Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving grateful praise.

¹ Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
²     Worship the Lord with gladness;
    come before him with joyful songs.
³ Know that the Lord is God.
    It is he who made us, and we are his^[a];
    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations.

My childhood education was politically incorrect. Our teachers taught us a pseudo-historical story of the first Thanksgiving that went something like this:

• The Pilgrims left England in search of religious freedom.
• They crossed the Atlantic on the Mayflower, landing at Plymouth Rock in 1620.
• Their Indian friends (Native Americans and Indigenous People had not yet been invented) taught them to farm the land.
• Pilgrims and natives gathered in the fall for a Thanksgiving feast.
• They ate Butterball turkey, cornbread dressing, and canned cranberry sauce with imprinted ridges on the side.

And they all lived happily ever after. The End. Amen.

Looking back decades later, I realize my teachers omitted some critical facts:

• The English settlers claimed land that others possessed. 
• The Pilgrims established religious freedom for themselves but denied it to others.  
• Over half of the colony died during the harsh winter.
• The seed corn they planted that first spring was stolen from native farmers. 
• And the Thanksgiving meal did not feature a turkey with a popup timer.

Despite past tragedy and future uncertainty, the Pilgrims paused to give thanks. They recognized their present bounty and praised God.

Our forebears’ example instructs and inspires us today. We are a blessed people. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude. Recognize the gift, recognize the Giver, and give thanks.

Lord, may it be so. Amen.

Tracy and I returned home from a recent trip to discover our refrigerator died prematurely. We filled garbage bags with spoiled food no longer safe for consumption. I spent the next hours ordering a new appliance online.

Modern refrigerators offer a bewildering array of high-tech features like internet connectivity, transparent doors, touch-screen pads, and inventory management. They also keep food cold.

One brand boasted four different ice options, including cubed, crushed, mini-cubed, and craft. The latter setting produces large spheres of slow-melting ice for bourbon and whiskey. Diluted, name-brand alcohol sounds like a first-world problem, so we opted for a simpler model.

 My parents owned an ancient, harvest-gold refrigerator from the 1970s that tenaciously clung to life. It might still be running in some unknown landfill. Modern appliance self-destruct within a decade with planned obsolescence programmed into their electronics.

I’m just glad to have a new refrigerator that keeps things cold in the top half and frozen in the bottom half. Follow me for more household tips.

Several years ago David Brooks and I published a series of Fun Phrases on our Facebook feeds. I compiled some of my creations in today’s blog.

Acronymius

The overuse of acronyms in an organization

The UMW in the NGC of the UMC supported the USA’s UMCOR ERT offering ASAP.

Little-piggy-separatitis

Stubbing a little toe on an object

The little-piggy-separatitis accident made me go wee, wee, wee all the way home.

Frigfunk

Malodor emanating from an uncleaned refrigerator.
The frigfunk from expired dairy, meat, and produce triggered people’s gag reflexes when they opened the cooler.

Curioclutter

The proliferation of collectables by aficionados

The curioclutter avalanche pelted the victims with knickknacks, gewgaws, baubles, and whatnots.

Footflush

Using a foot to flush a public toilet

Marvin lost his balance during a footflush and plunged headlong into the toilet.

O;pbrupi

Typing I love you with hands one key to the right on the keyboard

The woman mistook her beau’s profession of O;pbrupi as an insult.