Thankful for church

Did you know Religion May Help Extend Your Life? It's a good article. They say...

Attending a weekly religious service, regardless of your faith, may lower your risk of death by 20 percent compared to people who don't attend services, researchers are reporting.

I'm no researcher, but I would venture to say that having peace with God makes it even better (some who attend church still lack the peace part). At some point we're all going to find that our jobs, and salaries, and nice homes, and toys, and cars, and guitars, and whatever it is we're putting our hope in... will not satisfy. I think Rick Warren had this right in his book The Purpose Driven Life. I know it's popular to bash him, and his book, now... but I still think it's a great book. We can only find true hope, meaning, and peace through the mercy, grace, and love of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Anyway... I'm just rambling off the top of my head. Brian McLaren had this nice little ditty on his blog too...

People have a lot of criticisms of church, and churches do have their share of problems, but this week, I'm grateful for all that's going right. Because week by week, from inner city storefronts to tall-steeple cathedrals and everything in between, there really are a lot of good things happening. Thanks be to God!

Amen. Happy Thanksgiving and much peace to ya.