Well, the four-day weekend is done…put a fork in it! (pun intended) Tomorrow marks a triumphant return to the workplace. To me, we’re now in full Christmas mode. Not because the retailers have had the ornaments up for weeks, but because I like to prolong the joy as much as possible. This weekend is a perfect way to get started.

I don’t have a good understanding of many of the Old Testament sacrifices of the nation of Israel, but I do know that they did give an offering of thanksgiving from time to time. Just as the blood sacrifices for the atonement of sins are abolished by the New Testament, so is the means by which we can make the sacrifice of thanksgiving. Now we can do so with praise. Pretty cool, huh? That Bible is really amazing once a guy gets to studying it.

I’m thankful this weekend for my family most of all. The line of family, however, is a blurry one for me. On the one hand I have friends and coworkers that are as close as a brother or sister, and on the other hand I have a father who won’t talk to me because I no longer attend the Catholic church. I count them all as family. My life is so filled with wonderful people that there’s nothing else that compares.

In the more immediate sense of family, I’m thankful for my wife and boys. We’ve been married for just over two years, our first boy is about to turn 1, and our second is just over a week old. We have a wonderful home and, while money is tight, it’s always there. God has provided for us abundantly.

There is not one single prayer for my family that has not been answered according to our requests. My prayers for a wife were answered with a woman whose love and motivations are beyond reproach. Our prayers for a happy, healthy, handsome baby PJ were answered, which was a big relief for me because I’m adopted and don’t know my family medical history. He caught a bit of pneumonia but was able to get over it relatively easily as well, thanks to the dozens of people seeking God on his behalf. Stacy’s pregnancy with little Jonathan started out with frightening complications, which miraculously disappeared from one OB checkup to the next. Jonathan’s birth took five minutes and he’s another happy, healthy, handsome little boy. The list goes on, but those are the big ones. God is faithful, even when we’re not.

During the halftime show of the Super Bowl in 2002, U2 started with prayer from Psalms 51:15: “O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.” Well, I’m going to continue to praise my God, because his blessings are innumerable. To that end, I leave you with one of my favorite verses in the entire Bible, Psalms 66:16…

Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.

I hope your Thanksgiving weekend was a blessing as well, and wish you a fun and joyful Christmas season as well!