Latest / Our Community, Our Mission / Ep #294 – Gratitude In Every Season

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Ep #294 – Gratitude In Every Season · Our Community, Our Mission

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Dear Heavenly Father, we uh Lord just thank you for this day and your blessings and this time to be together.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_01: God, we thank you um for the days that are upcoming, Lord, and and just the um season of celebration of uh Lord, just all that we're thankful for.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: Uh God, pray that this podcast would be a blessing to our listeners and uh Lord that they'd be uh maybe inspired to some action today.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: Father, we love you and we praise your name.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_01: Amen.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: Hello, everyone.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_01: This is Josh Turley, uh Director of Strategic Development for the Topeka Rescue Mission, and you are listening to episode 294 of our community, our mission, on this Tuesday, November 25th.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I am joined by none other than Mike Shottle.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: Dare I say that we are one month away from Christmas.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: I wasn't, I'm just trying to get to Thanksgiving at this point.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so excited.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: I'm too.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so excited.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_01: One day at a time, one day at a time.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: So, Mike, share your title.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, director of spiritual wellness and discipleship.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, if I would have been thinking, really thinking it through, I should have worn my Santa stuff right now.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: You should have.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Because I'm a Santa in training.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: Some would say that's that's not okay though, because you're still like the we're we're still two days from Thanksgiving, which we'll get to.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the thing.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: I saw something that said, you know, Christmas music for me starts right after Halloween.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: If we need to do Thanksgiving stuff before Thanksgiving, you know, no Christmas music, maybe they should create some really good Thanksgiving bops to play.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: Until then, I'm listening to Christmas music.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: So then you'd start your Thanksgiving Christmas after July 4th.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, there we go.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_01: There we go.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, well, um, today's Tuesday, November 25th, and there's a couple of other things that we're, you know, pretty stoked about um before Thanksgiving.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_01: So um today is also National Parfait Day.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: Boy howdy.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's exciting.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: Do you like parfaits?
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: See, with this description, do you want to read it?
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Do you want me to read it?
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: You can read a little bit.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so okay, the description when I saw it, I was like, oh, parfaits.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: When I hear parfait, I think of when Donkey's talking to Shrek in the movie Shrek, where he's like, you know what else has layers?
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: Parfaits.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: They're one of the best things on the whole planet.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, really?
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: Parfaits?
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna say that?
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: But what you found on this, the French word, the French cookbook, parfait meaning perfect, is a dessert of French origin consisting of cream, egg, sugar, and syrup.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: These basic ingredients are boiled together to create a custard-like puree.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: This is different from the American parfait, which contains granolas, granola, nuts, yogurt, and liqueurs.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah, I'm gonna go with the French one.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: That sounds delightful.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: It does sound great.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_01: Delightful.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_01: I don't mind the American one either.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: I like the fruit and I mean if I had to choose, all right.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_01: It'd be like, eh, I'll go without the parfait.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: But not if it's French.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_01: Not if it's French.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: So there you go.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: National parfait day.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: And this one, actually, I really liked this one.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: This is cool.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: So it's National Play with Dad Day.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: Uh-huh.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: So this, this, I think this is a great day.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_01: I think you should not do this on just today, but it's a national day to celebrate dads playing with your kids.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: Getting outside.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: Well, hopefully you can get outside.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: It might be a little cold.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but you know, hanging out with your kids, doing different things, maybe build a fort, blanket fort with them.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: Ooh, that'd be fun.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because it's, you know, it might be cold outside.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: But what do you like to do with your kiddos?
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, well, I mean, I would say build a fort, blanket fort.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, my daughter loves building blanket forts.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: Uh sometimes what we do too is um we like to pull practical jokes on on mom.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: There you go.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's just a lot of fun.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: So I do want to just say this too.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: Pull national play with dad day is not national mess with dad day.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: So we should clarify that.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Rosalie, if you're listening to this, first and foremost, how are you listening to this?
