HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

"FOR EACH NEW MORNING"

For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food,

For love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

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"TO THEE, O LORD, OUR HEARTS WE RAISE"

To thee, O Lord, our hearts we raise

in hyms of adoration

To Thee bring sacrifice of praise

with shouts of exultation.

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Bright robes of gold the fields adorn,

the hills with joy are ringing

The valleys stand so thick with corn

that even they are singing.

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An now, on this our festal day,

Thy bounteous hand confessing

Upon Thine altar, Lord, we lay

the first fruits of Thy blessing.

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By Thee all human souls are led

with gifts of grace supernal

Thou, Who gives us our daily bread,

give us the bread eternal.

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We bear the burden of the day,

and often toil seems dreary

But labor ends with sunset ray,

and rest comes for the weary.

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My we, the angel reaping over,

stand at the last accepted,

Christ's golden sheaves, forevermore

to garners bright elected.

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O blessed is that land of God

where saints abide forever

Where golden fields spread fair and broad,

where flows the crystal river.

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The strains of all its holy throng

with our today are blending

Thrice blessed is that harvest song

which never hath and ending.

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"PSALM 100 - MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE TO THE LORD"

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the lands!

Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into God's presence with singing!

Know that the Lord is God! It is He that made us, and we are His;

We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise!

Give thanks to Him, bless His name!

For the Lord is good;

His steadfast love endures for ever,

And His faithfulness to all generations.

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"ON THIS DAY OF THANKSGIVING"

On this Day of Thanksgiving, may God rest your heart and mind, may He bless and keep you and your family, and may He continue to extend His blessings upon our great nation, guiding us one and all by His Word. May He grant us patience and perseverance in the unepected turns and tests of our age. May He impress upon us the spirit of our forefathers, their soul-deep craving for freedom, expressed with courage and wisdom, as we meet the particular challenges our our days.

And let us always approach our Heavenly Father with true thankfulness not just today, but everyday not only in our triumphs, but also in our trials by acknowledging our utter dependence on Him to supply our wants and needs, for in Him we live and move and have our beeing. Even self-reliance is, at its root, reliance on Him.

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE!