CONTINUING THE SPIRIT OF THANKSGIVING

The family has gathered. The meal has been blessed. The turksy and all its trimmings have been consumed. The day set aside to recount all that we have to be thankful for has once again come and gone. I sincerely hope that some quality time with family and/or friends has been had by all. I know for me, rekindling old friendships was the order of the weekend, and for that opportunity, I am truly, truly thankful. But, may we not forget that Thanksgiving, although it appears but once per year on our calendars, is the order of each and EVERYDAY. Giving thanks for what we have, the people in our lives, our health, our nation, etc., should continue beyond this past weekend. A daily affirmation of how good God has been to us is so very important. Because, as God's children surely know, if He never does another thing for us that we in our humaness can measure tangibly, He has already done incredibly, lovingly more than any of us deserves.

Let's continue the spirit of giving THANKS through next November.

HOW OLD IS TOO OLD?

I am now 39 years old. I have never been married. Being the age that I am now, the women my age are either all married w/ children, or divorced w/ children. Well, I work on a college campus around younger women, and what happens when I find myself genuinely attracted to one of them that I have become close to? Am I supposed to just bury my feelings and pretend that she doesn't appeal to me because I am some 19 years her senior? She is a fine Christian young woman. She is intelligent. She is attractive. Do I tell her how I feel as though we were comtemporaries? Will it scare her away? If it doesn't scare her away and we embark on a relationship, how will others few us? Oh, the "joys" of being nearly 40 and still single.

How many of you out there are hooked on the latest television event, NBC's "Heroes"? I think I just saw quite a few hands go up, including my own. Wow! For someone like myself, who has been fascinated with superheroes and superhuman ability since the age of 10,---I read the cover off of "The Avengers" comic books as a kid--- this is the greatest thing to hit t.v. since...well...ever. It's like Tim Kring, the shows creator and exec. prod., was thinking of me when he came up with the idea for the show.

Well, last nights episode did not disappoint. I applaud the writers of the show for not only introducing at least one new person a week who discovers they are "special", but for surprising the audience with someone who has been in the cast since the first episode. For those of you who watch, did your jaw drop open when Micah called his mom...from a pay phone that was OUT OF ORDER??!! Boy mine sure did. Although, I have to admit, as I'm sure you will too, that in the back of our collective minds, we knew that Micah had some kind of ability beyond the norm. And looking at his situation as we now know it, how could he not? Both his parents are "freeeaakky!"

So, let me hear from you fellow "Heroes" enthusiasts. I don't get to talk to other people who are hooked on the show very often, so this should be fun.

So, a very astute student of mine has asked me a very important question about free will. I'll need someone to help me answer this better. Her question is, "how is it free will when God already knows who will/won't accept His gift?" Help me answer that for her intelligently. Thanks in advance, Guys! (BTW, "Guys" is an all inclusive term for men and women)