November 3rd marked two years since Kenneth Bae became a prisoner in the Democratic of Korea (also known as North Korea), and Kenneth’s family couldn’t really celebrate a normal Thanksgiving for the last two years. You can’t even imagine the pain this caused to Kenneth and his family. Their lives were held captive, filled with deep heartache and fear. As they were wondering when Kenneth would ever be free, on November 8th we all heard the news that he was freed and was on a plane from North Korea. He was finally coming home. At his interview, Kenneth said that he was grateful that he is back home now, and what he wants to do most was to spend time with family and friends he had so longed to see. This year’s Thanksgiving Day will be more meaningful than ever before for Kenneth and his family.
What does Thanksgiving Day mean to you?  How are you planning on spending your Thanksgiving Day?  The meaning of Thanksgiving Day has certainly changed over the years. Thanksgiving Day seems to get filled with more of watching football games and shopping for bargains.  Now this year, stores are saying that they will be opening at 6:00 pm on Thanksgiving Day and extend their special deals until Sunday evening to get people into buying more stuff.
It seems shopping has become more important than spending time with family and friends, and we tend to take our relationships with people we love for granted. We always see them so what’s the big deal? This kind of careless thought and lifestyle is chipping away at the true meaning of Thanksgiving Day. Yes, Kenneth was completely cut off from his family for two years. So when he said all he wants to do most now was to spend time with family and friends, we can say we would feel the same way if we were in his situation.
But the point is that we shouldn’t take the relationships we have for granted even if your relationships are perfectly fine with family and friends. For Kenneth, the relationship with his family and friends were cut off from him unexpectedly without his control. He said he learned a lot through this ordeal, and I could sense that missing his family and friends were the most painful and difficult things he had to deal with while he was imprisoned.
My youngest brother passed away last December unexpectedly. Since we were seven years apart, we rarely had deep and intimate conversations as we were growing up. But as we got older we began to share more about each other’s life, and when he was hospitalized for three weeks before he passed away, I had gotten to know more about him. I wish I had spent more time sharing with him before this happened. Well, it’s a little too late, isn’t it? Moreover, our Thanksgiving Day this year may not be the same as last year, especially for my aging mother.
Don’t forget to appreciate the relationships with your family and friends you have now. Don’t take them for granted. The relationships you have now could be interrupted without warning, and time will not wait for you either. Enjoy and cherish what you have now, and do your best to keep it while you have it!
Also let us not forget our God who’s always been so faithful and loving to us, and give utmost thanksgiving to Him.  Let us remember how blessed we are for having our God who loves us unconditionally and provides us with all good things.
I pray that all of you would have a wonderful Thanksgiving gathering with your families and friends, and enjoy spending time together.   Have a wonderful and a happy Thanksgiving!

From Pastor Neil’s Heart
November 23, 2014

This week, most of us will gather with families, relatives and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving Day.  We will have a lavish dinner with roasted turkey, fried chicken instead if you don’t like turkey like I don’t, pies, and a just little bit of fruits and vegetables (I don’t like too much fruits and vegetables…).  You will enjoy a great meal with people that you want be with and spend intimate time of fellowship with lots of laughing and fun in your cozy and warm home.  For those family members, relatives and friends who haven’t seen each other for some time, this is a wonderful time to catch up on lost time and reconnect with each other.
What does Thanksgiving Day mean to you?  How are you planning on spending your Thanksgiving Day?  The true meaning of Thanksgiving Day has certainly changed over the years as people enjoy more prosperity and comfort.  The entire Thanksgiving Day is filled with having good times, such as watching football games and shopping for bargains more than ever before.  Some stores will be opening at 6:00 am on Thanksgiving Day to lure people into a buying spree.
Nothing is wrong with finding great bargains and watching football games.  However, when it comes to Thanksgiving Day, this is only one day out of the year that families, distant relatives and old friends can come together to share meals and spend meaningful time together.  Are we going to let great bargain shopping invade into our Thanksgiving Day and take away the time we can spend more meaningfully?  It seems that slowly a careless and a thoughtless lifestyle is stripping away the true value and meaning from Thanksgiving Day.
Of course, thanksgiving should not be limited to one day a year, and it should be a daily occurrence.  But especially on Thanksgiving Day, let us not forget to give thanks to God who is always so generous and full of love, and make God be the center of our gathering.  We are too often focusing on ourselves on Thanksgiving Day rather than focusing on how blessed we are for having our God who loves us unconditionally and provides us abundantly with all good things.
This year, many people who are affected by the Super Typhoon Haiyan in Leyte and Samar, Philippines will face a very sad and grim Thanksgiving Day.  It is reported that about 5,600 people have died or are missing after Haiyan tore a path of destruction across the country, and many of them lost their loved ones and countless of people lost all of their belongings and homes.  The devastation is really horrific, and it’s a great human tragedy.  We all need to keep them in our prayers for God’s comfort, provision and speedy recovery, and they also need more than a prayer.  James 2:15-17 says, “Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed.” But does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”  So let us not only keep them in our prayers, but also we need to share what we have with them and give our helping hands to meet their needs.
I pray that all of you would have a great Thanksgiving gathering with your families, relatives and friends, and enjoy delicious meals and spend intimate time together.  

Have a wonderful and a happy Thanksgiving!

From Pastor Neil’s Heart
November 24, 2013