This is the day of feasting! My mouth can't wait for a generous "chunk" of that succulent turkey, delicious ham, mashed potatoes and a sundry of wonderfully prepared vegetables. And then, just when you think you can't eat another bite, your eyes fall on the table covered with deserts that make your mouth juices begin to flow. It's fun.

But the celebration sometimes misses the mark. We feast in celebration of the time when the Pilgrims gathered with the Native Americans, who were largely responsible for teaching them how to raise their crops in the New World, and feasted. It was a time of giving thanks to God for blessing, life, and friendship, all of which are very worthy of thanksgiving.

Jealousy is a very powerful emotion and if left unattended it can literally wreck havoc in our relationships and marriage. Why do we get jealous of our spouse? Why does jealousy hurt so badly? Jealousy hurts because we feel this emotion usually after our spouse has harmed us in some way. But sometimes we feel jealous for no reason whatsoever and this is very harmful to our relationships.

"My name is Nancy, and I'm a people pleaser." While this confession is not as dramatic as admitting an addition to drugs or alcohol, it has the potential of being debilitating if allowed to distract your work and ministry. I would probably need to see a therapist to get to the bottom of why I'm such a people pleaser because I don't know when or why I jumped on that roller coaster of trying to make everyone happy all the time!

ecently, on a day much unlike any other day, I was driving home from the store with my little family. I was in a hurry to get home as a rather ominous looking storm was rapidly approaching us. I whipped our little car out of the Meijer parking lot and started down State Route 309 toward Delphos, hoping to circumnavigate the storm. As we approached the stop light ahead, my wife asked if we could take the "country" way home. I argued briefly but reluctantly surrendered to her request and turned north toward Gomer and directly into the blackness that soon engulfed our little car. Our car, being the magnificent piece of technology that it is, doesn't have a working fan, so when the windows get fogged up, like happens in a thunderstorm, we have to do the "roll and wipe" (roll down the windows and wipe off the inside of the windshield). I became very angry to have had to deviate from my plan just to get caught in the middle of a thunderstorm with my window down, getting drenched, and wiping the fog off the inside of the windshield, but then I noticed something.

sat alone in the recliner reading his note through my tears. It was filled with sadness, despair, and all the reasons why my 23 year old son had decided to end his life. I wasn't able to go with my husband as he rushed our son to the hospital. I was recuperating from the damage mold had done to my lungs and needed a breathing treatment. There was no time to waste, so I had to stay home and wait for news from the hospital.

Since we live on a farm with family close by, I left most of the lights off in the house. I didn't want to alarm anyone, at least not until I knew something. I just couldn't bring myself to call anyone. Who could I call? What would I say? I couldn't even wrap my mind around what had happened yet, let alone try to explain it to anyone else. The only one I could talk to at that moment was Jesus.

helly looked out upon a snow-blanketed world. The weatherman had been right. There was at least a foot of snow, and it was still coming down.

She shook her husband gently. "Tom, wake up."

He mumbled.

"It's snowing. I heard on the radio that most churches had cancelled their services."

Tom rose up in the bed. "No church?"

h, I love dogs. I have two furry companions who are loyal, loving and faithful, and I strive to be like them! You know the old saying "Lord, make me the person my dog thinks I am." As we watch dogs, we can really learn from them.

Enthusiasm: There is no pet more enthusiastic than my dog Scooby. Whether I just take the garbage out, or am gone all day at work, he jumps and wags his tail and barks his greetings. When he goes to the treat jar, or I should say runs, his long legs flail as he slides his entry into the kitchen. Do we greet our families with loving enthusiasm when they come home? Do we share our faith with others in an enthusiastic way? Lord, make me loving and enthusiastic like my dog. -Acts 11:22

wish I'd been there, outside Dawg Haus that late summer morning. I'd have seen the laughter in his eyes, heard the joy seasoning his every word. How I would have chuckled. His sister, had she been present, would have heard them too. Instead, Laurel would overhear the words a few days later, in a different setting.

However, as summer wound to a close and school lurked a few weeks away, a group of young people hung together as only teenagers can. Around the tables bordering Dawg Haus, the local hotdog stand, life vibrated with shared remembrances, soared on the wings of cherished dreams.

n one of the discussion boards I frequent, we discussed in great detail one day what would happen to the person who dared to ever hurt one of our children or grandchildren. We held back no contempt for such a one who would commit a heinous crime against a family member, nor did we hold back the description of exactly what we?d do to such a one. And then the unthinkable happened once again to our nation?in a matter of two weeks, three killers entered different schools in our country and innocent people died?a principal killed by a sick young man, a young girl killed by her abuser just as her rescuers broke through the door, and ten young girls tied together so they couldn?t run away from a deranged man who killed five of them and left the other five critically wounded. America and the rest of the world watched in horror and revulsion.

es, women are funny creatures. A woman will hide her feelings, mulling them over until she thinks herself into worry. She worries about her problems; she worries about her family, she worries about her church, her neighbors, and her job. Left unchecked, her worry turns into depression. She masks her pain, deceiving herself and everyone else, until she is ready to explode at the slightest provocation.