If holidays were represented by a color, for me, Thanksgiving is brown — something other than the frenzied red of the secular Christmas, the patriotic red, white and blue of July 4th or the garish black and orange of Halloween. Brown is a peaceful, earthy tone, suggestive of fallen leaves, dried corn stalks and landscapes at rest after the harvest. A peaceful color is appropriate for the day and, thank God, no one is trying to take the “thanks” out of Thanksgiving. As Christ followers, we have an advantage at Thanksgiving because we know who to thank. Ours is a heritage of giving...

The last time someone asked you “What’s new?” what was your answer? If we are not intentional with our lives, someone might say we did nothing in particular, and we did it very well. Similarly, the question, “Where are you going?” is revealing as well. The average person’s life consists of 20 years of having parents ask where he or she is going, 40 years of having a spouse ask the same questions and, at the end, the mourners wondering the same thing. You can predict your future by the awareness you have of your unique contribution. So, what’s new? Where...