Our first president, George Washington, issued a National Day of Thanksgiving Proclamation on October 3, 1789. It was beautifully written and acknowledged our dependence on God and our gratefulness to Him. It begins with these words: "Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor..."

Our nation continues this tradition by setting aside this special day each year as a Day of Thanksgiving for all God has done for us. We are a blessed people and there is much for which we can be grateful.

Psalm 95:1-3 (NLT) says, "Come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us give a joyous shout to the rock of our salvation! Let us come before him with thanksgiving. Let us sing him psalms of praise. For the Lord is a great God, the great King above all gods."

For the Christian, every day should be a day of thanksgiving to our God. He is our provider, our healer, our savior and our redeemer.

George Washington also wrote in a letter to John Armstrong dated March 11, 1792: "I am sure that never was a people, who had more reason to acknowledge a Divine interposition in their affairs, than those of the United States; and I should be pained to believe that they have forgotten that agency, which was so often manifested during our Revolution, or that they failed to consider the omnipotence of that God who is alone able to protect them."

Even in the midst of challenging times, may we never forget the blessings that come from above. Happy Thanksgiving!