Okay, it probably sounds a little cheesy, but you just had to be there.

My wife gave each member of our family a colorful piece of paper on Thanksgiving Day.  On it, an acrostic of the word Thanksgiving, with the letters down the side.

Our “before we can eat” assignment (a powerful motivator) was to list by each letter an “I’m thankful for” that started with that letter.  Then we talked about them.  Not for real long.  We could smell the turkey.

Some of us wore a construction paper Pilgrim hat. Others wore a paper feather on our head. So I've known since kindergarten that Indians were part of the First Thanksgiving.

What I didn't know was how much we should be giving thanks for them.

Today, with friends in dozens of tribes, I know what amazing people Native Americans are. With their warrior spirit, their deep spiritual nature, their ability to read a heart. I've tasted their generosity, enjoyed their sense of humor, admired their values of respect and courage. And I've grieved all that was taken from them...loved many as sons and daughters.

It's November. We're thinking turkey not tornadoes. But this weekend there were some 68 tornadoes that didn't consult the calendar. From EF-2s to EF-4s, they left a swath of erased homes and devastated communities across the center of America.

Washington, Illinois was clearly one of the epicenters of the violence from the skies. And the pictures from there are all too familiar. Splintered neighborhoods. Residents trying to figure out which pile of rubble was their home. Oh - and what one reporter called "the good stuff."

Facebook has afforded us the wonderful privilege of knowing more about our friends than we ever really wanted to. "I just blew my nose. Thought you all should know." "Status: mad at everybody."

Best of all, we can share our selfies. Pictures of me. Taken by me. Because it's all about me, right?

Actually, no. At least it's not supposed to be.

The video images from the L.A. airport are just plain disturbing.

A human stampede of terrified passengers, fleeing a gunman on the loose in the terminal.

This time it was an airport. Who knows where it will be next time. These explosions of violence have happened in a theater . . . a mall . . . an office . . . a school . . . a church.

The bullets may start flying anyplace. Leaving behind lost and shattered lives.

There are a lot of grumpy prime ministers and presidents in the world right now. Because the U.S. has allegedly been dropping in on their phone calls. Uninvited.

I'm not sure what all prime ministers and presidents talk about, but they obviously don't like being snooped on. But then, who does?

We keep hearing about government agencies listening in on lots of us who aren't prime anythings. Makes you feel kind of violated. Vulnerable.

Four Satanic Strategies

The sign outside the convenience store on Halloween night told me, "Remove mask before entering." Sure, they were probably edgy about a masked thief invading their store.

Fact is, the thief from hell is the master of masks. Jesus said about him, "The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy" (John 10:10). And he's too smart to approach us unmasked - "Hi, I'm the devil. I'd like to take you to hell with me. Wanna come?"

I saw the sign as I drove up to a gas station convenience store on Halloween night.

"Remove mask before entering."

Awww - why can't I have a little fun seeing if they'll sell a Dr Pepper to Chewbacca. Actually, I don't have a mask. At least one I can "remove."

But the idea of removing your mask is worth thinking about a little. Because most of us have at least one. Not a mask made of latex. It's made of pretense.

I watch the world going in circles over the latest Middle East crisis. Precipitated by the massacre of hundreds of innocent people. I'm thinking ... "Our world is really complicated. Impossibly complicated."

Oh, we agree that using chemical weapons is horrific. But we're having a hard time figuring out what to do about it. Even the most powerful nation on the planet. Sometimes power feels so powerless.

"She let us down."

That's what one ten-year-old said about Miley Cyrus' more-than-suggestive performance at the MTV Awards. That little girl nailed it.

Miley's romp - looking all "little girl" - became an obscene public display of stripper moves and sexual suggestion. Unfortunately, now it's popping up on newscasts.

She was once the innocent Disney girl, Hannah Montana. I guess she feels that shedding clothes will shed that image.