- [Announcer] The following
program is sponsored by CBN.

- [Gordon] Coming up
on today's "700 Club";

A teen falls off her horse
and lands head first.

- Blood, there was a lot of blood.

- [Gordon] Scans revealed
swelling of her brain.

- It was obvious that there
was brain injury of some sort.

- [Gordon] And her prognosis is bleak.

- I still wasn't sure
how she would recover.

- [Gordon] Now watch a
Thanksgiving miracle.

- We get to see the miracle.

- On today's "700 Club".

(dramatic music)

Welcome to the "700 Club",

and a very happy Thanksgiving to you.

Let's go back in history;

Back in the autumn of 1621, 400 years ago,

the pilgrims of Plymouth
celebrated their first harvest

in the new world.

Most Americans believe that's the story

of the first Thanksgiving.

There's just one problem,

it wasn't the first.

- Two years earlier and
hundreds of miles away,

a group of English settlers
crossed the Atlantic,

just up the James River

at the Berkeley Plantation in
Virginia, they dropped anchor.

There, the captain made sure

to proclaim a day of
Thanksgiving to almighty God.

Here's their forgotten story.

- [Narrator] Thanksgiving

has been a beloved American
holiday for centuries,

but what most people don't know

is that the first official Thanksgiving

didn't happen in Plymouth Rock in 1621.

It took place two years earlier,

along the James River here at Berkeley.

- King James, the first gave
a grant of 8,000 acres of land

to a group of four men in Virginia

and settled on this land of
8,000 acres they had been given.

- [Narrator] Graham is a
descendant of Captain John Woodlief

the man chosen to lead a crew of 37 men

on the expedition that
sets sail for Virginia,

September 16th, 1619.

- [Graham] Now they were given
a list of 10 instructions

from the Berkeley Company through England.

And the very first one
of those instructions

is once you land, to give
thanks for your safe voyage,

to do that perpetually and annually.

- [Narrator] On December 4th, 1619,

the party landed at Berkeley.

- They put their luggage
on the hard ground,

gazed at the woods enclosing them,

and listened in complete silence.

And then Captain Woodlief
said, "Let us pray."

They kneeled, and they just
said a prayer thanking God

for giving them safe arrival in Virginia.

- [Narrator] It was a
solemn time of prayer

that as mandated was observed
every year following.

But three years later,

native Americans attacked the settlers

in what became known as
the massacre of 1622.

Many were killed, others scattered,

and the tradition of
the first Thanksgiving

would be lost to history.

The site eventually became
the Berkeley Plantation

and would play a role

throughout Virginia's
and America's history.

Then in 1931,

more than three centuries
after Woodlief landed,

Dr. Lyon Tyler uncovered
the "Nibley Papers",

that documented the events at Berkeley,

including the first Thanksgiving.

He shared his discovery
with the Jamieson family,

who have owned Berkeley since 1907.

- It was a huge surprise, no one knew

that America's first Thanksgiving
was here in Virginia.

- [Narrator] Then in
1958, Senator John Wicker

invited descendants of
Captain Woodlief to the site,

to commemorate the Berkeley landing,

and the Virginia Thanksgiving
festival was born.

- The mission of our organization,

The Virginia Thanksgiving
Festival, is to educate the public

in the historical significance

of the first Thanksgiving in America.

- [Narrator] In 1963,
President John F. Kennedy

gave the Berkeley Thanksgiving

it's rightful place in history.

- We really consider ourselves
not the owners of Berkeley,

but we consider ourselves the stewards,

the keepers of this place
that has so much history.

- [Narrator] The event has
been held every year since,

and highlights Berkeley's rich history,

from the first Thanksgiving
through the civil war era,

to the traditions of today,

that all started with a
prayer of Thanksgiving.

- This Thanksgiving let's remember,

whether it's in Plymouth or in Berkeley

or throughout the land,

our first settlers, the
first English settlers,

resolved to give thanks to God almighty

for this wonderful land.

Let's resolve together as a people,

let us give thanks on Thanksgiving day.

Thank him for everything he's done,

the wonderful liberties we have,

all the things, all the blessings,

let us recognize it all comes from him.

Terry.

- Well, up next;

A miracle just in time for the holidays,

even doctors are calling it remarkable.

So how did this teen make
an incredible recovery

from a head injury right
on Thanksgiving day.

You'll see for yourself, that's coming up.

And then later on today,
the turkey's in the oven,

tomorrow it's gonna be taking
up space in the fridge.

What can you do with all those leftovers?

Ellie Krieger has a great solution.

That's just ahead.

(bright music)

- The Seymour family has
plenty to be thankful for.

For starters, they're all
able to gather together

around the Thanksgiving table.

Well, two years ago that was in doubt

after 15 year old Jade fell off her horse.

She slammed her head so hard
she suffered a brain bleed.

Doctors had to remove
large sections of her brain

to stop the swelling.

So what hope was there
for Jade's recovery?

See for yourself.

- [Narrator 3] It was a beautiful day

as 15 year old Jade Seymour

saddled her Mustang (indistinct)
for an afternoon ride

with her friend, Sam.

- When she left she said,

"Okay, mom, I'm gonna go
riding. We're leaving now."

That's the last I heard from her.

(horses trotting)

- [Narrator 3] They were
about a mile from the house

when something spooked Jade's horse.

