Some Things I'm Thankful For

Here are some things I'm thankful for. Some of them are sort of "stereotypical" and others are clearly not. Here they are in no particular order:

* God's grace in Christ Jesus, without which I'm a miserable, lost sinner. There's nothing I could have done to merit this, and I continually must lean on this as my only hope. God is incredibly merciful in this matter.

* For my family. For my wonderful mom, my brother, and sister! And all 6 of my nephews/nieces, who are amazing! I've been blessed to be an Uncle for a pretty good chunk of my life, and watching the nephews/nieces grow and mature is excellent! And for my extended family, a great bunch of cousins, uncles, aunts, etc.

* For friends and even casual people passing by who in some way helped me, spoke with me, etc. Especially people who've taken initiative to help me out or perhaps straighten me out sometimes :)

* That winter only lasts a few short months.

* That a bit over a year ago I found a wonderful, solid church and I can gather with wonderful believers there! This includes the delight of observing the Lord's day, taking the Lord's supper every week, singing hymns, listening to sermons, fellowship, prayer meetings, etc.

* Specifically for all of the wonderful brothers and sisters at my church whose support and friendship I benefit from so much!

* For food and drink. Whether it is nice tasty lamb, pizza, a good burger, different ethnic foods, shrimp, fresh fish, barbeques, garlic milkshake (mainly for making everything else taste better), wonderful desserts, salads, pasta, trinidad style hot sauce, hot papers, beer, wine, water, juice, etc. Isn't it just great? Especially when made well and eaten in good company! And trying new restaurants is great too!

* That God has promised His good-will towards me (Rom 8:28), and that everything He sends me works together for my good! In specific, for the several things in my past that might seem to be classified as "worst" but I'm actually seeing how they in some ways may even be truly the best things that ever happened to me!

* For the Bible and the easy access we have to it in our times

* For my particular gifts and talents, and also unique quirks which make us all unique.

* For the measure to which I've been able to enjoy the good life.

* For having a job and living in a prosperous country. I guess I must be thankful for computer technology, which I've almost always made my living off of!

* My health, and the specific ways that I've recovered well in my past.

* That I'm single rather than with a Pro 21:19 or Pro 27:15 woman (look up those verses if you aren't sure what I mean). And conversely, that I haven't signed any Bachelor For Life covenant yet :)

* For women! I could only imagine what the world would be like if there were no women, who are in so many ways a blessing to the world and are complementary to men. There are so many Biblical and modern day examples of women of virtue and what I call "gentle fortitude". Their lives are so inspiring! My hats off to the fairer gender!

* Music (in many different forms) and the way it speaks so powerfully! I'm thinking particularly of musicians whose soulful and genuine work have touched me in deep and meaningful ways. And especially the amazing flexibility and skill with which people can use musical instruments and their voices.

* The Christians around the world who stand strong in the face of persecution, ridicule , and other injustice (and often put me to shame in the process, with my lukewarmness).

* The ease of obtaining Information (the Internet, podcasts, etc.)

* For laughter, jokes, and joviality that so heals the soul from perpetual gloom and seriousness.

* For being Canadian (it ain't all that bad!)

* Animals, plants, and all other forms of beauty found outside! And the ability to walk, bike, and generally enjoy the world around us! And specifically for the Cardinals that grace my yard with their presence every year.

* Warm beaches, oceans, Caribbean getaways in the middle of winter, beach volleyball, and all that goes along with that!

* For being born in an exciting and unprecedentedly strange age of history, and all the excitement and uncertainty that goes with it!

* For fun mind games like chess, scrabble, etc.

* Eschatology (not the study of it, but I mean the anticipation of the realization of it!)

* For the deep, deep honor of being able to bring my requests before the creator of the Universe.

* Books! Books! Eyes to Read! Literature! Good poetry! Fiction! Theology! Philiosophy! Puritans! Non Fiction! Science Fiction! Geeky Stuff! Devotional Stuff! History! Weird and Obscure Books! Library Thing! I'm thankful for it all and how the written word has been so helpful.

I'm probably missing some stuff, but I think this is a pretty good list! I got hyped up just writing it! The sum total of all of this is: God is good. Each item on here, even if it doesn't explicitly mentioned God or "religious" aspects, ultimately is a gracious gift of God that I'm thanking Him for.

