Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope you are able to have a day of rest and celebration with your friends and family. We are spending today with my mom’s family and tomorrow with my dad’s family (although I have to work until 3pm tomorrow 🙁 ) But today is a day for rest and reflection, and thanking God for all the ways he has blessed us this year.

This morning, as I was scrolling through Facebook, I saw that someone had posted part of Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving proclamation from 1863, when Thanksgiving was first established as the last Thursday in November. I looked it up and read the whole thing, and I was struck by the fact that he wrote it during the Civil War. If there was ever a time when it would be hard to be thankful, that would be the time. But still, even during the darkest period in our country’s history, we were blessed with a President who pointed us back to God and reminded us why it’s so important to be thankful.

He listed the blessings from the growth of freedom we had experienced since the beginning of our nation, and then reminded the people that “…No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.”

We may not be in the middle of a civil war today, but there is plenty of strife and struggle and suffering in the world, in our country, and maybe even in your own life. Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation reminds us that there is more to Thanksgiving than eating turkey, watching football, and spending time with our family. Those are all good things, and we should enjoy them when we can. But Thanksgiving is also a day to thank God for His blessings, ask for His forgiveness, and ask for His help when life gets hard. It’s an opportunity to humble ourselves, ask Him to heal us, ask Him to bring us closer to Him, and to thank Him for fulfilling His purposes for us, even when we can’t see the purpose yet. I don’t know about you, but that’s a reminder I needed today.

What are you doing to celebrate Thanksgiving?

I don’t know about you, but I am so glad this day is finally here. This campaign season is finally over, and not a moment too soon.

This has been kind of a tough election season for me. I worked really hard for one candidate in the primary, but he didn’t make it. But really, this has been a tough election season for all of us, hasn’t it? We are faced with two of the most disliked and untrustworthy candidates in our history. It’s a difficult choice for anyone, but especially for Christians. No one can dispute the fact that neither major party candidate is a good role model for our children, or that neither of them have the characteristics that make a moral and respectable leader. We have reached a new low, and I find myself in the position of not being able to vote for either one of them.

So where does that leave me, and the millions or at least thousands of other people who have serious problems with the candidates? Some people may decide that they have to vote for one candidate because they dislike the other one so much. Some people may decide not to vote at all, or to vote on every race except for president. Then some, like me, may decide to write in the name of a candidate they truly believe in (or vote third party if that’s an option in their state). What I have come to realize is that it’s a personal decision for each of us, between us and God, and it isn’t something we should allow to anger us or divide us. Whatever happens today, we will wake up tomorrow with our lives basically unchanged, at least for now. After the debates, the commercials, and the arguing are over, we will have to come together as a nation, with love and respect for our fellow believers and citizens, no matter who we voted for.

In the past, whenever I’ve heard someone say, “God’s in control,” or “Just trust God no matter what the outcome is,” I’ve agreed outwardly, but I’ve always inwardly thought those ideas were a cop-out. Honestly, I still do think some people use them as excuses not to get involved, but I’ve come to realize the truth in these statements even more this year. Yes, it’s important to be involved in the political process, to be informed and to vote for candidates who share our Biblical values, but God can work through anyone. That’s especially important to remember this year, when neither of the candidates are great options.

Something else I’ve wrestled with is that America’s happiness is not God’s priority. I do believe that our nation was founded on His principles and that He has blessed us greatly, but we can sometimes forget that His goal for us is sanctification as a church body and as individuals, not necessarily a return to our Constitutional principles or “making America great again.” God can use even a “bad” president to accomplish His purposes, for the nation or the church, to show us mercy or judgement, or to grow the church in the face of persecution. So while we have a responsibility to vote for the candidate we believe would make the best president, we don’t need to worry if they don’t win. After all, God is the one who raises up and brings down rulers and who gives them authority. We can trust that He knows what He’s doing.

So today, please go vote. Vote for a presidential candidate who shares your values, whether they are part of a major party, a third party, or even if you have to write them in. Remember what John Quincy Adams said: “Duty is ours; results are God’s.” Do your duty and vote, then leave the results in God’s hands, and trust that He will accomplish His purpose in us, through us, and for us. Then, no matter who wins, our duty is to pray for our new leaders, and for our country. That is the most important thing we can do.

I can’t believe it’s November already! A lot more leaves have fallen off the trees, and it’s starting to feel more like winter is coming. It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is this month, and Christmas is next month. I feel like I have a lot to do to get ready for the holidays, and the fact that it’s November makes me feel like I don’t have much time! So this is a perfect time to check in on my goals for last month and the upcoming month.

Here are the goals I set for October:

1. Write at least two blog posts per week. Out of four weeks in October, there were two weeks when I posted once and two weeks when I posted twice, so I almost accomplished this goal.
2. Read five books (two non-fiction). I ended up reading 10 books, but none of them non-fiction. Oh well 🙂
3. Set up a budget. I haven’t done this yet because I may be getting a second job, so that would change my numbers.
4. Work on a machine embroidery project. Technically I did work on a project, but I didn’t finish it. I’ve been working on designs, so at least that’s a step in the right direction!
5. Plan a trip to see my sister. I drove down to visit her last weekend for her fall break, and it was so much fun! I’m really glad I had the chance to go. I also bought a plane ticket that I got a really good deal on so I can fly down and drive back home with her before Thanksgiving break. I’m really excited for that trip!

Well, I only ended up fully accomplishing one goal…so I guess that means there’s room for improvement in November 😉

1. Write at least two blog posts per week. I’m going to try this one again and work on doing better than I did last month!
2. Read 8 books. I have a lot of new books that I got for my birthday, so I’m going to forget about the non-fiction books this month and just read for fun 🙂
3. Set up a budget. I’m going to decide on a budget this month, no matter what happens with my job search. I’m going to need it with Christmas shopping coming up!
4. Finish my machine embroidery project. This has been on my to-do list for a while, and I do enjoy working on it, so I need to make it a priority!
5. Get a good start on buying/making Christmas presents. I know this isn’t an incredibly specific goal, but my general idea is that I want to at least figure out what I’m going to give to people, and then start shopping or making things. It’s so much more fun when it’s not last minute!

So there are my goals for November. Let’s hope I do a better job with these than I did with October’s!

What are your goals for November? Have you started Christmas shopping yet? 🙂