Sam who was in the lead, her Jade yell

and spun around to see her slide off

and hit the ground head first.

Sam rushed to her side.

Jade's nose was bleeding
and she was unresponsive.

With no cell service in the remote area,

Sam couldn't reach 911.

Reluctant to leave Jade, all
he could do was yell for help.

- Help! Help!

Help!

- [Narrator 3] Soon
after, Jade's mom, Rachel,

noticed the horses had returned alone.

- It was pretty common for me as a kid

to get bucked off and walk home

and have the horses
come back by themselves.

And then I called for the kids.

- [Narrator 3] She got no answer.

Meanwhile, a neighbor had
heard Sam's yells for help

and called 911.

First responders were on the way.

Deputy Brian Lundquist
was the first to arrive.

- I immediately realized

that Jade was in very serious condition.

It was obvious that there was
a brain injury of some sort.

- [Narrator 3] Deputy
Lundquist immobilized her

until the paramedics
arrived a short time later.

By then a helicopter had been dispatched

to the nearest open area.

- They just started talking about

getting everything stabilized

and getting her down to the
landing zone for the helicopter

as quick as possible.

- [Narrator 3] Back at the house.

- When I saw the fire truck
go by my stomach dropped

and that's when I knew
something terrible had happened.

- [Narrator 3] Rachel rushed down the road

to find paramedics loading
Jade into an ambulance.

- I just saw her body

and her hair like matted with
blood and dirt and blood,

there was a lot of blood.

- [Narrator 3] The ambulance
took Jade and Rachel

to the waiting helicopter, that flew them

to Valley Children's Hospital
near Fresno, California.

Soon after, the hospital
called Jade's dad, Scott,

who had been driving
home from out of town.

The information was
sparse and Scott prayed,

struggling to stay calm.

- I knew there was a head Injury.

I didn't know if there was a neck or back.

I knew it was grave enough
to dispatch a helicopter

out to our area.

- [Narrator 3] Dr. Molly Dorfman

was the pediatric intensive
care physician on duty

when Jade arrived.

- When she first came in,
she looked incredibly ill.

She sort of came in and
out of consciousness

to the point where she
stopped protecting her airway,

meaning her brain had sort
of shut down a little bit.

- [Narrator 3] They called in

pediatric neurosurgeon, Dr. Julia Sharma,

to assess the CT scan of Jade's brain.

- There was, what we call a contusion

in the frontal lobe of the
brain on the right side,

which is kind of like a
bruise within the brain

or a bleeding within the brain.

So when you have something

that's expanding inside from swelling

and it's stuck against a closed
space, which is the skull,

the pressure will go up and up.

Eventually if that's left untreated,

that will push the brain down

through the narrow opening
at the base of the skull

and can lead to death.

- [Narrator 3] Doctors had
Jade sedated and intubated,

and prescribed medication
to ease the swelling.

Her chances of survival were high,

but doctors didn't know

whether she'd ever be the same again.

- I still wasn't sure
how she would recover

because we were seeing
already some weakness

on the opposite side of the body.

- [Narrator 3] The next
48 hours were critical.

So Scott and Rachel asked
others to join them in prayer.

- The incessant prayer of,
God please be with Jade,

God, please help Jade.

God, if you can bring her
back, please bring her back.

- [Narrator 3] Two days later,

Jade's brain pressure
was still critically high

forcing Dr. Sharma to
perform a craniotomy,

removing a large section of her skull

to allow the brain room to expand.

While that brought the
pressure to safe levels,

Jade still wasn't showing
signs of improvement.

- I looked at Dr. Sharma and I said,

"She can fully recover from this, right?"

And she just put her eyes down

and she said, "Um, we don't
know, we don't know yet."

- [Narrator 3] The waiting
and the prayer continued.

Rachel posted updates and
prayer requests on Facebook.

- When the prayers started pouring in,

it was a huge comfort.

- I had a friend tell me,

"Don't let anybody else
define what only God can do."

And that, I held on to the
entire time we were there.

- [Narrator 3] Then two
days later, on Thanksgiving.

- She started to open her eyes,

and then she could move her right side.

- We were finally given a tiny bit of hope

and it was given to us by
God on Thanksgiving morning.

- [Narrator 3] And that hope grew.

The next day, Jade was able
to follow simple commands

and communicate with her hand.

- We were able to take
the breathing tube out,

which is incredible.

And in doing that, we were
able to advance her care,

get her to rehab,

start working on those deficits
that we knew she might have

and try to get her back home again.

- [Narrator 3] Jade progressed
through her physical,

speech, and mental therapy

with a speed that surprised her doctors.

- All of these things

that can sometimes take a week to happen,

she was kind of doing
in the span of a day.

That was remarkable, and that
was really wonderful to see.

- [Narrator 3] Incredibly,

less than a month after the
accident, Jade went home.

- I got out of the hospital

and I couldn't stop
seeing the amazingness.

And then just being home

and being able to see my
family whenever I wanted to,

seeing my brothers,

because they weren't at
the hospital all the time,

and to be back into a sense of normalcy

was really, really
important and huge for me.

- [Narrator 3] Six weeks later,

Jade had the surgery to repair her skull.

Today, life and the Seymour
household is back to normal,

except now Thanksgiving
takes on a deeper meaning

for Jade and her family.