A Mandate To Be Thankful

While I'm not American, it is hard to ignore that the American thanksgiving has recently passed by. So, my thoughts turn to the topic of being thankful. Really, being thankful is not something we should rekindle merely once a year. We have repeated instruction in the Bible to be thankful. For example:

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Col 3:15-16)

The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God! (Psalm 50:23)

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! (Psalm 100:4)

Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. (Ephesians 5:4)

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Phillipians 4:6)

May we all obey these calls to thanksgiving!

As a side note: In a recent sermon, Douglas Wilson made an excellent point about Jesus Christ's thankfulness. Jesus thanked God for the cross even before He asked if He could be spared it and before He actually went through all that agony! With that pattern, we ought to thank the Lord for good things and even for hard and terrible things, thanking Him for the deliverance ahead of time!

Thanksgiving Thought..Meat Isn't Murder When Cooked To Perfection

Bear with me here...The first part of this post is "top heavy", but perhaps you will find this interesting..On occasion I've read books by Alan Watts. I'm an evangelical Reformed Christian, so I obviously don't agree with his eastern philosophy/religion. However, he was one of the most skilled Western teachers of Eastern religion, and I've found familiarizing myself with his material very helpful in understanding Eastern religion. I've felt a great deal of ignorance regarding eastern religion and philosophy, and reading Watts has helped in a small measure. The clarity of Watts' presentation is very condusive to the sort of understanding that a Christian apologist would need to have. Part of this is due to his sharp wit and and clear communication skills that he utilizes to explain Eastern philosophy to people brought up in a Western world.

Alan parts ways with many many Eastern religionists over the acceptability of killing animals. I found this particular gem in a book of his entitled "Does It Matter?" It is a response to the predicament of humans killing animals. Certainly I'm opposed to the underlining world view he is continuing to develop through this book, but it is sure interesting to see Watts take the "don't hurt a fly" advocates to task from an Eastern philosophy perspective. And Watts is actually thinking more consistently than the other Eastern religionists who claim we shouldn't hurt a fly. That is because from a consistent Eastern perspective, there is no category to describe what taking life really is. From an Eastern perspective it is just part of the game, the "grand play", the great facade of the Universal.

Here is the quote where he discusses his comfort with killing animals for food in a humane sense:

"The first is we admit that deciding to live is deciding to kill, and make no bones about it. For if I have really made up my mind to kill I can do it expertly. Consider the agony of being halfway decapitated by a reluctant executioner. Death must be a swift as possible, and the hand that holds the rifle or wields the knife must be sure...

The second is that every form of life killed for food must be husbanded and cherished on the principle of 'I love you so much I could eat you,' from which it should follow that 'I eat you so much that I love you.'...Whatever is unloveable on the plate was unloved in the kitchen or on the farm...

The third has been expressed by Lin Yutang as follows: 'If a chicken has been killed, and it is not cooked properly, that chicken has died in vain.' The very least I can do for a creature that died for me is to honor it, not with an empty ritual, but by cooking it to perfection and relishing it to the full."


To the Eastern religionist who deals consistently with his own ideas, eating meat isn't murder, but rather the absorption of one part of the facade into another. This is why Watts can say of his eating meat, "Any animal that becomes me should enjoy itself as me". Kudos to Watts for dealing consistently with his own philosophy. Too bad his worldview isn't true, though!

Watts' justification for eating meat comes both from three basic sources: 1. the inevitability of causing animal death (even if we were vegetarians), 2. The fact that from an Eastern philosophy, one can't strictly deliniate between plant and animal life, and 3. If all is part of the Universal, as the Eastern religionist holds, you can't hold "IT" culpable for swallowing up itself.

I, on the other hand, justify eating meat in a different way, but come to a similar conclusion..that it is OK to kill animals for food if it is done with a sense of good stewardship and not excessively torturous. Part of this arises from my belief in the distinction between humans and animals. Another part of it arises from my belief in a dominion mandate. But, in the New Testament, I have additional guidance when the Apostle Paul says:

"every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving" (I Timothy 4:4)

So, now, on this thanksgiving weekend, I can enjoy turkey and thank God for such a creature. Lo, is its body shape not particularly suited to being edible? The provision of it for food is not murder, and if cooked well, it isn't even a waste. I can eat it with a good conscience toward God, knowing that if I am a good steward and do it all to the honor and glory of God, I am honoring the turkey's proper purpose, and more importantly the wonderful triune God who created the turkey.