Happy Thanksgiving 2021

After a hiatus last Thanksgiving, I have returned to write my annual Thanksgiving post. I should explain, though, that the reason there was no holiday post last year wasn’t completely the pandemic, but the Wuhan flu did have something to do with it.

For a couple years, we had been taking vacations as a family – the “we” being my wife’s extended family of her sisters, assorted husbands, significant others and kids, and her mom. In 2020 we were supposed to go in June, but all the uncertainty over the CCP virus led the sister who planned all this to postpone the trip to Deep Creek Lake, Maryland. I’m not sure who had the bright idea to make it a Thanksgiving excursion, but that’s what we did. And I usually don’t take my laptop on these trips and didn’t think to write a post beforehand. So much for tradition.

This year, thankfully for many reasons, we are back to our usual Thanksgiving arrangement, and you get this post.

Speaking of traditions, I’m completely surprised that more isn’t being made that this year is a quadricentennial anniversary of our first Thanksgiving 400 years ago. It makes me wonder what things will be like in five years when America celebrates its 250th birthday, particularly when I remember how we as a nation celebrated the Bicentennial in 1976, when I was 11. I suppose when the 1619 Project and its emphasis on slavery is more of a thing than the 1620 project of pilgrims seeking freedom to worship as they pleased it’s a sign of the times.

And I would imagine that people feel less than blessed these days. There is so much uncertainty in the world as people worry about their jobs, health, and families. At the moment I’m blessed enough to enjoy all three, but it takes some work, some vigilance, and some common sense to keep all of these things, and you can’t take them for granted. But could you ever?

Each day I try to take a few moments with my Savior and often as part of my prayers I pray a prayer of thanksgiving, even for little things like the opportunity to be with our small group. I probably don’t thank the Lord as often as I should for all my blessings: one in this case being the God-given talent of writing and having a place more or less of my own to write at, and another of having readers like you who have cared enough to stop by and see what I have to say. It’s not a number that makes me financially wealthy (not that I’m trying too hard to be) but if I steer one in the right direction I consider this a successful venture.

So whether you eat during the Lions game (they’re 0-9-1 and playing the 3-7 Bears, so I don’t blame you) or eat at dinnertime like we do, just take time to count your blessings, too. I’m going to get back to something I did for a few years and close with Philippians 4:4. Have a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!

Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.

Happy Thanksgiving 2019

It’s that time of year again. Unlike most of the rest of the world these days, I keep the holidays in order and don’t think about Christmas until Thanksgiving is over. So today I’m going to count my blessings.

First and foremost is being married to my wife. Even though this didn’t happen until comparatively late in life, everything occurs in the Lord’s time. I sometimes wonder what it would have been like to meet her when we were both far younger – perhaps it would have saved us both a lot of heartache. But then again we may not have been attracted to each other for whatever reason, so – as I said – things occur in the Lord’s time, not mine. And since it was a package deal I got to watch her daughter grow up and become a pretty good adult.

The second big blessing is a home of our own, one which placed us in the First State for the first time. It’s not brand new and it’s not fancy, but it’s the first time I’ve lived in a house that wasn’t standing when Jimmy Carter was president. (I suppose the apartment I lived in for two years wasn’t either, but that was an apartment.)

Another blessing that’s come over the last year or so is the extended family of our church small group. My family is spread out from Ohio to Missouri to Florida, so I don’t often see them. These folks are the surrogates who keep me grounded.

I have also had the blessing of finishing and marketing my book, The Rise and Fall of the TEA Party. Now I’m not going to lie to you and claim it’s been a best seller (although there’s still time) but I have received the opportunity to speak to audiences in 13 different states, not counting podcasts and the like. Tomorrow I wrap up the radio tour with an internet radio show, which I suppose covers the other 37 states, right?

So when we gather around the table this evening (generally Kim’s family eats around supper time as opposed to my growing up with dinner during the Lions game) and say the blessing, I have a lot for which to be thankful. Hopefully you can say the same.

Oh, and one more thing to be thankful about: having those of you who still care enough to stop by my little corner of the internet. It’s not the largest number ever but each one is one more than I would have had without the website. On Sunday I’ll do that navel-gazing since it will be 14 years of monoblogue.

