GIVING THANKS IN A RECESSION

At this time every year, I ask myself, Who or what am I thankful for?

1st, I am grateful for our Sovereign God who created us. No matter what happens in the stock market, God is on the throne. Our Creator has given us a beautiful world. God is our Heavenly Father who is looking out for us, His people, and this is true no matter what happens.

2nd, I am thankful for our family. Jane is fulfilling her dream to teach in her own classroom. Jonathan & his girlfriend Rachel are planning to be married in 2010. Megan is enjoying college life. Becca has made many Christian friends in Hugo and is doing well in school. The Lord is blessing our family.

3rd, I am grateful for our church family. One advantage of a small church is the opportunity for intergenerational friendships. In previous churches, we have become friends with others in our age group, but here we are blessed with older and younger friends. I enjoy participating in our choir. I believe our Wed. night Bible discussions benefit each other. We can count on each other for help, prayers, and encouragement. We have many gifted members who share time, talents, and treasures with Christ’s Body.

This recession has been hard for many in our community and our nation. People have lost homes, jobs, retirement funds, and struggled in other ways. The prices of food, gas, and other things have increased. It seems like more people are seeking financial help from our Hugo Ministerial Benevolence Fund. Times are hard.

I hope and pray that something good comes out of this. One positive is that people are cutting back on unnecessary expenses and not borrowing as much. I see this as positive because I believe many people were spending and borrowing too much. Our lifestyles had become too free and easy. Some of us needed a recession to reduce our spending and borrowing.

I recently read an article by Michael Graven on the value of thrift. Thrift exalts the prudent use of money and goods and encourages saving. Graven says, over the years, our society exchanged thrift for the promise of instant gratification through debt. "Borrow today what you do not have, to buy what you cannot afford" became a way of life. Graven expresses the hope that Christians can be a light in our world by living free from bondage to excessive consumption and consumer debt.

I hope we can be examples of financial freedom and peace. Those who are entrapped by high debt and limited income, need a word of encouragement during these hard times, and I hope we can be a positive example and influence on them.

Who or what are you thankful for on this Thanksgiving?

Can we share our blessings with those who have not been blessed as we have?

Let us be people of faith, hope, & love in a dark world.

With my prayers,

Pastor Randy