- Every Thanksgiving we get to
see the miracle that happened

on that day.

- It's just a reminder
of life is precious.

You know, you look around the table

and you just go, this
could be so different,

this could have been the worst holiday,

and now it's the best.

- It was so tragic but now it's the best,

because God answers prayer.

He wants you to be healthy.

When you understand that,

that he deeply wants you to be healthy,

that he wants you to
prosper and be in health

just as your soul is in health,

he wants all of these things for you.

He is a loving heavenly father

and he wants to provide for his children.

What is he looking for?

Well, he's looking for faith,

"The eyes of the Lord go to
and fro over the whole earth

to show himself strong

for those whose hearts are loyal to him."

Now, how do you show your heart as loyal?

Well, you say, "God, I believe
you're doing a miracle here.

I see what you've done for others,

I know you can do that for me."

And when you come to
him with your complaint,

and there is scripture,

"I poured out my complaint
before the Lord."

When you're done with all of
that, today on Thanksgiving,

today, give him thanks

for the miracles that are coming your way.

That's how you show your
heart is loyal to him.

You know he wants to provide,

you know he wants to heal,

you know he wants to save,

you know he wants to deliver.

Why do you know these things?

Because those are his names in the Bible.

He wants to live up to his
name, because he is his name.

That's the message, that's
the whole word, that's common.

Become flesh, let it
become flesh in you today.

Now, we're going pray.

Before we pray, we've
got some other miracles;

Here, Stephanie, "I was
awakened by a panic attack.

They're so scary. They
feel like a heart attack.

I just started praying.

I couldn't go back to sleep
so I turned on the "700 Club".

Well, the lady that
was hosting with Gordon

said, "There is someone
with pain in the chest,

touch it, and you're being healed."

I sat up and said, "That's for me!"

I prayed and fell asleep.

I watch you all the time

and this was the first time
I felt you speak to me.

Praise the Lord."

- [Terry] Amen.

Well, Gordon, this is Linda.
She sent this by email.

She said, "I've suffered for three years

with the a nerve problem,

which consists of shooting pain
on various parts of my body

and a rash all over,

which made me feel as if razorblades

were embedded in my clothing."

How awful.

"At the end of the program,

Gordon mentioned someone
with a nerve problem

and said to raise your hands,

which I did not in expectation,
but more in despair.

Last night, for the first
time I slept through the night

and I didn't wake up to
itching, stabbing pain.

What an awesome God we have."

- [Gordon] Hallelujah, I love that.

- [Terry] Yes.

- You can raise your hands in
despair, you can come to him,

but realize you're raising
your hands in hope,

you're giving one of the oldest
expressions in Christianity.

You can see it in the catacombs
under the city of Rome,

raised hands, knowing that
God wants to fill those hands.

He wants to fill your every
desire, he wants to be with you.

The whole reason we take communion,

the whole reason for the Eucharist,

giving thanks for the
meal that God has prepared

for those who believe,

that wonderful supper of communion,

where we get to partake
in the divine nature.

We get to have heaven draw near to us.

In heaven, is there anybody
sick? The answer's no.

Anybody with a brain
problem? The Answer's no.

Anybody with nerve problem? Answer, no.

Let's have the kingdom of
heaven draw near to you,

Terry and I are going to
pray, we're going to agree.

Here's a wonderful verse;

"When two or more agree,
touching anything."

So Terry and I will be your
two or more, and you touch.

In an act of faith, reach
out and touch that area,

in an act of faith, let that
other hand reach up to heaven

and let's create a great
circle of prayer just for you.

Lord, we come to you now,

and we ask, we ask believing,

we ask in faith, we ask
knowing you are the answer.

Lord, turn your eyes
towards those who have pain,

those who have disease,

stretch forth your hand
to heal, to restore,

to be their all in all,

for we ask it in Jesus' name.

There's someone you're in a hospital bed,

and I just see a neck brace
and you've had a neck injury,

and just very gingerly,
just turn that neck

and realize all of that has been healed.

You are healed. You are made
whole now in Jesus name.

Just lift your arms to him,

God is healing throughout your body,

the doctors are going to be amazed

at what God has done for you.

Terry.

- Yeah, there's someone else
you've been in a serious...

You've had a serious accident,

I don't know that it was a vehicle,

but you've damaged your spine

and you have had no
ability to walk since then.

You're in a wheelchair.

I don't really know when this happened,

but right now you're gonna
begin to feel some tingling

in your legs, and in your very lower back.

God is restoring feeling to you,

he's restoring movement to you,

you are going to be able to walk again.

Lift up your hands and receive that,

and then just begin to praise the Lord

in the midst of his doing
all of this for you.

- There's someone you've
had a injury to your jaw

on the right side,

and you're actually wired
up this Thanksgiving,

and you're not looking
forward to a Thanksgiving meal

because you're drinking through a straw.

God is healing you

and he's setting you
free from all of that.

He's knitting everything
together properly,

everything's going to be normal,

just rejoice and give thanks to him

for he's seen you, he's seen your need,

he's healing you right now in Jesus name.

Someone else, you've had
an injury to your forehead.

You fell, and I believe you hit a curb,

and God is restoring you.

He's restoring everything
concerning your brain,

this concussion you're suffering with,

the lingering injury above your left eye.

God is healing all of that,

left eye to the bridge of the nose.

God's healing all of that right now,

in Jesus name be restored.

