Jack’s Winning Words 11/21/18
A table prayer for Thanksgiving  (Ewan Aitken)
“For the hands that tilled,  for the hands that harvested,
for the hands that processed,  for the hands that transported,
for the hands that stocked,  for the hands that sold,
for the hands that bought,  for the hands that prepared,
for the hands that will hold,  for the hand that made the hands,
our hearts are forever grateful.  Amen.”

 FROM FACEBOOK LIZ:  happy thanksgiving, jack. i am grateful for your friendship and for the wisdom that you share w/me!===JACK:  Giving thanks ias not just for food.

FROM ST PAUL IN ST PAUL:  good prayer, Jack.  thanks.   btw,  a friend of mine also shares this illustration.  he says, you and i have never bought a loaf of bread in our lives!  the bread is actually free.  think about this:   we humans did not create the soil, the wheat seed, the rain, the sunshine, or the nutrients in the soil.  they are all free.  when we buy bread we are only paying for the LABORS of the farmer who sowed the seed and then harvested the wheat, the miller who baked the bread, and the grocer who sells the bread.  but the bread itself is free.   now pardon the pun,  but there is a grain of truth in that illustration.===JACK:  I guess that's the way it is with all things.  We've often sung a Table Prayer based on this Bible verse:  "All things come of thee, O God, and of thine own have we given thee." (1 Chron 29:14)===PAUL: I like it!   a friend of mine does not like the table prayer,  Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest.etc.   rather the believes that Jesus is the host of every meal and the provider too.   so the prayer should be about our coming to the table to acknowledge Jesus the the One who has made it ALL possible.   something to think about..===JACK:  As to "Come, Lord Jesus".... Picky, Picky!

FROM EDUCATOR PAUL:  Happy Thanksgiving, Jack.  You are one of the the things I’m thankful for!===JACK:  We each have our many blessing to count...and you're on my list, too.

FROM PROUD MARY:  Sounds like an homage to all immigrants...past and present...working for a greater world. I am so thankful.===JACK:  Immigrants, past and present, don't always have nice stories to tell.  "We can't help all," but that doesn't mean that we can't help some!

FROM KLaM;  Happy thanksgiving.  Thanks for sharing your words.  Really enjoy them. ===JACK:   I'm thankful for my many WWs' friends...and some of them are even on my daily Prayer List.

FROM JLF:  That’s nice, is that our prayer for tomorrow?===JACK:  If so, would you like to be the one praying it?

FROM JE:  May God hold you in the Palm of His Hands.  I am thinking of you and wishing you peace and a Happy Thanksgiving.===JACK:  There's a song..."He's got the whole world in his hands."  One verse goes..."He's got you and me in his hands."  What a comforting thought!

FROM GUSTIE MARLYS:  This is a wonderful prayer.  Thanks===JACK:  I especially like the line, "for the hand that made the hands."

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  Very nice! Have a fabulous family Thanksgiving!! We'll be in Chicago with extended family, usually the only time all year we ALL get together! I bring lots of hamballs and some pies.===JACK: How about the days when everybody came over to your house?  Unbelievable! And FUN===OAKS:  Did it for many years, the last few with twin Jan's co-host at our Lake Home.
WE'd have 45-60; quite a gathering! And yes Fun. Always the Turkey Bowl Football game with everyone from 3-73! :-) Cards, games and GOOD FOOD!  Those were the days, my friend, but they have come to an end, to paraphrase a pop song!

FROM BS IN ENGLAND:  Happy Thanksgiving!  Thinking of you today and thanking God for all that you mean to me.===JACK:  Thanks for the nice greeting.  Do the English have any day similar to Thanksgiving Day?  I know that they celebrate special days that are different from the Americans, like Guy Fawkes Night and Boxing Day. ===BS:   No!  We really don't  have any day similar when we get together with family, eat and give thanks for each other.  I wish we did.