Newsletter   I   NOVEMBER 2003

THE ART OF THANKSGIVING The art of thanksgiving is thanks-living. It is gratitude in action. It is thanking God for the gift of life by living it triumphantly. It is thanking God for your talents and abilities by accepting them as obligations to be invested for the common good. It is thanking God for all that men and women have done for you by doing things for others. It is thanking God for happiness by striving to make others happy. It is thanking God for beauty by helping to make the world more beautiful. It is thanking God for inspiration by trying to be an inspiration to others. It is thanking God for health and strength by the care and respect you show your body. CONSTANTLY THANKFUL There is an imaginative story told of a day when the sun did not rise. Six o'clock came and there was no sign of dawn. At seven o'clock, there was still no ray of light. At noon, it was as black as midnight. No birds sang and only the hoot of an owl broke the silence. Then came the long black hours of the afternoon. Finally evening arrived but no one slept that night. Some wept, some wrung their hands in anguish. Every church was thronged with people on their knees. Thus they remained the whole night through. After that long night of terror and agony, millions of eager, tear-streaked faces were turned toward the east. When the sky began to grow red and the sun rose, there was a loud shout of joy. Millions of lips said, "Bless the Lord, O my soul!" because the sun had risen after one day of darkness. The very consistency of God's blessings sometimes seems to dull our gratitude. The wonderful thing about the mercies of God is that they are fresh every morning and new every evening. Let us remember to be constantly thankful to our gracious God.                                                                                                --A Treasury of Bible Illustrations

Give Thanks LETTER FROM THE ISF ASSISTANT Dear International Friend, It is hard to believe that it is almost time again to celebrate two very special holidays in the United States. Thanksgiving is on November 27th this year and Christmas is a fixed date of December 25th. Both of these times are important to us since we like to share these holidays with you during our monthly gatherings. We realize that many of you are far from family and friends and nothing can take the place of you being able to be with them. That is one of the reasons why we try to have a Thanksgiving dinner for you and a special Christmas celebration. We want you to know that we are interested and concerned about you and hopefully if you can attend either of these special gatherings with us, it will lessen your homesick feelings and make you feel as though this is your "home away from home." Our next gathering on November 14th will be our opportunity to provide a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for you. At this gathering we will have our traditional "Thanksgiving" meal with turkey and all the trimmings! We welcome you to invite any of your friends especially those who are new in the Pittsburgh area and those who may have been here for a while, but are experiencing feelings of loneliness. Our Thanksgiving gathering is our way of thanking God for the many wonderful International friends we have met throughout the years. We look forward to seeing you at our Annual ISF Thanksgiving gathering at the William Pitt Union. This is always a very special time for our ISF family. This gathering will be on Friday, November 14th, 7:30 PM in the beautiful Ballroom of the William Pitt Union. The William Pitt Union is located in Oakland on the corner of Bigelow and Fifth Avenue. To get to the Ballroom, use the entrance on Fifth Avenue and then follow the signs. Victor Sanders will be giving a special lecture on Thanksgiving and there will be children's activities in the Kurtzman room. Come and be a part of our big International family and invite your friends. It's all free! We hope to see you on November 14th!                                                                                                       --Terry Tiberio, ISF Assistant