Lord, we thank you. We thank
you today on Thanksgiving.

We thank you for breath.
We thank you for life.

We thank you for Jesus.

We thank you that you love us,
that you care so much for us.

We thank you for everything,
in Jesus name amen, and amen.

If you've been healed, let
us know 1-800-700-7000.

And if you need prayer this Thanksgiving,

we have people that are
willing to pray for you

even on Thanksgiving day.

All you have to do is pick
up the phone and call us,

1-800-700-7000.

Terry

- Well coming up,

don't just reheat your turkey
dinner tomorrow afternoon.

Instead, make something new and delicious.

From roasted pears to turkey tacos,

Ellie Krieger shares
the quick and easy ways

to give your Thanksgiving
leftovers a brand new life.

(bright music)

- Well, this holiday season

be a blessing to the family
members of our nation's military

For a gift of $25 or more,

you can send a special
Superbook Merry Christmas box

to the children of an active duty parent.

It's filled with DVDs,
activity books, and much more.

And to donate a Superbook
Merry Christmas box

to a hero's family

all you have to do is call us,

1-800-700-7000,

or you can visit cbn.com/blessmilitary.

Or you can text the words,
BlessMilitary, to 71777.

Do it now and be a blessing

to our active duty military families.

It's a recognition

that if they have a parent in active duty,

they're serving too, and we
want to recognize their service

with this wonderful gift.

Do it now, 1-800-700-7000.

- Well, Thanksgiving is a
time of holiday traditions,

especially when it comes to food.

This year, we wanted to bring back

one of our favorite
holiday cooking segments.

A few years ago, Ellie Krieger joined me

in our "700 Club" kitchen
with some tasty ideas

for turning Thanksgiving leftovers
into mouthwatering meals.

So let's take a look back at
one of our holiday favorites.

(enchanting music)

- Hi, I'm Ellie Krieger-

- [Narrator] Ellie Krieger is the host

and executive producer of
the public television show,

"Ellie's Real Good Food".

And formerly, host of the
Food Network's hit show,

"Healthy Appetite".

She's also a registered dietician

who understands that
preparing a home cooked meal

for your family during the
holidays can be overwhelming,

not to mention the dirty dishes.

In her new cookbook, "Whole In One",

Ellie makes dinner with your family

easier, healthier, and tastier,

by offering one pot wonders full of flavor

for your day after Thanksgiving feast.

- Please welcome back to the
"700 Club", Ellie Krieger.

It's great to have you back with us.

- Great to be here, happy Thanksgiving.

- Thank you, and you too.

You know, we all love all
those traditional things

that we do for Thanksgiving,

but then there is the day after.

And the next day can
sometimes be just as much work

trying to figure out where
do I house all of this

in my refrigerator, or what do I with it?

- And also right now you might feel

like you'll never be hungry again,

but I promise you will be hungry tomorrow.

- So how do we make the day after simple?

- Yeah, making it easy and no work,

everyone wants to be relaxing
the day after, absolutely.

So one pot, one pot options,

and I have so many to share with you,

that you use up those leftovers too.

- That wonderful new
cookbook that you have out,

the "Whole In One", that's W-H-O-L-E,

because it's the whole meal.

- Yes, it's complete healthy meals

in one sheet pan, pot, or skillet.

- That's awesome. 125
recipes you have in there.

- Yes, and many of them are great ways

to use up your Thanksgiving leftovers.

- [Terry] Yes.

- And it's really super simple,
so I was gonna share some.

- What do you consider like a whole meal?

When you talk about prepping
something and making it whole,

what are the elements you-

- So what I really look for
as a dietician and a chef,

it has to be delicious,

it has to be compellingly satisfying.

But from a nutritional point of view,

you wanna make sure that
it has adequate protein,

so even if the recipes are
vegetarian in the book,

then they have enough
protein to be satisfying.

And then if it has meat in it,

you wanna make sure it
has a lot of vegetables

and, or whole grain,

so that it's rich in
fiber and phytonutrients

and all that wonderful good
stuff, and overall balance.

- So what we're telling you is
Ellie's done the work for us.

How awesome is that?

- Yes. I lost some sleep, I'll tell you,

thinking about some of these ideas.

So I'm really proud of them

and I think it's really fun.

- It's great that you think that way.

Let's look at what you've
brought to show us today.

You're simmering some onions here.

- Yes, so I have some onions here.

I'm making these...

Well in the book, it's
chicken tinga tacos,

but for Thanksgiving it's turkey.

- Turkey tinga tacos.

- And it's a great way
to use leftover turkey.

So I just have some onions and garlic,

which I've just simmered here.

And then really no chopping,

it's all happening in
one pot, it's really fun.

This is just basically a
can of pureed tomatoes,

a 14 ounce can.

And then I use some salsa verde, again,

just a jar of salsa verde.

So again, it's really just super simple.

And then I'm gonna season that
up with some chipotle pepper.

And this comes in a can too.

There's usually quite a bit in the can,

you don't wanna use a lot

because it has a little heat to it,

but it gives this wonderful
smokey taste that I just...

- [Terry] Oh yes, I just got the blast.

- It's lovely.

So you can put that into taste,

and then some of the adobo
sauce that comes in the can.

And then with the leftover,
that is in the can,

it's really easy to freeze.

