One of the misconceptions about being a Christian is non-Christians think we don’t know how to have fun or have a sense of humor. Trust me, if the Big Guy can have a sense of humor when it comes to dealing with us mere mortals, so can we.
The difference for Christians is we don’t have to debase ourselves or others to generate a smile. Laughter at life or ourselves is a gift from God.
Here’s this week’s special edition of Midweek Mirth, tailored to the Turkey Day season … so let’s smile a little!
An Ode to Thanksgiving
May your stuffing be tasty.
May your turkey be plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!
… and now for a bonus Thanksgiving thought …
How to Observe Thanksgiving
Count your blessings instead of your crosses.
Count your gains instead of your losses.
Count your joys instead of your woes.
Count your friends instead of your foes.
Count your smiles instead of your tears.
Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean.
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count your health instead of your wealth.
Count on God instead of yourself.
THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough. — Oprah Winfrey
The answer to the latter part of the question is a resounding No! The three, while preceding your manuscript, serve different functions.
Technically, I’ve never used any of them in my writing except for the latest, Yes, There Is a Santa … and I’ve Met Him Personally Many Times. There I employed the Introduction technique, more to explain why I was writing this book. It initially was written for grandchildren and great-grandchildren and I felt that a wider audience would need that background.
So, I thought I would share some of my interactions with Santa so you can believe too!”
I felt the letter was the bridge connecting the novella Heaven Shining Through with the spinoff, but I didn’t want to call it an Introduction. I wanted something more personal.
I recall, as a little barefoot boy with a cowlick of snow-white hair on my forehead, standing erect in my classroom and repeating the Pledge of Allegiance one Thanksgiving season. Our nation was at war and times were hard. My teacher had lost her husband on the blood washed shores of Normandy. As we later bowed our heads for prayer she wept aloud. I did too. All the class joined in. She stumbled through one of the most moving expressions of gratitude and praise that ever emerged from a soul plunged in pain.
After Vicki’s old car broke down with no option for repair, she started scraping together money for another vehicle.
Today’s reflection was written by Winn Collier, pastor at All Souls Church, Charlottesville, VA, and was included in Our Daily Bread. He lives in Charlottesville with his wife, Miska, and their two sons. Winn likes friendship, fair-trade coffee, smart movies, books worth reading, mountains, questions, and walking in the woods. Winn dislikes pretense, fear, injustice — and that he doesn’t live anywhere near a Planet Smoothie. He writes for magazines and is the author of four books: Restless Faith: Hanging on to a God Just Out of Reach; Let God: The Transforming Wisdom of François Fénelon; Holy Curiosity: Encountering Jesus’ Provocative Questions; and his recent fiction, Love Big, Be Well: Letters to a Small-Town Church. 
Approach the throne room and respond with faith and not fear, knowing the promises of God and His mighty hand will hold us through any situation! Sometimes, all it takes is just one prayer to change everything. Something extraordinary happens when two or more agree together in prayer.
Special prayer requests have been made for orphanages in Kenya, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and right here in the United States. The need is real.
Prayers requested for Doris who is battling a torn bicep and is scheduled for rotator cuff surgery.
Please pray for Deb’s family. They are in an extremely complicated and urgent health crisis with multiple people involved.
Please pray for Chris who is struggling emotionally and spiritually. He has had lots of loss and needs the Lord’s touch.
Please send a prayer for Patrick who had an adverse reaction to electro therapy and severe side effects from Milk of Magnesia.
Alden has infections and cellulitis. He could use some prayers.
Please pray for Lorraine who is battling hearing loss, memory issues, bad posture, body pain, and blood pressure issues.
We come to You, Lord, because prayer is the least yet the greatest thing we can do for each other. When two or more are gathered in Your name, we confidently know You are with us. What better company can we have? You reign and we trust You! We may be broken and battered but know You heal and quiet the soul. You are the source for all that happens in our lives. We thank You for the progress being made. We thank You for the many blessings we have received this week. Some we unfortunately didn’t notice. Nonetheless, those blessings are ever-present in our lives. We thank You for healing. We thank You for slowing us down. We thank You for providing us our daily needs — no more and no less. We thank You for being with us, listening to us, walking with us on this journey. We thank You for the support of our family and friends … for seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary — sunrises, sunsets, flowers, kids laughing, adventures, good news amid the bad news. We know we can come to You with our concerns and they will be heard. Through Christ all things are possible. We lift up those family members and friends who are battling various physical, emotional, financial, career or spiritual issues and ask not for Your guidance and healing (although that would be welcomed) but to keep reminding us we are not alone in our battles. Specifically we lift up Andrew, Rosie, Bucky, Doris, Lynn and Ansel, Emily, Jennifer, Stacey, Robert, Mary, Deb’s family, Tami, Nate, Greg, Marcia, Lynn, Diane, Jennifer, Gary, Deb, Chris, Debbie’s family, Verniece, Maryana, Roy, Valerie, Phillip, Patrick, Rob, Joy, Carolyn, Samantha, Amber, Alden, David, Brendan, Dave, Amanda, Lorraine, Steven, Jeanna, Kristen, Adan, and all those needing Your healing and guiding touch. We pray for the families of all those You have called home. We grieve … You celebrate. We pray for obedience to Your Will so Your “Son” Light shines through us through the power of the Spirit. And we come to You through the confidence of the words taught by Your Son Jesus. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
As an extra enticement, I’ve been using testimonials about the group and the exercise from other members as collected in 
That was my emotional state following the death of Karen a dozen years ago (Happy Birthday Sweetheart, by the way). That’s why that little cartoon meant so much to me.
I was able to pay it forward because I had such an angel in my life, Sonni. She refocused me. She lectured me when needed. She refused to let me walk through this new season of life alone. She decided, as a seasoned widow, she was going to take me under her wing to try and help me avoid the traps of widowhood. She was the salve that helped heal a broken heart — not repair it, not fill it, not replace it. She paid it forward.
Tomorrow is actually you’re birthday, but I couldn’t resist making my usual remark — you caught up to me again!
You had an incredible passion for life, although your early experiences growing up often quelled that fire. You were realistic … I was and still am the dreamer. You saw the glass half empty … I saw it half full. You were prone to worry … I was and still am aloof.
I wish things were different. I wish you were still here with me physically. I miss teasing you and being teased by you. I miss your smile and even your occasional grumpiness — especially in the dawn’s early light. I miss our time together, exploring new adventures together. But, it’s not. Life has a way of changing expectations.
Sad But True
Most of the grandkids felt at one time or another that I was Santa. My jolly belly and snow white hair and beard coupled with a hearty laugh tipped them in that direction. I always vehemently denied the alter ego.
The Light 