Labor Day - Thanks

Colossians 3:23 (New International Version)

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,

There's a holiday coming tomorrow, isn't there? That's right, tomorrow we celebrate Labor Day.

Labor Day was first proposed in 1882 and celebrated with a demonstration and picnic on Tuesday, September 5. In 1884, the Knights of Labor held a large New York parade on the first Monday in September to celebrate a "workingmen's holiday." The group then passed a resolution to hold all future parades on the same day, calling the event Labor Day. Within a few years, other labor organizations began to lobby state legislatures for recognition of Labor Day as an official state holiday. In 1894, Congress passed a law recognizing Labor Day as an official national holiday.

Today, Labor Day has come to be recognized in the U.S. as the unofficial end of the summer season.

That's the day we celebrate all those people who work so hard at their jobs to support their families and to help all of us live a little better. And what better way to celebrate working than by taking a day off!

Many of you have a Dad or Mom --or maybe both -- who go off to work each day. They work hard at their jobs so that we can have food and shelter and the important things in life. And sometimes we have a parent who stays home with us and works hard there, too.

Labor Day would be a good time to say "thank you" to parents who love and care for us; who work hard to provide for us.

It is also a good time to remember our Heavenly Father, who provides so much for us. He gives a world in which to live, air to breathe, food to eat. He loves us more than we will ever know, and we don't thank Him and praise Him often enough, do we?

So on Labor Day tomorrow, let's show our thanks to those who care so much for us -- both our earthly parents and our Heavenly Father.

Dear Lord we thank You for giving us the strength to do the jobs that are before us. We thank You for our parents who went before us to provide for us. But most of all we thank You for the work You did on the cross for us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.