You just put it in little baggies

and then you can have that.

- [Terry] Oh okay, to
use it whenever you wish.

- So I like that as a tip.

Some salt and pepper, of course.

And then you just simmer this down,

in a little bit of broth,

and then you just simmer this down.

- [Terry] And a little of this.

- So we can just dump that in if you like.

And that's the idea,

you simmer this down until
it's nice and concentrated.

And I'll show you what it winds
up looking like, like this.

Until it's nice and concentrated,

and you have this very
richly flavorful sauce now,

because it's all concentrated in there.

And then you add your turkey right in.

And then you just cook this a little bit,

and the smoke, you really get
that smoky essence now, huh?

- [Terry] Yes.

- Then you just stir in that
turkey, and you coat it all,

and then you wind up with
your taco mixture here.

And so taco not just for
taco Tuesday, you know,

you can have taco Friday
now too, I guess, right?

But this would definitely
last in the fridge

for a few days actually.

So you get that,

and then you basically, you
put out all the ingredients,

all the toppings, just like
your regular soft tacos,

I like to use whole
wheat or corn tortillas,

and you kind of build your tacos.

So that's really fun.

We have some built there.

- Oh, you can see the tacos already built.

You know, I often marvel when we talk

that you think of these terms,

but when you start from scratch,

how do you know how much to add to things

as you're creating and building?

- Oh my gosh.

So I usually, well, I have
sort of a sense of it,

I've been cooking for so long now,

I have hundreds of recipes.

Well, when I'm testing recipes,

I have to measure really carefully.

When I'm cooking at home-

- [Terry] So you can teach others.

- Exactly. And also, so I can
do the nutrition analysis.

Because for all the recipes in the book,

I have the full nutrition analysis.

- Awesome.

- And then I wanna give
you adequate measures,

so that you know, so
there's no question mark.

So it's foolproof.

- So this is one option.

- Yes, we have more choices.

- Let's move down here and take
a look at some of the others

- Yes.

- Oh, that looks wonderful.

- So this is a green bowl.

So this is made in a single skillet.

So you see that the tacos
were also one skillet.

- [Terry] Uh-huh.

- Let's shut this off
here so that doesn't burn.

Then we have the...

This is a green bowl,
it's made in a single-

- [Terry] So it's warm when you eat it.

- So the grain is warm and
then the vegetables are warm,

and I use, in the recipe
in the book it's chicken,

but you can use turkey here.

And I also saute the spinach,

but you could use any leftover
vegetables on the grain bowl.

That's what's great about a grain bowl.

So I put a mix of cooked
and fresh vegetables.

So you have that cool, warm
contrast, which is lovely.

And then you get, the
dressing is a tahini dressing.

So tahini is a sesame paste,
and it's really so simple.

It's literally water,
lemon juice, and tahini,

and you stir it together,

and it's creamy and it's wonderful,

and it goes perfect with
the holiday leftovers.

- Awesome.

- You could put pretty much any-

- It's so healthy but delicious looking.

- Healthy and delicious,

that's the sweet spot
I'm always looking for.

That's basically the key to good living.

- [Terry] Yes, exactly.

What is this?

- So this is a soup,

and what I do with this
soup, it's very hardy.

So this is a one-pot meal,

and you can use, again, some
holiday leftovers for this.

You could put leftover squash,
green beans, peas, whatever.

And I put some quinoa in there.

- [Terry] Oh that's great, I love quinoa.

- And turkey to make it a complete meal.

The quinoa really-

(indistinct)

Exactly. So then it's a meal in a bowl.

And that's good fuel for like, you know,

holiday shopping too.

- You know one of the
things about Thanksgiving

is there's so many desserts
that are available to us,

but not many of them
are really good for us,

but I see you have a fruit dessert.

I love that idea.

- Yeah, so in the book I have,

all the recipes are complete
meals except for the desserts,

which I have, of course
have you covered for,

better for you desserts.

But also you want them to
really satisfy your sweet tooth.

So here it's roasted pears,

and you could roast apples, or
figs, or grapes, for example.

And then I put that over, just
some crushed up ginger snaps.

So that adds a little element,
it makes it really desserty.

And then you could use some yogurts,

here's marscapone, cheese,

and you could do it
with yogurt if you want.

And then what you could do nicely too

if you have leftover cranberry sauce,

you can just put a dollop,
it would be lovely on there.

- Beautiful.

Well, so are all the other
pictures in Ellie's book.

Can I just grab this from here?

You're probably wanting
to shoot it over here

because it's easier for the camera.

But I'm just gonna tell you,

her book is called "Whole In One".

It's available wherever books are sold,

makes a great Christmas gift.

So here we are celebrating Thanksgiving,

gives you some great
ideas, creative ideas,

for tomorrow and days afterwards,

but also a great Christmas gift

for those who love to cook in your life.

Thank you, you always make it a joy.

- Lovely to be here.

- To just kind of look
at all the creations

you bring with you.

- And it smells so good.

- Oh it does, I wish
there was smell a vision,

you'd be enjoying it right now.

(enchanting music)

- [Gordon] Still ahead,

a military family falls on
hard times during the holidays.

- Are we gonna be able
to feed everyone today?

- [Gordon] Then out of the blue,

a gift they never saw coming.

- Oh gosh, wow.

- [Gordon] What was it?

And how did it make their
best Christmas ever?