Have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving 2018

In Ecclesiastes 1:9 we are told “there is no new thing under the sun.” This Biblical line is well-suited for my message this year, as I was tempted to put last year‘s back up because it pretty much still applies. I still like growing older with my wife.

I suppose, though, there are some things that have changed, even if they’re not really new. Since matters electoral remain the bread and butter of my writing it’s worth noting that politically we are entering a brave new world of divided government under a populist Republican president – the last time that happened I was still in college. (That, kids, was a looooong time ago.) I guess I should be thankful the “blue wave” didn’t crest as high as once thought.

One thing about our present climate still bothers me, though. Too many people can’t get along because they see the political registration, hear the wrong talking points, or walk around in different colored hats. It seems lately, though, that I talk online quite a bit more to Democrats than I do Republicans. (Those folks I catch offline, as you’ll find why in a bit.) Sure, the Democrats know I’m barely left of militia but we can talk about issues and choose to disagree or occasionally even find a patch of common ground. It’s a good balance because most of my church family leans to the right, and I’m sure a few of them may, from time to time, fall short when it comes to decorum with those on the other side politically. I try not to, although the “progressives” make it difficult sometimes!

So I suppose that besides the obvious blessings I have of food, family, friends, a steady place of employment, and roof over my head, I should give great thanks for being blessed with the insight to see beyond the political labels and into the content of character. I can’t say I’m completely immune from getting my exercise through jumping to conclusions, but I feel like I’m getting better about it. Heck, even my in-laws don’t always agree with me but we still get along all right.

Anyway, I am going to conclude by taking one bit of license from previous writing because I still like the material:

Some of our prayers are simple expressions of thanks for His works, and it’s with that in mind that I hope you share today that which you are thankful for with our Creator. I understand for some that list may be far too short, and for others I’ll grant that they haven’t quite learned their long list of blessings is there in no small part thanks to His intercession. (I think He is certainly approving of the endeavors and efforts one undertakes in pursuit of those blessings, though.)

So I pray that all of you have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving. Enjoy your dinner, friends, and family, and (above all) count your blessings.

Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. (Philippians 4:4)

Happy Thanksgiving 2017

As is tradition, I’m going to count my blessings on this day of giving thanks.

The last year has had its share of tumult and chaos for our God-blessed nation, but there are still things for which we all should be thankful; first and foremost that we still have the freedom to do so. Those of us who are seeing our families can count that as a blessing too, although we shouldn’t forget to say a Thanksgiving prayer for those who chose to be in harm’s way for us as we celebrate the holiday. There are a number of young men that I know who are going to join that group in the coming months as they complete school so this time next year they will be included in that prayer.

In reading last year’s message, I noted my gratefulness to have a full-time job, but the good Lord has blessed me still further by bringing me back to my old company. This development lent new meaning to the phrase “circle of life.” It’s almost like everything old is new again in a way. In that same vein I will likely be with most of the same company today to celebrate the holiday, with one certain subtraction being the late husband of my sister-in-law.

But I’m still blessed with family and those friends who have stuck with me in the post-political phase of my life. Things were still a little bit raw at this time last year, but I think time is healing whatever wounds we might have unless we wish to keep on inflicting them upon ourselves.

If I were to have a blessing I were to be thankful for – besides the obvious ones of my wife and family – it would be the gift I was given to put words together in ways that people enjoy reading, and that make a positive difference in the world. Rush Limbaugh often speaks of his “talent on loan from God” and I have no other explanation for what I have, either: my father’s been a common laborer his whole life and my mom worked for a bit as a secretary before my late older brother was born, or so I’m told. Back then being a high school graduate was enough to make your way in the world and that’s what they did. So I also should be grateful to be blessed with the opportunity to be able to carve out the time to work on things like my website and my upcoming book, which as I write this is closing in on the halfway point in the first draft.

But I’m going to close by quoting myself from last year, because I liked what I wrote then and still do today.

