Thanksgiving – Page 2 – Family Council

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nov 23, 2017Jerry CoxThanksgivingThanksgiving

I hope you and your family have a wonderful time together giving thanks and counting the many blessings we enjoy as Americans.

We are always grateful to have friends like you standing with us. I cannot tell you how much means to have your support.

If you have not donated to Family Council or the Education Alliance recently, now is a great time to do so. Simply click here to give online.

Thank you for being a part of our work. Have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!

Sincerely,
Jerry Cox

Here’s The Proclamation That Started Our Modern Thanksgiving

Nov 16, 2017Jerry CoxThanksgivingThanksgiving

We’re counting down to Thanksgiving at our office.

Today I want to talk about Abraham Lincoln’s thanksgiving proclamation from October of 1863.

Lincoln’s proclamation is significant, because it helped establish Thanksgiving as a holiday observed nationwide rather than individually by states or occasionally by Congress.

Lincoln’s proclamation describes the many blessings America had enjoyed, concluding, “No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people.”

You can read Lincoln’s entire proclamation here.

As Thanksgiving approaches, I hope you will take time to reflect on the many ways God has blessed our nation and thank Him for those blessings.

If you have never donated to Family Council or the Education Alliance, now is a great time to do so. Your financial support will make Arkansas a better place to live, work, and raise a family. It will promote and strengthen home schooling. It will help fight abortion and make Arkansas a more pro-life state. Click here to send a generous, tax-deductible donation today.

The First Arkansas Thanksgiving:

Nov 13, 2017Jerry CoxThanksgivingThanksgiving

We’re counting down to Thanksgiving at our office. Today we’re looking at Arkansas’ very first Thanksgiving proclamation.

In October of 1847, Arkansas’ third governor, Gov. Thomas Drew, issued Arkansas very Thanksgiving proclamation. The proclamation set aside Thursday, December 8, 1847, as a day of thanksgiving. In it, Gov. Drew highlighted the many blessings Arkansas had enjoyed—including Arkansas’ great people, abundant crops, prosperity, and good health. He concluded by calling on Arkansans to thank God for these blessings.

You can read Gov. Drew’s entire Thanksgiving proclamation here.

Gov. Drew’s proclamation is significant, because it came at a time when Thanksgiving was not formally recognized by Congress or the President. Instead, different states took the initiative to set aside a day for giving thanks. Arkansas was among them.