Plus, get ready for the birth of Christ.

- We know the Lord is coming,
we expect him to be here soon.

- [Gordon] See how the
church has celebrated advent

from the middle ages,

- Pope Gregory the great,
said it would be four weeks.

- [Gordon] To today.

- That would be the
ultimate modern adaptation.

- [Gordon] Later, on the "700 Club".

- Jared and Ashton were facing hard times

and the holidays were
right around the corner.

This military couple worried
about putting food on the table

for their four children.

So how in the world could
they afford to buy presents?

- [Narrator 5] Army combat medic, Jared,

enjoys the holidays with his family.

He doesn't take it for
granted when he's home,

because he's deployed multiple
times throughout his career.

Once he was gone for a year.

Jared is quick to point out
that he couldn't do his job

if it wasn't for his wife, Ashton,

taking care of their
four children back home.

- I've always known in my heart and soul

that they are completely fine

and that she is doing a great
job taking care of them,

which is the biggest relief,

for especially a soldier in the army.

- [Narrator 5] The couple has managed fine

on Jared's army salary.

They live debt free and always budget

to give to others through their church.

But that would change when they learned

that some good friends
were having legal trouble

and needed Jared and Ashton
to take in their two children

until they sorted things out.

- The boys needed a home immediately.

We had to make a decision in that moment

or else they were gonna be put
into the foster care system.

And we knew the boys and we
did not want that to happen.

We loved them.

- [Narrator 5] It was a
stretch to make it work

with six kids,

they had to begin buying
necessities on credit.

- It was very hard on our paycheck.

We were trying to figure out,

well, how much money do
we need for groceries?

I mean, some days we
were sitting there going,

are we gonna be able
to feed everyone today?

- [Narrator 5] After several months,

the children were able to move back home.

But by then, Jared and Ashton

had thousands of dollars on credit cards.

They prayed about a strategy
to pay off the debt.

For starters, Christmas
would be very lean.

- There's nothing that Jared and I

can do about it except pray.

And I have total faith in God

that he's bringing us
out of that right now.

- God is always gonna provide for us,

and he will always make sure

that we make it to that next step,

especially with our finances.

- [Narrator 5] Their situation took a turn

when their church, Bethel Community,

teamed up with CBN's,
Helping The Home Front,

to bring in some holiday cheer.

Pastor Richard Dixon told
them, CBN was going to help.

- They really wanna bless you.

You wouldn't believe how
much they wanna bless you.

(both laugh)

They actually want to give you $6,000

to pay off the debt that
you guys have incurred.

- Oh my God.

- Oh my gosh, wow.

That's a lot.

- I don't even know what to say to that.

- Thank you.
- God is good.

- That's amazing.

- [Narrator 5] And
pastor Richard told them,

CBN was also taking them shopping

to buy Christmas presents
for their children.

- Thank you.

- I mean, thank you, thank you, God.

This is definitely gonna
change everything for us.

I mean, even just last week,

we were talking about
how we're gonna get out

of this credit card debt,
how long it's gonna take us.

This is gonna fast track
us to where we need to be

so that we can get right
back on to giving to others.

- [Narrator 5] Then it
was time to go shopping.

Jared and Ashton are forever grateful

for Helping The Home Front,
getting them back on track.

- This is gonna change everything for us.

This is gonna set us right back on course

to being completely debt-free.

I'm so thankful for CBN and
all that they're doing for us.

This is really gonna change our lives.

- Isn't it wonderful to know

that you can make a difference
in someone's life like that?

You know, it's wonderful
to be able to stop,

and I know so many people who do this

when they see someone in the military

and say, thank you for your service.

I want you to know, "700 Club" members,

that you are absolutely making
a significant difference

in the lives of people
who are giving their all

for our country and just find themselves

sometimes in times of need.

So I wanna say thank you to those of you

who've already joined the "700 Club".

To others who've not yet joined,

what a wonderful opportunity
to do that today.

To be able to say thank
you to someone else

who's making a difference
for all of us in this country

in a significant way.

That's just one of the things you do

if you're a "700 Club" member,

but you're doing other
things all around the world,

as well as here at home;

Touching lives, giving people hope

who are in hopeless situations,

and you can do all of that
for $20 a month, $0.65 a day,

that's what it costs to
be a "700 Club" member.

Will you call and join right now?

Our number's toll free;
It's 1-800-700-7000.

Just call, say, "I wanna
be a "700 Club" member."

When you do, we wanna say thank
you for caring about others

by sending you this DVD,

"The Nearness Of Heaven".

The stories in here are remarkable.

People who have died for
one reason or another,

visited heaven, and
then come back to life.

They share what that
experience has been like.

It will build your faith,
and we want you to have this.

And we thank you in
advance for caring enough,

to make a difference in the lives

of people who find themselves
in a point of need.

Call today. Gordon.

- Well up next, this Sunday
is the first Sunday of advent.

What are the roots of this celebration,

and what famous carol is an advent hymn?

Well, stay tuned for the answers.

And then later, a teenager
is given a life sentence

without the possibility of parole,

all for a crime he didn't commit.

Why did he say thank you
year after year in prison?

Well find out, that's coming up.

- This Christmas we'd like to
be part of your celebration.

So we've prepared some
special features just for you

on CBN Family.