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: But also don't mess with me, kid.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: No, that's good.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, yeah, so today um for you to put aside your duties and plan some fun activities with your children.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: Plan a day of fun, adventures, give your children some extra love on this special day.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_01: So national play with that day, grab a parfait, and have a great day.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: And it rhymes.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: And last but definitely not least, because I really couldn't find a whole lot of other fanciness for this day, it's two days from Thanksgiving.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: What's your favorite dish for Thanksgiving?
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: Not turkey.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: You can't say turkey.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I'm I'm gonna be like the one that is stoned here.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: I prefer like a good ham.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know why I'm not a big unless it's smoked turkey.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_01: I do like smoked turkey, but just like a regular turkey, I would rather have ham?
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, oh yeah, like a glazed ham.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_01: Like that's my preference, but I do love a really good stuffing.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, and then obviously you gotta have the mashed potatoes and gravy.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, I'm I'm getting hungry just talking about it.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: But two days.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's so exciting.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: Thanksgiving.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: Pumpkin pie or pecan pie?
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: Why not both?
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: I agree.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: Just yes to all.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, my um my sister-in-law makes a fantastic coconut cream pie that's kind of a standard for, so hopefully that's there.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: Jennifer, if you're listening, coconut cream pie.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: Make me one too.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_01: It'll be out of town, but you know, hitch boy up.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_01: So, Mike, well, I guess we should talk about one more thing because after we got a lot, there's a lot going on.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_01: Because after Thanksgiving, you got Black Friday.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_01: You got Cyber Monday, you got the um, what's the one for Saturday?
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_01: It's the local shop local Saturday.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: Shop local Saturday.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um forget the greatest.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: Small business Saturday.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: Small business.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_01: Bingo! There we go.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: There it is.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but then we got Giving Tuesday.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: Giving Tuesday is coming.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: We're really excited about that at uh here at TRM.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Giving Tuesday is Transformation Tuesday.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: We like to celebrate all the ways that you're giving our listener and how you support us.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_01: It transforms lives here.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: So be sure to check out TRM social media for um different ways um that you can give, um, for different ways you can support TRM and how uh your gift is helping transform lives here.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: So be sure to check that out.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_01: Save some money from Black Friday, don't spend it all on Black Friday or um local business, small business Saturday.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: Plug there.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_01: So, Mike, a couple weeks ago, we're we're gonna get into Thanksgiving because it's it's a big topic.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: If it's a good one that we love talking about.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: But before we get to that, tell me what happened a couple weeks ago that was that you helped plan and organize and is super cool that we do we've been doing the last few years.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: So what we do sometimes it'll normally in the past, what we've done is like the Saturday before Halloween.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but things just didn't really work out with the scheduling and whatever.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, dodged that bullet too, because that entire day when we would have done it, I think it was like October 25th or something, uh, it rained all day.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: And it was a cold and dreary rain all day.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: That's my favorite kind of weather, as long as I'm not having to be outside all day.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so we bumped it to November 8th, and it did rain a little bit in the morning, and I'm like, oh no, this isn't good.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um But what we did and what we have done in the past is it's just a time of fellowship, of breaking bread with our guests, having them come over to the children's palace in our West parking lot, and we have games, we have candy, we have a small little bonfire that they can do s'mores, um, music.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: And then uh last year too, we we kind of did like a quick little survey to see, hey, what can we do to plus this up this year?
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: And it was like a resounding like, hey, you need to have hot dogs.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you gotta have hot dogs.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, wow, everybody's just like unanimous unanimously saying, Bring a hot, you know, bring hot dogs.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: And that went over perfectly.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I do have to say, uh, when Courtney and I were planning out the number of hot dogs what we were gonna serve, um, initially I was incredibly underprepared, but then I'm like, you know what, I'm gonna go get more.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: Hopefully that'll be enough.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: And the entire day when we first had the Hope Center guests, and then we had the men's side guests uh come uh between a three-hour period.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, when the men's side guests came, I was like, ooh, this is gonna get.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: I hope some of them don't, you know, get up here and they're like, hey, can I have a hot dog?
