Giving thanks...

We are now about to celebrate Thanksgiving, and I hope the holiday will be a great one for everybody reading this.

Thanksgiving can mean different things to different people. With a nation as diverse as the United States, it will be fascinating to watch the different ways in which we observe the holiday. Most importantly, I hope all of us will take time on Thursday to give thanks for the many blessings we enjoy.

We all have problems that we struggle with both as people and as a nation. However, despite these problems I believe we can all agree we have been tremendously blessed.

On a personal level, I appreciate God's blessings on my life. I am grateful Jesus acted as a sacrifice for my sins. Additionally, God has blessed our country in many ways, and I hope those who don't realize that will understand it soon.

Also, I am thankful that I will get to spend Thanksgiving with my family.

There are people scattered all over the world who are separated from their loved ones. However, I will get a chance to spend the day with mine. It is a blessing that is easy to take for granted, and I hope I never do.

I am thankful for my good health. Like I wrote earlier, we all have challenges that weigh us down, and for many, their primary challenge is with their health.

As I move through middle age, my body is changing in ways I never thought possible, but other than that, I am grateful my problems are manageable.

I am grateful that I live in the United States. True, we are a country with a lot of struggles. Despite this, we are also a wonderful country.

Our nation has been blessed with a tremendous amount of liberty and freedom, and I know for certain that I take that for granted. I know I do not make the most of this blessing, and maybe all of us are guilty of this to a certain extent. Fortunately, this is an attitude we can all reverse if we will commit ourselves to it.

Making the most of our liberty and freedom can manifest itself in many ways. Many times, it is simply being a lot more aware of what is going on around us. This is more important than ever.

As we head toward the New Year, 'accountability' is a word that we should focus more on in terms of how our politicians govern us. Especially on the federal level, there has been a lot of turmoil regarding the direction in which our nation should go.

This is especially apparent when it comes to health care. I believe everybody reading this agrees that our health care system needs reforming. Of course, the big controversy is what approach we should use.

During the last several months, there has been a lot of frustration regarding how this issue will shake out. The frustrating aspect is how many of our politicians are trying to push their agenda while shutting out the attitudes of the public. Sometimes, the political acts we have seen have literally been done under the cloak of darkness.

For example, when the House of Representatives passed its version of health care reform two weeks ago, the vote was done at 10 p.m. on a Saturday night. That seems like an odd time to conduct a vote on an issue so important. Perhaps they wanted to vote when they knew many would not be watching.

Beware of tip-toeing in the darkness.