You'll find Christmas music,

scenic backgrounds for your gatherings,

Christmas movies, and much more.

All you have to do is
join us @cbnfamily.com

or download the CBN family
app to your smart TV

or any of the Roku's or
Amazon fires or apple TVs.

You can download the app, do it today.

Terry.

- Well this Sunday marks the
beginning of the advent season,

and it's not only a time to
ponder the birth of Christ,

it's also a time to anticipate his return.

So what are the roots of advent?

When did the tradition start

and how can we celebrate
it to the fullest?

Take a look.

(enchanting music)

- Advent is a preparation
period for Christmas.

It was felt that

because Easter had the
preparatory season of lent,

Christmas as a great celebration

should have a period of
spiritual preparation.

- Although it's not clear when
advent was first celebrated,

its roots go back to the fifth century,

when Catholic monks in
France were ordered to fast

during the month of December.

- It is a penitential season

and it was taken as seriously as lent,

which meant heavy-duty denial.

You don't eat certain foods,

certainly nothing fat
or anything delicious.

- At the end of the sixth
century, beginning of the seventh,

Pope Gregory The Great said
it would be four weeks,

and it would focus on the four Sundays

preceding Christmas day, December 25th.

- In the more liturgical churches,

such as Anglican or Catholic,

you'll see that the church now
becomes ready for Christmas.

There'll be advent
candles, advent wreaths,

special advent hymns, sung sermons given.

- [Gordon] The advent wreath,
often made with evergreens

is a symbol of God's eternal nature,

a circle with no beginning and no end.

- And there are four candles

that are placed within this wreath.

Three of the candles are purple
and one candle is rose pink.

And on each Sunday of
advent, a candle is lit.

The first and second Sundays of advent

are Sundays in which
purple candles are lit

because these are points of
which the gospel readings

have to do with warning,

and with preparation, and with hope.

And on the third Sunday,
the pink candle is lit

because it represents celebration and joy.

We know the Lord is coming,
we expect him to be here soon.

- [Gordon] On the fourth Sunday,

the last purple candle is lit,

symbolizing the royalty of Christ.

Many people also mark the
advent season with calendars

that count the days until Christ's birth.

- Some advent calendars
will have scriptures

or depictions of different aspects

of the nativity story,

promises of scripture
concerning the Messiah,

and others will have little
treats or little toys.

If you don't wanna give chocolate,

you can get a lego advent calendar.

So that would be like the
ultimate modern adaptation.

- [Gordon] The advent season
also comes with its own hymns.

- Traditionally advent hymns
are sung throughout advent,

and Christmas carols were not sung

until Christmas Eve and Christmas night.

And we break all the rules

because we start playing
our Christmas music

before Thanksgiving,

so now we are really breaking the rules.

"O Come O Come Emmanuel"
is an advent hymn.

It comes from an ancient Latin poem.

The poem was written in
around the 12th century

and it was based on prayers

that were written in around
the seventh to eighth century.

They were called the "O Antiphons".

- [Gordon] Antiphons, or proclamations

about the coming Messiah,

taken from the prophet Isaiah.

- Around the 12th century, these
titles were put into a song

that existed only in Latin.

This advent hymn really has its roots

deep, deep in church history.

And in the reflection
of so many Christians

over the centuries on
these beautiful passages

from the old Testament,

that anticipate the coming of the Messiah

and what he would do in
the lives of his people.

♪ O come, O come, Emmanuel ♪

O come thou Lord of might is associated

in the original antiphon,

with the appearance of
God in the burning Bush,

in Exodus chapter three.

The Lord of might who brings liberation

to his enslaved people.

And this attribute of might
also is reflected in Isaiah,

when we talk about the names of God,

he's the almighty God, the
father, the prince of peace.

♪ Emanuel shall come thee, O Israel ♪

The rod of Jesse actually
comes from Isaiah 11, verse 10,

in which it's prophesied
that a rod Jesse will come,

who will deliver and liberate his people.

Come and be the Davidic king,

come and be the ruler of your people,

come in your might and set us free.

"O Come Thou Dayspring From On High",

really refers to that
scripture in Malachi 4,

"The son of righteousness will rise

with healing in his wings.

He will bring light and cast
the light into the dark place.

And this day spring is going to come

and dispel the darkness in our lives,

to set free the hearts of human beings."

"The Key Of David"
comes from Isaiah 22:22,

in which the Lord prophesies

that he will give to him the
key to the house of David,

and he will open doors
that no one can shut,

and shut doors that no one can open.

- [Gordon] For the early church,

advent was not only a time to prepare

for the celebration of Christ's birth,

it was also a time to
anticipate his return.

- As they started to think

about the meaning of
Christ's first coming,

they also try to personalize
it within their lives.

What did it mean for Christ
to come to them individually?

And of course, when we
think of the first coming,

we also think of the second coming.

So the season of advent
started with a prayer

and celebration of the mass,

which would focus on longing
for Jesus to be real,

to come into their hearts.

And that idea led to prayers of desire,

and longing, and repentance,

but also prayers of hope
and expectation and joy.

Because hope is based
in the promises of God.

♪ Rejoice, rejoice ♪

♪ Emanuel shall come to thee, O Israel ♪

- This holiday season,
journey around the world

to discover the history of
Christmas through CBN film's

"Christmas, The Story
Behind The Traditions".

It's a wonderful DVD.

