Thanks-Giving

Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation
October 3, 1863

It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord.

We know that by His divine law, nations, like individuals, are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world. May we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war which now desolates the land may be a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people?

We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown.

But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that God 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 as a day of Thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father Who dwelleth in the heavens.

It's A.... for reals this time!

My last post was a tease, I admit. I prayed about opening that envelope (and about every decision on I ever make, big or small) and just felt that I wouldn't be bummed about not having this baby a surprise. On October 24th my mom calls me up and says dad wants to have a BBQ. I say, cool and the light bulb went on! Watching the Duggars I remembered how Josh and Anna found out. It's 12:25pm and I call our local bakery, okay Tim called because I'm a chicken. He told them we would like to have a cake made by 5pm with the color of the gender in the filling. She said well, we stop taking orders at noon but we'll do it! Thank you Lord. Little did they know they'd be the FIRST to know! So I rushed and took the sealed envelope to them. Picked up that special cake and come dessert I told my parents I brought dessert. They had no idea. They really had no idea that at this point no one still knew, boy or girl! I cut the cake, took about 10 minutes because I was so giddy, nervous, scared, excited. And, after all this writing........man I have some great photos and don't know how to put them on! STILL. Okay, still not working so it's a
GIRL!!!!! I was so excited! Girls won! That makes 2 boys and 3 girls. We are so blessed. God knew I had all the stuff. It's been 7 years for a boy, so all that stuff is mostly gone. Now we're thinking of names. Hopefully it won't be too long to get back here. I love it! And now I'm aware of mean bloggers, didn't know people could be so cruel to you if you love Jesus! Okay that's a whole nother (did i mention I'm not a perfect speller?)entry. God bless you!