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It’s Thanksgiving Day. I have already prepared seven home-cooked meals in this house this week. We are about to smoke and roast our second turkey of the week. So far, besides the turkey, we’ve eaten pork, greens, beans, sweet potatoes. broccoli, rice, corn, pecans, pumpkin, wheat, sugar, eggs, milk, oranges, pineapples, bananas, grapes, apples and various spices. All of these have been prepared to make various side dishes and desserts, but this is the list of the straight-from-God raw materials upon which the menus for the week have been based. I knew it already, but when you boil any endeavor in life down to a succinct list of raw materials used for its accomplishment, your dependency on God is always so stark and obvious–right there before your eyes in black and white. Without Him there’s just no starting point for whatever it is you hope to accomplish. Many, at the end of the day, will be given credit or even credit themselves for great goals reached. They may fail to acknowledge the reality that the resources for material success are all dispensed by His mercy. They may even deny His existence. But when every knee bows they will understand their utter dependency on the Lord. Let us come before His presence today and every day with thanksgiving. Let us sing to the Lord with songs of praise (Psalm 95:2).

 During seasons of decorating, we sometimes skip the meditating. During seasons of eating, we fall behind in reading. During times of numerous cares, we’re short on time for prayers. Weary from over-shopping, we sometimes don’t think of stopping to just be still and know that He is God. It’s during this time of the year that we may be tempted to fall behind in our study plans and, for those of us who are Digging Deep, it may become difficult to stay in the game. May I encourage you to overcome the temptation to let your Bible study fall by the wayside?  All worthwhile accomplishments come with obstacles. All winners have days when they’re tempted to throw in the towel. All achievers can look back at points of resistance…times when they had to get over formidable “humps” to stay on track. May I encourage you to be patient with yourself if you have fallen behind in your study? Catch up a little each day till you are back on track. Don’t despair and give up on the whole project. Whether it’s Digging Deep or some other study plan you’re following, don’t get way-laid by the holidays! I hope you don’t, but even if you have to leave a portion of the study undone, don’t give up on the whole plan just because you had to miss a portion of it. Keep striving. Keep getting together with your group or study partner or taking your time alone with the Lord. Just decide that you will not let the devil get the better of you during this holiday season! I’m just like you. I’ve gotten a little ahead on the physical feasting this week and a little behind on the spiritual food. I’m determined to balance this out before the podcast next week. I hope you’ll be there next Tuesday night.

One more thing… Glenn and I have put together some holiday bundles offering some pretty deep discounts for some of the most popular items on the website. There’s a family bundle, a teen bundle and a kids’ bundle. Our idea is that perhaps these bundles will help you with your Christmas list. Know a home-schooler, a newly-wed or engaged couple, some young parents, and a child? You could get all four gifts, plus more from one bundle. We love giving spiritual materials for gifts. It comforts us to know that when the gift is opened, perhaps the heart can be, too. Go to https://thecolleyhouse.org/store

Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy the bounty for body and soul!