, his life and all the good work he had done for so many, I asked you to make a donation in a “Red Kettle Remembrance of Dave Sechler.” If you would like to read more about this from my story from last year it (12/10/2014) can be viewed on our website.

The response was overwhelming and I heard so many stories about Dave and the good things he did for so many along with those about basketball and humorous happenings involving him and his days at the “Sal”.

Together we raised just south of $10,000, what a great way to remember a good man!

So to keep ringing that bell like Dave would want us to, we are going to make it an annual tradition. My Webb Weekly Staff and I will match all donations made to the Salvation Army like last year. To make it easy on your generosity there are three ways to remember Dave and help our community.

We will again have a Red Kettle at our Webb Weekly office in Southside. Drop by and see Nickie, Kristy, Steph or myself. Say hello and we’ll thank you personally and give you a Webb Weekly coffee mug for your kindness.

If you make an annual offering to the Salvation Army, on the envelope mark it “Remembering Dave” and we will match your gift of caring. And lastly, if you put your donation in an envelope marked “Remembering Dave” and drop it in any Red Kettle while doing your Christmas shopping we will equal your gift to the Salvation Army.
Thank you so much for your caring, supporting the Salvation Army and helping to continue and honor Dave’s work.

God Bless America.