Some of our prayers are simple expressions of thanks for His works, and it’s with that in mind that I hope you share today that which you are thankful for with our Creator. I understand for some that list may be far too short, and for others they haven’t quite learned that their long list of blessings is there in no small part thanks to His intercession. (I think He is certainly approving of the endeavors and efforts one undertakes in pursuit of those blessings, though.)

So I pray that all of you have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving. Enjoy your dinner, friends, and family, and count your blessings.

Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. (Philippians 4:4)

 

Can there be reconciliation between “Deplorables” and the pure of heart? More thoughts.

By Cathy Keim

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will to men.  Luke 2:13-14 (KJV)

Editor’s note: Cathy began her series on reconciliation here.

The holiday season that begins with Thanksgiving, continues with Christmas, and concludes with New Year’s Day is always a difficult time for many who have troubled family relationships. The desire to come together for a meal and to remember the good old days is often marred by contentious jabs and barbed comments by cantankerous relatives.

This year seems to be one of the most difficult of recent memory due to the election of Donald Trump. I keep using the designated terms “deplorables” and pure of heart because the names capture the essence of how one side of the country views the situation and it behooves the other side to grapple with what this means for us and for them.

I started referring to progressives as pure of heart many years ago after a relative told me in all sincerity that she was glad that she didn’t go to bed at night happy that children were starving like I did. I was shocked that this relative who knew me would imply that I happily tucked myself in each night while chortling with glee that children were starving. That was the first time that I realized how deep the divide was between us.

The pure of heart are sure that they are good and that their motives and deeds are correct. They are also sure that anyone that doesn’t agree with them is evil and can only act in wicked self-interest. Because they are pure of heart, they don’t have to do any good deeds. A simple retweet or #hashtag affirming sympathy with the right cause or a Facebook post are sufficient to prove their good standing with the crowd. Despite any good deeds that the deplorables may perform, those who are certain of their purity believe the milk of human kindness is totally lacking from their deplorable hearts. Progressives are convinced the other side doesn’t really mean their acts of kindness, but are just putting on a show for public approval.

The enemy is all around them as evidenced by the bitter clingers and deplorables that refuse to go away. They may ask just who these people are, and the answer is that they are normal Americans, many of whom are Christians. Those folks are busy working, raising their families, going to church, helping in their communities, and minding their own business.

Our country has been purposely fragmented into small, easily manipulated groups based on skin color, gender, sexual orientation, and ethnicity. Christianity transcends all those designations and sets people free to be who they are: individuals created in the image of God with inherent worth due to that very fact. Our Founding Fathers understood that. I keep returning to this basic truth because it is the foundation of our country. Without grasping that truth, our country doesn’t have a way out of our present predicament.

The deplorables and bitter clingers are patriots that understand that America is not built upon progressive ideas and that the progressive Utopian schemes will end in disaster as every utopian scheme always has.

Remember that the deplorables did not make a show of wailing and gnashing their teeth when Barack Obama was elected president. I walked around in a daze for a week after the 2012 election because I could not believe that he had been re-elected, but we didn’t riot. We just continued working, raising our families, going to church, and living our lives. There was a lot of concern for the damage that another four years of progressive policies would cause, but there was no cancellation of classes or public mourning.

Now that the shoe is on the other foot, the response is noticeably magnified. For example, the aftermath of the 2016 election included articles to help us survive Thanksgiving with our families, with helpful tips like this one:

Dr. (David) Nicholson, a clinical and consulting psychologist in Texas, gives a lot of good tips on how to deal with family members on Thanksgiving Day.

“We love each other more than we love our own policies and candidate,” Nicholson said. “Or at least we should.”

This is good advice to keep the family peace when the relatives gather for the holidays. But how do we extend the peacemaking to our extended family, our fellow citizens? I feared for our country for the last eight years as I watched policy after policy enacted without Congressional authority, as the debt ballooned, and our family values were attacked.

Now we have a change of administration coming and a promised change of direction. None of us knows how this change will turn out. It may look like something we have hoped for or it may not, but we are all along for the ride. Unlike the last transition, this one is accompanied with a lot of complaining, moaning, and outright assaults on the election process and the Electoral College. It is not clear that the pure of heart love their fellow citizens and their country more than they love their own policies and candidate.

