This is Thanksgiving week and I think it is important that we seek to give thanks not just for the obvious but also for the mundane and overlooked in our lives.

Once I was watching a “Ripley’s believe it or not” T.V. episode with my son whom, at the time, was all of 12. If ever there was a show designed for the psyche of a 12 year old boy it has to be Ripley’s.

Tonight is Halloween. For those of you unfamiliar with the holiday it’s a beautiful time of year where small children are encouraged to pretend to be someone else and come to the homes of strangers and ask for candy.

Children aren’t born with manners. No, they have to learn them. In every area of life, from how to play nice with each other, how not to hit, or even how to eat in front of others.

At the dinner table untrained children burp and talk with their mouth full. That’s why it is incumbent on adults to teach them the ways of polite society.

To truly move forward in your Christian discipline it is crucial to constantly weigh your experiences with perspective.

What I mean by that is everyone has at one time, or eventually will, experience situations in their life that will be challenging. Ironically it’s overcoming those challenges with a balanced perspective that is part of what makes humans distinctive in the universe.