Ideas for a Fun, Family Thanksgiving: Go Vintage!

by Sally Matheny

    

(Have Fun with a Vintage Thanksgiving
Photo by Pixabay)

Are you searching for fun ideas that will bring the family together this Thanksgiving? 

Me, too. My family doesn’t know it yet, but I plan to go vintage this year.

I love traditions, especially during holidays. Yet, our current technology is threatening to exterminate one of our most cherished traditions—family time. I promise this post is not a ranting against technology. I’m actually thankful for it. It keeps me connected to family and friends.
     

However, when we are able to come together in the same place, I want face-to-face, heart-to-heart, talking, laughing, and everyone-fully-engaged-time.

So, we’re going vintage—the pre-cell phone, pre-computer, pre-iPod, pre-satellite dish, pre-electronic gaming system era. 

True vintage items must be at least fifty years old. No need to panic. You may be surprised how long many of your favorite things have been around. Want to go vintage with us? 

Challenge your friends and family to turn off the distractions for at least three hours this Thanksgiving. Focus your full attention on the people gathered in your presence and enjoy the blessings. 

THIS DANGEROUS BOOK by Steve & Jackie Green: A Review & Giveaway

 by Sally Matheny

This Dangerous Book

“Research shows over 80 percent of Americans own a hard copy of the Bible. More than half of agnostics and skeptics own a Bible.

But have you ever asked, ‘What is this book, really?’” 
                 -This Dangerous Book

The release of THIS DANGEROUS BOOK coincides with the opening of the Museum of the Bible located in Washington D.C. Steve and Jackie Green, the founding family of the museum, co-authored this book with Bill High. 

It’s a book about three journeys—that of the Bible, the Green’s, and the Museum of the Bible.

The Greens interweave vignettes of their own faith journey while sharing fascinating information about the Bible and the effect it has had on people throughout history. They are transparent about their Christian faith in the book, yet they have chosen not to proselytize within the museum.

        “We would not promote our faith but could present the facts.”

No doubt, some people will say there’s not enough of Jesus represented at the museum, while others will say there’s too much.

“Yet throughout the process, we’ve continued to pursue a factual presentation of the Bible…I know that we won’t satisfy everyone. There will still be critics who will challenge our methods and motives…Like it or not, the Bible simply cannot be ignored.”

The mission of the museum is to “invite all people to engage with the history, impact, and narrative of the Bible. It is the largest museum in the world “devoted solely to the presentation and the preservation of the Bible.”

THIS DANGEROUS BOOK opens with almost twenty endorsements from folks such as Lee Strobel, Dr. David Jeremiah, and Korie Robertson. After a foreword by Rick Warren, the book contains five parts:

Part 1: The Story Begins

Part 2: The Book

Part 3: Collecting Secrets

Part 4: Appeal to Heaven

Part 5: To the Ends of the Earth

Each part contains three to four chapters. Each chapter opens with three or four quotations—some from the Bible, some from people since the Bible’s publication. Most are from Christians but a few are not, such as the one from the fictional Huckleberry Finn.

WWII Veteran’s Letter Inspires Us All

by Sally Matheny

WWII Veteran Charles H. Walker

Three weeks before D-Day, WWII Navy sailor, Charles H. Walker wrote a letter to his mother. 

No matter how big or small we think our contribution is in life, this WWII veteran's letter inspires us all to give our best.

(excerpt):

May 14, 1944

“Dear Mother,

I will write you a few lines tonight to let you hear from me. These few lines leave me in good health and getting along fine. I hope you are well.

Mother, I think of you and Dad a lot these days and would like to very, very much see you. Of course, I don’t think it will be as long as it has been until I’ll be back in the states. Not for good, but for a leave, I hope. I think of the rest of the family, too. Of the little girls and of Sis. I know that it will be one more happy day for me when I do get home.

Right now, I’m going to do all I can to get this war over with. My part is only a small one, but I’m proud I can do it, and I’m going to do it as best I can.

Mother, I’ve been in the Navy fifteen months now. And I’ve never been on report or had any extra duty or anything yet. I’m going to try and have my record as clean as if I stay in for 15 years. It’s just as easy to do it right as it is wrong. . .” 

    

                                                                             Good night, Mother. 

                                                                             Your Son, 

                                                                             Charles

Charles Walker served as the senior electrician on the U.S.S. LCF #27. When he wrote this letter at age twenty-two, he thought his role in the war was small.

I disagree.

If the electricity failed, the sweeping for mines came to a halt, the rockets did not launch, and more lives would have been lost. 

Every person on board had a job to do. Whether it was sweeping for mines or sweeping the deck, it all mattered. Doing it well mattered even more.

Charles decided, regardless of the significance of his job, he planned to give his best. He persevered through many monotonous days at sea. Occasionally those days were punctured by kamikaze pilots. The force of one plummeting plane was so close the sailor's pants tugged against his legs.

Later, as the crew fished the Japanese pilot out of the water, Charles found the method of death, for such a young man, unsettling.

A similar empathy came when he observed the frightened German POWs on the shores of Normandy. Charles said many were his age or younger. He felt sorry for them because they looked terrified.

Charles stressed the necessity of America's involvement in the war. He was proud to serve his country and help the oppressed. He realized most of the Japanese and German soldiers were simply following orders, like everyone else in the war.

Thank you and Happy Veterans Day

Some of Charles' days were exhausting, stressful, and lonely. Other days, not so much. But he still longed for home.

He would see the American flag rise at Iwo Jima and serve until February 1946 before heading home for good.

And he was right. It was “one more happy day” when he reunited with his family!

It’s not an easy job serving in the military, especially if you’re far away from the people and the country you love.

I salute Charles Walker, who is still persevering and giving his best at age 95. I wish a Happy Veterans Day to him and all the veterans who chose to serve honorably, or quoting Charles, they did it the "right way.”

Veterans, whatever you consider a “small part” in service to our country, I consider it monumental.

Thank you.

Book Review & Giveaway of ADORED- 365 Devotions for Young Women

by Sally Matheny

ADORED by Lindsay A. Franklin

With all the pressures of the world, the day-to-day stresses of school and other responsibilities, young women and teen girls will appreciate the encouragement offered in ADORED.

Each page begins with a scripture verse, followed by a short, but solid, devotion relevant for today’s young women.

Life issues such as dealing with insecurities, remaining sexually pure, and choosing to trust Jesus on a daily basis are just a sampling of the topics introduced, These are written with a Christian worldview and are consistently correlated with God’s Word.

One of the reasons I admire this book is because it isn’t full of fluff. The author, Lindsay Franklin, doesn’t use the weighty devotions to pull the reader down though. Rather, she presents the truth of God’s Word in an encouraging manner, inspiring young women to apply it to their lives.