Sadly, I do not think that the pure of heart are going to decide to buck up and give the new administration a chance to implement their policies. The past efforts to cajole and bribe the progressives have not worked. This time I am thinking that it will be best to just ignore them as you would ignore a two-year old child that is having a tantrum. Just make sure they are safe and leave them there until they realize that the tantrum is not having the desired result.

The federal government needs to be reined in and that is going to cause a lot of pain and anguish. It will be a fight. If any course correction is achieved, it will only be because a lot of tough love is administered by the new leadership. Tough love is painful for the child, but it is possibly even harder on the parent who must demand the correct actions from the child. Parents want their children to be happy. Even when you know that you must remain firm, the wailing and tears tear at your heart.

Get ready, America.  The tears and wailing of the pure of heart are only going to increase before the desired result can be achieved. The deplorables must take the role of the parent and make the necessary hard decisions to bring our nation back from the brink.  

Happy Thanksgiving 2016

As things sometimes happen to fall in life, for me Thanksgiving begins a short period of recollection and gratitude each year because it generally falls within a week of the anniversary of my website. So I write a pair of summary-type navel-gazing posts in a short period of time, although I use this one to think about my station in life and the December 1 post as a look back at another year of blogging. Last year I did a combination deal because I used an older Thanksgiving post that happened to fall into the “10 from 10” retrospective I did to celebrate a decade of monoblogue, so really I didn’t do my usual thoughts on my life.

Yet to say the least, a lot has occurred over the last two years: I’ve become a relatively regular churchgoer, found a steady full-time job in my original field of work, got back on the Central Committee after a hiatus away as a non-voting secretary only to leave less than a year later, and (of course) married my sweetie on a definite day to remember. And that’s just the big stuff.

So I indeed have a lot to give thanks for, and despite the fact most people have some sort of bone to pick with 2016 I didn’t think it was all that awful of a year. Yes, it was definitely different than most in the 52 I’ve been here, but it wasn’t horrible all things considered.

However, there are things I miss about Thanksgivings past. Obviously growing up as a child most of us have family traditions, and as you get older you begin to look back fondly on the way things were – the warts seem to fall away. It’s been over a decade now since I celebrated the holiday with my parents and family, although this was by my choice to great extent since I live here. In this case, it’s also true that you can’t go home again as my parents moved to Florida not long after I came to Maryland and my older brother is no longer with us. Alas, all those memories are part of the past, and over the last two years I’ve missed out on another regular Thanksgiving tradition as one of the friends who graciously hosted me (and later Kim and Kassie) for several years passed away last December at the age of 41. (She was too ill to host Thanksgiving last year as her cancer was finally beating her after a seven-year fight.)

Yet even with those sad realizations, I just have to remember it’s part of life. None of us are here forever, so it’s a good thing someone came up with the idea of annually taking the time and being thankful for the bounties life provides for us – even if we don’t always recognize them.

One of my latest writing assignments is one that I’m not paid for, doesn’t really come with a regular schedule, and has a fairly limited audience of just a few: I summarize the prayer requests of our small Bible study group and text out a reminder to keep praying for these things. Somehow this has fallen on me, but that’s not so bad because it’s a way to be better connected with the extended family of our church and (in our case) fellow parents of teenagers in the church’s youth group. And we all pray for different people we know or problems we have, with the understanding that God does answer all of our prayers. (The answer isn’t always the one we want to hear, but He is in control for a reason.)

But some of our prayers are simple expressions of thanks for His works, and it’s with that in mind that I hope you share today that which you are thankful for with our Creator. I understand for some that list may be far too short, and for others they haven’t quite learned that their long list of blessings is there in no small part thanks to His intercession. (I think He is certainly approving of the endeavors and efforts one undertakes in pursuit of those blessings, though.)

So I pray that all of you have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving, and we will see if my other, more modest prayer for a Lions win over Minnesota is answered in the way I’d like it to be. Despite being division rivals, this is their first Thanksgiving meeting since 1995 – Barry Sanders played in that game, to illustrate this lengthy interregnum. And unlike a lot of Thanksgivings in the past, this game has a lot of meaning: the winner grabs first place in the division.

