Thanksgiving USA

This morning I am thinking about recent and past experiences and things said.  It makes me so very thankful that I and those that I love and care about have been blessed with being born in the United States of America.  Just recently, daughter Amy has been helping me with a computer problem of installing some programing in our church laptop, so we can provide Power Point to our Worship Services.  This required Microsoft technical assistance.  those folks seem to be living and working in India.  Amazing they don't celebrate our Thanksgiving!  That got me thinking of how fortunate WE are!  I think our country has a lot to be thankful for, with our FREEDOMS of living among the top of the list.  It is our FREEDOM from interference from government that was a basic tenant from the beginning.  It is unfortunately being eroded away, a little piece at a time.  Our FREEDOM to choose our education, our FREEDOM to choose where we live and how we live.  We choose what occupation we want to have, and what we want to do with that information.  As Americans we used to have those decisions available to us.  We used to be responsible for our own actions and the repercussions of those actions, should they affect someone else adversely.  What went wrong?

It has been creeping up on us for years, a little bit taken away at a time, the doers being forced to provide for those that CHOOSE not to participate in our FREEDOM of choice on how we can provide for ourselves and our family.  The more the Government provides for the things in our daily lives the less FREEDOM we as individual American Citizens have.  Take care of those who are mentally or physically incapable of taking care of themselves is one of the basic byproducts of this great country of ours.  Those that CAN'T are taken care of.  Those that CAN need to take their own responsibility to provide for themselves.  The Bible even addresses this point.

I believe that we need to take our own responsibilities unto ourselves and provide for our families the fruits of our own labors.  The FIRST 10% of our earnings goes to GOD.  That means the total before taxes and expenses.  That is a Positive, tried and true tenant that we have found in our lives.  It was scary at first, but with faith that GOD had provided us the ability to earn a living, and gave us those directions of what to do with our fruits, it indeed WORKS!  The more you give the more God provides.  What a FREEDOM that has brought to us.  We have been rewarded with a loving family, a loving church family, a joy of helping and giving of the talents (both definitions) HE has given us to share with others.

One of my points are that today, we in the United States of America, have been blessed because our country was founded on Biblical principles.  It was founded on our government was there to protect us from outside interference.  We as a people have, on the most part, lived up to our end of the process.  We DO provide for those that CAN'T provide for themselves.  We HAVE established learning centers to equip ourselves for a productive and healthy life, to raise our families, provide assistance for those who are struggling, and to train others to attain their personal dreams.

In the process, Satan has reared his ugliness and is morphing the system to encourage those that CAN provided for themselves if they choose, but REFUSE to participate in the blessings and gifts that GOD has provided for themselves, making the American Dream much more difficult for those that want to be responsible for themselves to lift themselves up, because the system is being overloaded with the LAZY and the unwilling to suck the funding from the system.  Does that make sense to you?  I have no problem at all contributing to programs to assist the "THOSE THAT ARE UNABLE" but NOT to those that are leaching from the system because the WON'T take their personal responsibilities seriously.  We see those that are doing that, strutting around in $200 Tennis Shoes, playing Xbox games, and driving expensive cars, fancy hairdos that expensive necklaces, etc. ALL on welfare money . . . that makes no sense to me.  Funding is being misused that could be going to educate and equip those that WANT to uphold their end of the picture by being a productive person, responsible for themselves and their family.  The bloat in the government is caused by GREED.  Pure and simple.  We need to change that.

Can we get back to the basics?  Or is it too late?  We have millions of folks just wanting a chance to succeed and do what is right, but are unable to get that education, job training, etc. because of lack of funding because of those who are abusing the system.

In spite of all our problems, challenges and abuses, the United States of America is still the BEST country in the world.  The fact that we are attempting to provide for those that can't says volumes for our basic nature as Americans.  It is THAT, that we can be thankful at this time of celebration and contemplation.  We are thankful that AMERICA is the land of opportunity.  We are thankful that GOD is still a part of our nation.  We are thankful that HE hasn't given up on us yet.  Today, we take a few moments and think of all the many blessings we have, because GOD is the basis of all that we have.  We have not done this on our own.  We are here, celebrating our THANKFULNESS that GOD has given us the ability to help ourselves and for our country as a whole to help so many others in the world that HE has provided.  Whenever there is a need in this world, it is usually the United States of America that has provided relief, help and rebuilding to that country, etc.   No, we haven't done it on our own.  That would be impossible.  But with GOD we as individuals and as a Nation can do many good things.  For THAT, we can be Thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Remember,
Keep singing, keep laughing and keep smiling

Blessings,
Gary