4One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts.
Yummmmm….I can almost smell the turkey! The big feast is less than a week away, it’s time to plan. How many guests will we have? What foods will we make? Get out the recipes, the special dishes we use for Thanksgiving, the napkins and tablecloth, the place cards with all the names and, the ‘illustration and explanation’ of the first Thanksgiving that I always give. Then, during dessert I ask each at the table to write on the vinyl tablecloth what we are thankful for this year. Remember to get the sharpie pens!
Thinking back to last Thanksgiving, we did not even know the name ‘covid-19’. We were happy to be thankful for our ancestors who came to the ‘new world’ and survived the first winter, with God’s help. We thanked God for our own health, new jobs, new teeth (my grandson), financial blessings, successful operations, and on and on. Now fast-forward to 2020.
We have just been told by our governor that no more than 10 can be at our dinner? I have 11 in the family. Who do I exclude, my 85 year old Mother? We were told we need to wear our masks in the house, even though breathing in carbon dioxide and our own moisture for an extended time, can cause pneumonia? I am just wondering….since when can a government official tell us what to do in our own home? We are still a free country, aren’t we?
Over the last several months of this pandemic we have had a taste of what it feels like to live in a socialist government. Mandatory masks, social distancing, only a certain number allowed in stores, no eat -in restaurants. All for our own good-of course. Yet, we see inconsistencies in these restrictions. The people throwing out these restrictions, are not catching them themselves! In socialist/communist governments, that’s a tell…”you obey, we don’t have too!” Please take a moment and think about how you felt when you first had these restrictions imposed on you? I, for one, thought that wearing a mask was uncomfortable, hard to breathe in, hard to see with, as my glasses always steamed up. Yet, as time went on, we began getting into a routine. Bring the mask everywhere. Have several so you are always prepared with a clean one. Make, or buy one for each season, occasion or outfit. We became de-sensitized to the discomfort. The second ‘tell’ in socialist/communist governments…de-sensitize people to the discomfort of a new normal.
How about the stores? At first when the toilet paper, the bread, yeast, sanitizers, even peroxide became a scarce commodity, we voiced our annoyance at the clerks, the managers and owners. They did not deserve that! It was ‘big brother’ controlling the ebb and flow of commerce. Another tactic of communism. Keep them dependent on the source.
We saw a very revealing movie last night at a church gathering. If you can get it on ‘net-flix’ I highly recommend it. It is not recommended for children, or the faint of heart. It is eye-opening. Dinesh D’Souza is the producer. It is “Trump Card.” Some of the socialist mandates I just gave you were in the movie, and much more. In this world, as it is now, we must take responsibility for our own lives. Think, evaluate, monitor. There will be risk, but someone will have to take a risk.
I think of Corrie ten Boom, Schindler and so many others who risked their own lives to save ‘some’ during the Holocaust. Are we there yet? No, thank God, yet we don’t know how close we are. Remember, the ‘body will never go where the mind has not been’. If your mind thinks about these ‘possibilities’ and then has a plan, and it does not happen. No problem! On the other hand, if we do not think it could happen, we will be unprepared, caught off guard, at someone else’s mercy!
So, with the ‘new’ mandates and restrictions from our governor for this Thanksgiving, you have a choice. As for me and my home, we choose freedom! The freedom that is guaranteed in the constitution. Freedom is a fragile thing! I believe we saw how quickly it can be taken from us with covid restrictions. Our forefathers knew what it was like to live under the tyranny of government. Have we lived without it for so long that we have forgotten how oppressive it is?
“The deterioration of every government begins with the decay of the principle upon which it was founded.” (Warning from President Ronald Regan at his inaugural address)
This is as true today as it was back in 1748
First Amendment. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Let this be a reminder that we must always be aware, alert, and ready to defend our freedom-at any cost!
BLESSINGS ON YOUR THANKS-GIVING, and remember to give the thanks to the ONE who gave it all-JESUS!
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