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, hey, we're out.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that did not happen.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: The end of the day, there were two left.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: Nice.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, yes, we plan that out.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: So uh one of the really cool things too that we did is uh Rooted Community Church, one of the churches here in in town, they're actually um in Oakland.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um I contacted the youth pastor there to see if he would be able to bring some of the kids in the youth group to come and do face painting.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: So they offered face painting to the kids at the Hope Center, and that went over so great.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: They brought the supplies.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, they just loved pouring, pouring into the kids, pouring into the families, and it was great.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: All around, it was fantastic, it was fun, uh, lots of laughter, no tears from me.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um no, it was good.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: It was it was really, really great.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: It was it was a lot of fun and really looking forward to it next year.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: And I can't remember if we said it's our it's our fall fest.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: I can't remember if it's a fall festival or not.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think I did either.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_01: So our TRM falling about yes, what we do in the fall.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, yeah, it's always a good time.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um good to see everybody come out and and just have a blast.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_01: So um yeah, so all right.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: Well, let's get into the um no pun intended, the meat of this.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um Thanksgiving.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_01: You've you've got some some notes on here that we want to talk about Thanksgiving and and I don't know what how we can look at it differently, maybe as believers.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so yeah, I'll let you uh go from there.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: Well, no pun here either.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's no gravy train.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: I'll tell you.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, so Josh, when you and I were talking about like, you know, if we're gonna do a Thanksgiving themed podcast, what outlet, you know, which which path am I gonna take this on?
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: You know, Thanksgiving for a lot of people is their their favorite holiday.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: For other people, it's you know, just another day.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: And then for others, it's like, you know what, this is a day that marks uh dissension, that marks a lot of pain, um, turmoil, uh separation, whatever it is.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: So I was like, okay, so how do I touch on this in a way that we as a body of Christ, as believers, as followers of Christ, can really hunker down and have this mean something that is more than just gathering around a table, hopefully not saying something that's gonna offend pop, pop, and me maw, um, but something that really honestly glorifies God.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so the passage that I just kept going back at, I'm like, okay, there's a whole bunch of different passages that we could talk about about Thanksgiving and what we should do to offer thanks to the Lord.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: The one that I just kept on falling back at was first Thessalonians chapter five, verses sixteen through eighteen.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: And Paul writes, Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: So this is a three-part, three-step action.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: This is a really short three verses.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: You know, normally if you hear three verses, you're like, ooh, it's gonna be an entire paragraph.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: No, it's literally just a couple words.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: So rejoice always is verse 16.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, pray continually is verse 17, and verse 18 is give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: So the first verse, excuse me, uh, rejoice always is a charge that means that our joy is not circumstantial, nor is it seasonal.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, Christmas comes around and it always gives me the you know warm fuzzies of ooh, yes, I just love it.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I love having a tree up in my uh in my living room and listening to the Christmas music, you know, it's it's not a seasonal or circumstantial thing.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: You can still be joyful when you are in the trenches of absolute turmoil.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: And why?
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: How is it that you can rejoice always, even when there are storms raging?
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: So it's because it's not a feeling, it's rooted in the unchanging character of God.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a Hebrew word called kedva, and kedva is a word that's found in Nehemiah.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: The joy of the Lord is our strength.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so our strength will always fade.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I was telling you over the weekend, you know, uh a couple weekends ago, uh, was over at my in-laws' house, and I'm throwing hedge balls out of their backyard, and my arm hurt.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: Your strength faded.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: My strength faded a lot quicker than it used to.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: Correct.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: And my in-laws told my daughter, like, hey, for every hedge ball that you throw out, we'll give you a dollar.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: She's like, that's a bet.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: I'm telling you, there were like 350 hedge balls, and she did great at about 84, and she's like, I can't do this anymore.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: Dad, can you do it?
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, Yeah, sure.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: Did they did they extend the same bet to you?
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: Did they pay you a dollar?
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: They didn't, they didn't.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: But after after probably about the 110th one that I threw, I was like, Oh, there's my arm.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_00: And people do this professionally.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, am I gonna need Tommy Johns?
