This week I would like to do something a little different, so allow me to being with a disclaimer. As I think about Thanksgiving, my first thoughts go to how very thankful I am for my Savior, Jesus Christ. I am so blessed to be able to call on God as my Father, and to have a relationship with Him through the saving work of His Son, Jesus Christ.

But this week I would like to take a little different slant toward the subject of Thanksgiving. The older I get, the more like my father I become. There are so many reasons I make this assertion, but I will focus on just one: TV. My father loved to watch old westerns: Bonanza, Wagon Train, Have Gun Will Travel, Gunsmoke, Rawhide, and so many others. When I was a boy I didn’t care too much for this genre of television programs and movies, but now that I am older I find myself drawn to them. As a matter of fact I very much enjoy them.

But this blog is not about those shows and movies. It is rather about the way of life depicted in them. And it is a cause of thanksgiving for the many modern conveniences we enjoy, and, for the most part, take for granted pretty much all the time. I can’t even begin to imagine living without all the modern-day conveniences we enjoy. Running water, electricity, air conditioning, heat (utilizing any one of quite a number of choices), automobiles, and so many others. I watch those shows depicting wagon trains making their way across the frontier, enduring heat and cold, rain and storms, cooking over a campfire, having to find wood for that fire, traveling across the wide-open spaces having to pick one’s way through changing terrain.

And then, once arriving at the desired location, after weeks, months and sometimes even years of tediously making their way across the country, having to clear the land, cut the trees for the lumber to be used in building a dwelling, tilling the land, working from dawn to dusk in all kinds of inclement weather. We could go on and on talking about all of the inconveniences and hardships they endured, but what I would like to simply remind us of in this blog is how very, very blessed we are.

My wife and I have chosen a very simple lifestyle as we have moved into semi-retirement. Granted, it isn’t for everyone. As many of you know, when I retired from full-time pastoral ministry in 2018, we sold our house, upgraded our camper, and are now enjoying life without all the hassles of home ownership. We have talked with many who say they would love to be able to live this lifestyle, while others look at us like we are insane. And then, there are those who seem to think that we have been forced to choose this lifestyle against our best interests, and even those who look down on us for living in a campground.

But we chose this lifestyle, and we truly, sincerely, enjoy it. There may come the day when we decide to move back into home ownership, but right now we love where we are, what we do, and the simplicity of camper living.

However, having said all that, as I look around my camper, I am still overwhelmed with the amazing conveniences we enjoy. We have heat and AC. We enjoy the conveniences of having WiFi, streaming TV services, cellular service. We have a fifth-wheel with five slides, a living area with two full size sleeper sofas and a two-person recliner. We sleep on a queen size bed in a comfortably sized bedroom. We have the freedom to hook up to our Ram 3500 dually and move if we choose to do so. In other words, we enjoy the conveniences of life.

Yes, we should always be grateful for the work of salvation God has wrought for us. We should also be grateful for the ongoing work of sanctification the Holy Spirit continues to accomplish in our lives as believers as we strive to walk in step with Him. But might I suggest that we take time to be thankful for those things that we so often take for granted? He is the giver of all good gifts, so let’s be sure to thank Him for them all.