Thanksgiving…a Holiday for all People and all Nations

George Washington's 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation

"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; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to "recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

When Martyrdom is Meh

This week I received two interesting news pieces: One, in an email from friend Ben Morrison, was a call to prayer and fasting November 21-23 for Iranian Christians to be put to death, as becoming a Christian is to be soon punishable by such measures. Another news piece, as splashed across my home page, was that “meh” is to be an official word in the new Collins English Dictionary.

The word meh is a term for apathy. Cormac McKeown, head of content at Collins Dictionaries, descibes it: “The origins of ‘meh’ are murky, but the term grew in popularity after being used in a 2001 episode of ‘The Simpsons’ in which Homer suggests a day trip to his children Bart and Lisa. They both just reply 'meh' and keep watching TV.”

Signs of the times…