Enjoy your dinner, friends, and family, and count your blessings. Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. (Philippians 4:4)

10 from 10: Thanksgiving 2010

For today’s look back, I review a Thanksgiving past. This is from November 25, 2010.

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As I have in years past, I take time a day or two before Thanksgiving to write an annual message. It may or may not be autobiographical (generally it is) and it may or may not be philosophical, but nonetheless I take the time to populate my website on Thanksgiving because I feel I owe it to my loyal readers to provide daily content. A few dozen take me up on reading it.

Last year at this time I detailed my economic struggles, and they continue apace – however, I am thankful to have found a part-time job which is helping a little bit, not to mention the few extra dollars I make as a scribe. Depending on how things go forward with Pajamas Media, I’m up to two or three regular (paying) writing clients.

(I’m told this new job outside the house will pick up once the holidays are over – let’s hope that’s more true than when I lost my last full-time job only to be told I’ll be rehired ‘after the holidays’ – too bad I didn’t verify in which year those holidays would be. Can’t blame the old boss, though, since he has a smaller company now than when I left.)

It’s odd that I seem to have swerved into a bit of a tradition here. For the third year in a row, I’m having dinner with my friends Jim and Michele in Delaware and for the second year in a row, supper will be consumed with Kim’s family at her mom’s place in Oxford. It’s different than a Swartz family gathering, but it has advantages nonetheless.

Of course, the disadvantage of leaving family to move three states away is that one can’t always be there to gather with them. But this year that longing will be compounded by the loss of my brother LJ – future family gatherings will never be the same. For example, there are only two cutthroat UNO players to avoid sitting next to instead of three. (Those who know me best and most intimately will understand the humor there.)

Yet as the universe of readers here keeps expanding and time marches on as it forever has, I realize that there are days we need to ponder that which we should be thankful for and to Whom the thanks should go.

While it’s difficult letting go of the political world for a day and nearly impossible to not pay attention to the football game on (after all, I am a Detroit Lions fan and we almost always ate as their annual Thanksgiving game was being played) I try to manage because the best part is having great company for the day.

Years ago, in what seems like a galaxy far, far away, I was married to my first wife who had an elderly father that lived alone. Our first thought about Thanksgiving was making sure he had a place to go and wouldn’t be by himself on the holiday. As for me, I think I have managed to spend the time with family and friends either here or back in Ohio (a couple times) since I moved here. I still appreciate those who hosted me on Thanksgivings spent far away from my own family opening their home to me and being friends.

So I hope your Thanksgiving goes well, and if you have a job you got the day off. (Is our society really better served with all the stores open for shopping Thanksgiving Day?) Give thanks to those you’re with, for you never know if they’ll be there with you when the next Thanksgiving rolls around. Time has a way of being cruel.

Happy Thanksgiving 2014

As is tradition, I’m sitting here the day before Thanksgiving writing a post for tomorrow morning. I’ve looked through my site to find inspiration in previous Thanksgiving messages and found lots of cultural references, words of advice from my friends at the Patriot Post and from Sarah Palin, and a few holiday leftovers as I essentially recycled the same post for the last few years. And yes, I’ve generally referred to one holiday tradition – my Lions always play on Thanksgiving and (almost) always lose. This year they play the Bears on Thanksgiving for the first time since 1999 and 16th time overall.

This year, though, I decided it was time for originality again. I have a lot to be thankful for as far as family is concerned, and today I’ll see the other half as we go to the in-laws for dinner.

Yet I have an extended family of sorts who reads this site and supports its efforts in many small ways, and I don’t take the time to thank them nearly as much as I should. While this site has been supplanted by social media insofar as immediate news goes – and certainly I take the time to say my piece there as well – I can’t use Facebook or Twitter to write about the things I care about, topics which are important to me. And every so often I run into people who say they appreciate what I do and that they leave my site better informed and entertained. At the risk of stealing a bit of thunder from Monday’s post, which will mark my site’s ninth anniversary, let me just say the fun is just beginning.

I don’t want to keep those who read my site here too long today – this posts in the morning so you can read it in the space of a minute or two and then go on with those things which are really important: your friends and family.

