Somewhere between the second helping of stuffing and that weird casserole of suspicious origins is a happy place.

It&8217;s a place of comfort and a place of blessing and security.

Some people call it home.

Some people call it community.

Some people call it a gift from God.

Regardless of what you call it, we call it a blessing.

Today, as we celebrate Thanksgiving, a truly American holiday, we pause to reflect on the myriad of things for which we are thankful.

We sometimes forget just how lucky we are to live in such a blessed country, state and community.

Our nation certainly is not perfect; we have our problems.

But we are still more fortunate than many throughout the world and we need to never forget that.

As long as somewhere in the world a child is hungry or a woman is treated differently than a man or a voice is suppressed in fear, we have work to do.

It&8217;s our duty, our obligation, to work to help the needy and help provide support to the oppressed at home and abroad.

Doing so is a critical part of what we, as a largely fortunate society, must do.

This season of giving is among the best times to stop, look around and consider what&8217;s right in our world. From there we can build a plan to help make things better for others. Happy Thanksgiving.