Lincoln's Address on Thanksgiving 1863

Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation (from the collection of Lincoln's papers in the Library of America series, Vol II, pp. 520-521). The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe had enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. 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 voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union. It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord. - Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation October 3, 1863

Lying - The Process Defined

I was prepping for bible study a couple of weeks ago and totally forgot we had missionaries with us that day and we never got to the lesson I had studied.
In the back of the @LifeTruths study that week there was a small section called: Are All Your Sayings Trustworthy?
This was a small article but it was strong in that it showed the path of Lying in such a simple but profound way that I wanted to share it with you here on Bridge Builders if you are in a situation as a dad wanting to share with your kids the path and why it is a bad road to go down. Have someone around you that has this issue and is in denial about an issue that is affecting their family, friends and even their job.

Step 1 is the Lie itself. Seems small at first but it is a lie.
Step 2 is Self Protection: we lie about having lied
Step 3: It now becomes a habit. A way of life. Even lying about trivial things.
Step 4: Self-Deception: We now start to believe our own lies. (see politicians) heh.
Step 5: Rationalization: Our lies can make them seem like the good thing to do.
Step 6: Perfection: We get really good at lying. We now have techniques and this helps expand our capability to rationalize.
Step 7: Justification: We see it as our duty to lie.

Think about keeping this list handy the next time you are discipling someone else, coaching or influencing them and what step they are at so you can help them break this chain before they alienate people, lose friends, hurt family and others around them.
Ask them to move to repenting this behavior before God as He already knows of the lies.
Help them see that God is not the creator of lies. He is the creator of truth. As Jesus said, "the Truth will set you free." It will. It will set you on a new course to be truthful and counted on as someone that people that can count on to help them be more self aware.

What are some ideas you have around this?

PS. The next week, I shared with the class about this and had a couple come up to me later that morning to tell me thank you for showing us this, it was powerful and they wanted to sit down with their daughter to work thru issues that had developed around this. Is there someone you can help break free from this cycle?