So to all those who have read this space, supported me in some way, or took action based on something I wrote, I want to express my thanks and best wishes. Just don’t forget to thank the Creator who bestows His blessings upon you before you pass the green bean casserole.

Happy Thanksgiving 2013

If this looks similar to what I wrote the last couple years, you’re right! But why mess with good sentiment, I always say.

As always I’d like to take a little time on this holiday which values family and the things we hold dear to wish you and yours a blessed Thanksgiving.

In my case it will be spent with both friends and family, although technically I haven’t married into my significant other’s family (we are engaged, though, so that’s a start.) Once that occurs it will give me something more for which to be thankful.

For those who travel, it looks like the weather in these parts will be conducive for doing so, if a little cold and windy – looks like we escaped the snow and ice, though. I have about two hours of driving between the two stops for which I’m scheduled, but luckily both are both pretty much off the beaten path so traffic shouldn’t be an issue.

So I hope all of you who take the time – whether daily, weekly, or even a first-timer – to read my site have a great holiday. Even though times have been somewhat rough over the last several years, I’m thankful for what I have and look forward to spending time with people I hold dear. If my Lions can run roughshod over the Packers and actually win a Thanksgiving Day game for the first time in ten years, so much the better.

After today, we’ll be into the hustle and bustle of trying to find the right Christmas gift and making New Year’s plans, so it’ll be five weeks of overdrive for our schedule and overindulgence for our bodies. So take the time today and relax. Work will be back before you know it.

Oh, and if anyone tries to spout off Obamacare talking points at the family table, keep in mind that cranberry sauce stains – so aim carefully. Or just throw the drumstick at them, then alert them to reality.

Happy Thanksgiving, all. And for my Jewish friends, a Happy Hanukkah! Today is the first full day of that celebration, and I heard this is a once-in-a-lifetime coincidence.

Happy Thanksgiving 2012

If this looks similar to what I wrote last year, you’re right! But why mess with good sentiment, I always say.

As always I’d like to take a little time on this holiday which values family and the things we hold dear to wish you and yours a blessed Thanksgiving.

In my case it will be spent with both friends and family, although technically I haven’t married into my significant other’s family. I don’t suspect that will be the case for all that many more years, and it will give me something more to be thankful for when the day arrives.

For those who travel, it looks like the weather in these parts will be conducive for doing so. I have about two hours of driving between the two stops I’m scheduled for, but luckily these are both pretty much off the beaten path so traffic shouldn’t be an issue.

So I hope all of you who take the time – whether daily, weekly, or even a first-timer – to read my site have a great holiday. Even though times have been somewhat rough over the last several years, I’m thankful for what I have and look forward to spending time with people I hold dear (while watching my Lions beat up on those Texans, making them wish they’d seceded from the NFL.)

After today, we’ll be into the hustle and bustle of trying to find the right Christmas gift and making New Year’s plans, so it’ll be six weeks of overdrive for our schedule and overindulgence for our bodies. So take the time today and relax. Work will be back before you know it – heck, I have to work Friday.

Happy Thanksgiving, all.

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

As always I’d like to take a little time on this holiday which values family and the things we hold dear to wish you and yours a blessed Thanksgiving.

In my case it will be spent with both friends and family, although technically I haven’t married into my significant other’s family. I don’t suspect that will be the case for all that many more years, and it will give me something more to be thankful for when the day arrives.

For those who travel, it looks like the weather in these parts will be conducive for doing so. I have about two hours of driving between the two stops I’m scheduled for, but luckily these are both pretty much off the beaten path so traffic shouldn’t be an issue.

So I hope all of you who take the time – whether daily, weekly, or even a first-timer – to read my site have a great holiday. Even though times have been somewhat rough over the last couple years, I’m thankful for what I have and look forward to spending time with people I hold dear (while watching my Lions taking on the Packers and hanging that first L on their record.)

After today, we’ll be into the hustle and bustle of trying to find the right Christmas gift and making New Year’s plans, so it’ll be six weeks of overdrive for our schedule and overindulgence for our bodies. So take the time today and relax. Work will be back before you know it – heck, I have to work Friday.

Happy Thanksgiving, all.