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um no, my strength faded and still like just dealt with the pain days and days after.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: Our strength is going to fail because we're imperfect, we're sinful.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: But it's the source that gives us what we need.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: Being joyful doesn't make us stronger.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's the Lord who makes us stronger.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: It is his character that gives us the strength.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: So the use of this word is also found in um 2 Corinthians chapter 2, verse 14, where God all quote always leads us in triumph in Christ.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: This indicates that it is an uninterrupted victory procession, no matter what external the the conditions can be.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: So it could be the world's worst day period, but the Lord is still good.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's good.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: So because the Lord is still good, I am going to rejoice because he is good.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um so when I was kind of looking at that, I'm like, how does this how does this go hand in hand with okay, the Lord is still good with out the external um conditions going on?
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: And that brought me back to Thanksgiving.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: So we can get into the topic of when was the first Thanksgiving?
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: It was in 1621 with the pilgrims and the Wamma Pogue Indians and Squanto and all them.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: We're not going into that.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: We're not gonna talk about that first Thanksgiving.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: And then there were presidents after presidents that were calling out for hey, we're gonna do this day in thank or in November, or just gonna be a time of national Thanksgiving and praise.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: Not gonna talk about that either.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: We're gonna talk about when the proclamation of Thanksgiving was called as a national holiday.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: Abraham Lincoln proclaimed in October of 1863.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: So I didn't put this as notes.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, I did.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's at the very bottom.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: So here's a softball question for you.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: October of 1863.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: What happened July of 1863?
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_01: Where is it in the notes?
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_01: It's at the very bottom.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, history was not uh my strong suit.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: July 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, 1863.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: There was a huge, huge battle in Pennsylvania.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: It was the Battle of Gettysburg.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_01: It was the only one that popped into my head when you were thinking Civil War.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, Gettysburg.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: Shiloh.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um no, so July 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, 1863 was the Battle of Gettysburg.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: 50,000 casualties.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: There were there was blood, it was terrible, people, a lot of men died.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: It's hard to fathom, too, like it being uh like us, right?
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_01: It's not nations, it was literally internal.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's the north versus the south.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: It was it was Ohio fighting Alabama.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it was an absolute mess, carnage.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: So a couple months pass, three months pass, and Abraham Lincoln is seeing that there is strife, there is dissension, there's stuff going on in the in the Dakota territories that should not be happening.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_00: And he then writes this proclamation, and I just want to read just a little bit of it, and please, uh, please give me some grace because this has definitely got some uh 1800s kind of verbiage in here.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm like, I tried to read it before you know doing the podcast, and I'm like, ooh, you got this.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: He definitely knew how to talk, but boy howdy, now nobody talks like this.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um okay, so this is what Abraham Lincoln proclaimed in October of 1863.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_00: 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.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: 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.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: 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, tranquility, and union.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: Well done.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: But how powerful is that?
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_00: There is strife, there is chaos, that they are just fighting each other tooth and nail.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: Killing one another.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: And President Lincoln's like, you know what?
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_00: Enough's enough.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_00: What we are doing in this chaos, we're stopping.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: This last Thursday of the month in November, on this day and here on out, we are stopping to give thanks first and foremost for the goodness that God has given us, but also that He hasn't handed out what we actually deserve.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_01: So true.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: So to rejoice in the fact that, hey, we're still here, but also not just rejoice in the fact, but care for those who are orphaned, widowed, poor, mourning, and suffering.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: To rejoice is not to say, hey, everything's fine, everything's great, while the entire room is on fire, like that meme of the dog going, everything's fine.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: Excuse me.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: No matter what the circumstances are, God is still good.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: We are sinful, bad stuff happens, but God is still good.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: Rejoice in his goodness.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_00: Then the next thing, the next verse is pray continually.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: So pray, that's a verb.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: Continually, the adverb of continually or unceasingly points to a pattern that prayer should be steady and frequent to the point that taking a break is almost negligible.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: It's a rhythm that is characterized by being consistent.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's like breathing.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: If you stop breathing, what's going to end up happening?