It'll add greater meaning to your holidays

as you learn why December 25th

is the historical birth date of Jesus.

What the symbolism is behind
Christmas trees and stockings,

and how the tradition
of gift giving began.

If you'd like a copy,

call to request a DVD copy

of "Christmas, The Story
Behind The Traditions",

including instant 4K streaming access.

We'll rush your DVD to you,

as we thank you for your
gift of any dollar amount.

You just call our 1-800-700-7000 number,

or you can visit cbn.com
to order your copy today.

Any dollar gift amount.

It also makes a great
Christmas gift. Gordon.

- Well coming up, he spent
his last 30 years behind bars.

The governor had just denied his appeal.

So why was this prisoner on his knees

in his cell giving thanks?

Well, he'll tell you
himself right after this.

- "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing,

give thanks to God in Christ Jesus."

These words kept coming back to Jean,

even as he was serving a
life sentence in prison

for a crime he didn't commit.

- I was incarcerated in the
state prison of Pennsylvania,

serving a life sentence without
the possibility of parole

for a homicide that my cousin committed

while we were out drinking one night.

I was 17 years old, he was 24.

I had no business being out.

I had spent about 10 years

at the state correctional institution

in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania,

before I was invited to come and listen

to a prison revival message
about Jesus in the gospel.

And I was lost, I was
caught up in the drugs,

I was caught up in pornography,

I was caught up in a lot of darkness.

I heard the message,
"Jesus died and rose again,

and in him there's eternal life.

And real men make commitments."

And I went up front and I got on my knees

and they led me through a sinner prayer.

When I had served 11 years
in on my life sentence,

I was denied commutation
by the governor's board

and it hurt.

And I remember going back to my cell,

the verse that I had been
reading for a few years

was Thessalonians 5, 17 and 18.

And it says, "Rejoice
always, pray without ceasing,

and give thanks to God in Christ Jesus

for this as the will of
God in him concerning you."

And I thought, giving thanks
when things are going good

is what we do, and it
is what most people do.

But when things aren't going that well,

when circumstances aren't to our benefit,

will we give thanks?

When I had 12 years in the prison system,

I was denied again.

When I had 17 years in the prison system,

I went up again and I was denied.

When I had 24 years in,

I went up again and I was denied.

30 years in the system I went up again,

and I waited two and a half years.

It seemed like the
longest time of my life.

And I remember receiving the response

from the governor's office, it was denial.

And I remember feeling what
felt like a blow in my stomach,

and I just tried to hold myself together

and I began to listen to
the holy spirit tell me,

"I want you to go back to your cell,

get on your knees and give me thanks."

And believe me,

it was probably the last
thing I wanted to do.

And when I began to
say thank you out loud,

these three things came to my mind;

I began thanking him for protecting me,

I began saying, thank
you for providing for me,

and thank you for promoting me.

I heard the Lord say,
"I'm gonna release you,

but it's not gonna be
based on your effort."

Fast-track forward, two years later,

I found myself back in the court.

The judge released me on April 3rd, 2012.

A judge released me saying
that I had spent 25 years over

any sentence that I should
have received as a 17 year old,

spending, 34 years,
nine months and 15 days

I was released and I
went home with my sister.

About a week later, I asked my
sister to call the courthouse

and if I can go back and thank everybody.

And I remember sitting in the courtroom

with about 20 of the staff,

and I remembered thanking them

for everything they've ever done for me

all over the past 20 months
that it took for my release.

And it was so humbling.

And I thought, you know, I
have a message for my peers,

I have a message for
everybody, is to be grateful,

because that's God's will for our lives.

God loves when you say thank you,

when you begin to give God thanks,

and you watch him come into that situation

just as he did for me.

(enchanting music)

- What a wonderful story.

If you were in the same
circumstance, would you give thanks?

Would you understand

that this is the will of God for you?

Here's that verse from Thessalonians,

"Rejoice always," that means all the time

in every circumstance, rejoice always.

Always means always.

"Pray without ceasing, in everything,"

everything means everything,

"Give thanks, for this is the will of God

in Christ Jesus for you."

Now let's unpack that;

What does it mean to be in the
will of God in Christ Jesus?

Well, let's look to the cross.

Here on the cross, Jesus is saying

"Father, forgive them for
they know not what they do."

But before the cross, let's
go back to the last supper.

What's the Psalm that Jesus
and his are disciples saying,

as they're ending the supper,

as Jesus knows what's coming next?

They crossed the (indistinct)

and they go to the garden of Gethsemane

and he prays that incredible prayer,

"God, your will be done."

Not my will, your will be done.

Well, the last part of Psalm 1:18,

which is the Psalm he sung,
is this incredible verse,

"This is the day the Lord has made,

I will rejoice and be glad in it."

Now consider being in Christ,

consider being in the
one who sang those words.

This is the day the Lord has made.

I will rejoice and be glad in it.

If Jesus could sing
that before Gethsemane,

if he could sing that before the cross,

let us give thanks in him
for this is the will of God.

We see it clearly, in
everything give thanks.

Whatever your circumstance
this Thanksgiving

give thanks to the Lord, God.

Here's a word from Psalms 86,

"I give thanks to you, O my Lord my God,

with my whole heart, I will
glorify your name forever."

From all of us, happy Thanksgiving.

And may you have a very
wonderful time with your family.