“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.” Psalm 100:4. The holidays are approaching, how shall we observe them? “Will it be, as it has been in many instances, a thanksgiving to ourselves? Or will it be a thanksgiving to God?”
“We are to remember that it is more blessed to give than to receive. . . . Now a season is coming when we shall have our principles tested. Let us think what we can do for God’s needy ones. We can make them through ourselves the recipients of God’s blessings.
“But this does not embrace all of your duty. Make an offering to your best Friend; acknowledge His bounties; show your gratitude for His favors; bring a thank offering to God. . . . Brethren and sisters, eat a plain dinner on Thanksgiving and Christmas day, and with the money you would spend in extras with which to indulge the appetite, make a thank offering to God.
“We want this Thanksgiving to be all that it implies. Do not let it be perverted, mingled with dross; but let it be what its name implies—giving thanks. LET OUR VOICES ASCEND IN PRAISE!” Adventist Home, 474, 475.
What a beautiful picture of the Christian’s holiday. In order to fulfill God’s ideal in us, we must have His Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts and lives at all times. The delicate nerve endings of our brains must be in the proper condition each hour of the day to receive this Gift Jesus left for us upon His ascension. And let us remember, with great solemnity, that “The brain nerves which communicate with the entire system are the only medium through which heaven can communicate with man and affect his inmost life.” My Life Today, 148. Therefore, we find out a very important aspect of our Christian life in eradicating sin from our lives, that “When men take any course which needlessly expends their vitality or beclouds their intellect, they sin against God: they do not glorify Him in their body and spirit, which are His.” Counsels on Health, 20. What a sobering thought as we approach the Second Coming of Christ. With what fervor should we “work intelligently to put away from our life-practice every perverted appetite.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 373.
What constitutes a beclouding and benumbing of the brain? Here are a few that God has mentioned:
Meat (see Testimonies, vol. 2, 64);
Sugar (see Testimonies, vol. 2, 369; Manuscript 93);
Grease (see Testimonies, vol. 2, 63);
Cheese (see Ministry of Healing, 302);
Stimulants (see Testimonies, vol. 1, 549);
Gluttony (see Testimonies, vol. 2, 412, 413);
Lack of Exercise (see My Life Today, 130);
Impure air (see My Life Today, 137);
Improper rest (see My Life Today, 143);
Irregularity (see My Life Today, 146.)
Let us endeavor during the days that come to follow God’s ideal and original program for our lives that we may claim His promise to us, “God has pledged Himself to keep this human machinery in healthful action if [remember, there are always conditions with God’s promises] the human agent will obey His Laws and cooperate with God.” My Life Today, 127.
Holiday Dressing:
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon Thyme
1 /2 cup onions (finely chopped)
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
1/2 cup celery (finely chopped)
1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder
1/2 cup mushrooms (sliced)
1/2 cup wheat germ
2 teaspoons Sea salt
1/2 cup Cashew milk
3 and ½ cups dry bread pieces (or Grapenuts are very tasty)
1 Tablespoon Vegex in 3 /4 cup hot water.
1-1/2 cup nut meats (walnuts, pecans, etc.) chopped
1 teaspoon Sweet Basil
1 small can of chestnuts (sliced)
Simmer onions, celery, mushrooms, and seasonings in the 1 /2 to 1 cup of water. Cook a few minutes till celery is tender but still crisp, stirring often. Mix the Vegex seasoning and Cashew milk together and add the bread pieces, crumbs, or Grapenuts and chopped nutmeats. Mix all ingredients lightly but well. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until slightly browned. For an added treat, you may use a loaf pan, arranging slices of Nut Meat alternately with the roast. Use with Cashew Gravy.
Cashew Gravy:
1-1/2 cups of cashew pieces
2 Tablespoons Vegex
1 Tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon Garlic powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
3-4 cups water
Place above ingredients in blender and blend thoroughly. Place in pan on medium heat and stir constantly until mixture thickens and comes to a boil. You may add I can of mushrooms if you like.
Pumpkin Pudding:
Place in Blender.
2 cups Cashew milk
1 /2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup date pieces
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
1 Tablespoon Corriander powder
1 /2 cup cashew pieces
Blend thoroughly on high speed, and add to one 16-oz can of Libby’s Pumpkin. Mix thoroughly, and add 1/2 cup chopped Pecans or Walnuts. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.
May God be with you and protect each of you during this season, and may we in unity say, “Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.”