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: You're going to pass out.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_00: So keep breathing.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: Keep praying.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_01: I was about to say, like you mentioned earlier, like sometimes this holiday season is incredibly difficult for people.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_01: And there's like you know, I don't want to look at the the the be thankful for anything.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_01: I don't have anything to be thankful for.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_01: I don't have, you know, I've got all this difficulty going on.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_01: And so like I think that piece right there kind of ties it all together.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, you know, without prayer, it can be incredibly difficult to look at you know the positives or the the blessings that we have, or like you said, um the judgments that we deserve but don't receive.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um I sidetracked there.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um man, both of us got like a frog in our um yeah, so this ris this rhythm is characterized by being consistent.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_00: And when I was thinking of, okay, so the first point was Abraham Lincoln.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_00: Who am I gonna, you know, who should I attribute this?
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: What consistency and prayer looks like.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_00: And there was a 17th century brother, can't even say priest, because he wasn't educated.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: He he worked at a monastery, um, was not educated.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: He literally devoted his time to cleaning dishes, serving meals, and repairing sandals of those who were at the monastery.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: And this was Brother Lawrence.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, he was a French brother who worked at a Catholic monastery.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so he wrote this beautiful, beautiful this this series of letters that then got put into a book, and it's called Practicing the Presence of God.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's great.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um fantastic book, and he just has these really just eye-opening points that he makes of this is what my relationship with the Lord looks like.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and when it is to pray continually or unceasingly, Brother Lawrence wrote, He does not ask much of us, merely a thought of him from time to time, a little act of adoration, sometimes to ask for his grace, sometimes to offer him your sufferings, at other times to thank him for the graces, past and present, he has bestowed on you in the midst of your troubles, to take solace in him as often as you can.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: Lift up your heart to him during your meals and in company.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_00: The least little remembrance will always be the most pleasing to him.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: One need not cry very loudly.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: He is nearer to us than we think.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: That's so good.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: And the guy just cleaned dishes and and fixed sandals.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_01: Well, and I've heard other stories of Brother Lawrence that people would go into the kitchen and would feel the presence of God in his area as he's washing dishes.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you don't, you know, think about that.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_01: Not at all.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_01: Often you think like, well, the spirit's gonna be in church services, but it's he's with you.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_01: He was with Brother Lawrence, and people felt the presence of God when they would go visit him or walk through the kitchen and he was washing dishes.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, what a powerful testimony.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_00: So it's as often as you breathe, that's what that's what the charge is.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: Rejoice always, pray continually, no matter what it is, it is conversing, just being back and forth.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, there's there's days where um, you know, you're one of my best friends.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: If I don't talk to you or text you, something something's up.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_00: You know, one of us knows that something's up.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_00: I have another best friend down in Texas.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_00: If we don't converse, we don't feel close.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, if I don't talk to my wife, she's gonna think, what's going on with Michael?
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um so it's it's a rhythm that if this is our Lord and God, why are we only going to him for the things that we think we need?
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_00: When really it's it's the constant, it's it's the let me try to find the line again where it just while you're looking for that, in a weird sense, it kind of takes pressure off of prayer.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: Because I think a lot of of Christians think that that prayer needs to be this really kind of robust thing that we do for you know two hours in the morning.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's not.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_01: It's just I mean, granted, if you're doing that, that's great.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_01: Like spend that prayer time.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but that it's a continual, you know, movement throughout our day of just talking with God.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's that's a huge re you know, reconstruction of how you think about prayer.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_00: And it right.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's it shouldn't be a chore.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's times to and what Brother Lawrence says is offer him your sufferings.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_00: At other times, thank him for the graces, past and present.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's the time of recollecting, like, this is what you've done for me, this is what you did for me, and thank you just for that reminder of what you did for me all those years ago.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um and then he fast forward, the least little remembrance will always be the most pleasing to him.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I can't re I can't believe you actually remembered that.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for pointing that out.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_01: And again, you go back to like that with a friend, with a spouse.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_01: Like, if you like, how much does that mean to you if somebody's like, hey, thank you for that thing you did like a week ago?
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_01: That that really helped me out a lot.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_01: Like that's that's a huge blessing to you.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, hey, you noticed you noticed I did that.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_00: Oh man.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_00: Now, so with the praying continually, the final charge that Paul gives is give thanks in all circumstances, good or bad, with or without family, with or without a job, with or without shelter, with or without peace, in all circumstances, give thanks.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, who am I gonna talk about now?
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: I have two really good, two really good illustrations, and then it just brought me back to guess who?
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_00: Brother Lawrence again, practicing the presence of God.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_00: And he like in one of his closing paragraphs that he wrote in one of his letters.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: If I start crying, I'm sorry because this is so beautiful.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_00: Because all thanks, yes, we do.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: Those things are like wiping your eyes with sandpaper, but yes, they're great.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Jesus.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um, in all things, give all thanks, give thanks in all circumstances.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_00: So, Brother Lawrence, again, working at a monastery, not a priest, and priests and nuns both attributed to him to being like, okay, well, if they were asked, like, who's the most, and this was a foreword that was at the beginning of one of the books that I've read um, who's the most spiritual of everybody that was at this monastery?
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_00: And oh, you'd think it'd be like Father, Father Christopher, or you know, whoever, whatever.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_00: No, it was Brother Lawrence.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_00: Just a guy that's working in the kitchen and fixes sandals.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_00: Why?
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it's exactly because of this next this next quote that Brother Lawrence writes.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_00: So, in all circumstances, good or bad, why should we give thanks in all circumstances?
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_00: And this is why.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_00: Brother Lawrence writes, I regard myself as the most wretched of all men, stinking and covered with sores, and as one who has committed all sorts of crimes against his king.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_00: Overcome by remorse, I confess all my wickedness to him, ask his pardon, and abandon myself entirely to him to do with him as he will.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_00: But this king, filled with goodness and mercy, far from chastising me, lovingly embraces me, makes me eat at his table.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: Serves me with his own hands, gives me the keys of his treasures, and treats me as his favorite.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: He walks with me and is delighted with me in a thousand and one ways.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_00: He forgives me and relieves me of my principal bad habits without talking about them.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_00: I beg him to make me according to his heart, and always the more weak and despicable I see myself to be, the more beloved I am of God.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_00: We don't deserve anything.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_00: We are stinking and covered with sores.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_00: So in all circumstances, give thanks.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_00: No matter what dirt, no matter what grime, no matter what chaos and turmoil and dissension and death and despair that is brought forth.
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_00: Give thanks in all circumstances.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_00: Not for us, but to give glory to God.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_00: That's what it's for.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_00: That's what it's about.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: Man, these Kleenexes are rough.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I think it's it's truly because of that hope that we have in the future, right?
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_01: Things aren't always going to look easy.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_01: Things are we're gonna go through really difficult circumstances.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_01: I think of um made me think of all of the disciples and all of the increasing, or even just any of the early church founders, the the persecution, the martyrdom, the incredible suffering that they all went through, yet their hope was still in Christ.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um well, Mike, thank you for sharing this today.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think this has been a truly encouraging word.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um so if you're listening today, um, well, first, thank you for listening to uh to us share.
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks, uh, thanks to Mike for sharing.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_01: And as you go into this uh next holiday, uh in two days, Thanksgiving, and and into the holiday season, think on these things.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_01: No matter what you're walking through, and incredibly difficult as life can be, um, we pray that um you would find peace, that you would find joy in the Lord, and um that in all circumstances that you would um feel his peace and his presence um comfort you um no matter the difficulties, no matter the circumstances, and that this uh Thanksgiving uh could be a reminder for you um to walk in prayer, walk in in his goodness of the blessings that he's given, and um that you would just uh just feel his blessings through this holiday season.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_01: Uh thank you for listening to our community, our mission.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_01: Uh as always, we hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and uh continue to uh pray and think of the mission as uh we continue to serve those in need, especially with the Christmas time coming up and um continual food needs.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_01: We so, so appreciate your support.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, if you'd like to learn more, you can go to trmonline.org, check out the website and ways that you can give.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_01: God bless and happy Thanksgiving.