The Fort McPherson U.S. Army Garrison (USAG) Chaplain Office had its last holiday prayer breakfast Dec. 9 to allow the community one last chance to meet before celebrating the holidays with their Families.

Guest speaker Chap. (Col.) Michael Tarvin, command chaplain, U.S. Army Forces Command, elaborated on Bible passage Matthew 6:19-20, which states, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven."

"The Bible tells us not to store up treasures on earth, but to store up heavenly treasures," Tarvin said. "This morning I want to talk about what that means for us."

For people, building heavenly treasure requires following God's design and living one's life in accordance with biblical principles like loving God and others, being men and women of faith, and living a life of thankfulness, Tarvin said, illustrating each of his points with verses from Christian scripture.

Tarvin also delved into American history to show his points when speaking of a living a life of thankfulness. He recalled the Pilgrims who, despite a loss of half of their colonists over their first year in the New World, still decided Dec. 13, 1621, to set aside a day for thanksgiving and gratitude to their God.

Tarvin urged attendees to show similar gratitude in their lives and to follow the words of 1 Thessalonians 5:18, in which the Christian apostle Paul calls on people to be thankful in all circumstances.

Tarvin also told the audience to follow the other guidelines God provides to live a good life and build up heavenly treasure. He asked attendees to believe that America was founded on a bedrock of faith and that faith was instrumental in the founding fathers' designs for the country.

"Know that that history has resulted in a nation that has been blessed by God. The Pilgrims recognized it. George Washington and our early leaders recognized it. Abraham recognized it and we have been blessed as a nation because of it," he said. With tough economic ties and an uncertain future for many due to BRAC, Tarvin acknowledged it is not always easy to live under such principles, using the example of Corrie Ten Boom, a survivor of the concentration camps, who said, "There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still."

"It is not always an easy choice to be joyful or kind, but that is what we are called to do. Choose to be joyful, to be kind and thankful," Tarvin said. "Perspective makes the difference."

Chap. (Capt.) Fred Wendell, USAG Catholic chaplain, said although this was the last holiday prayer breakfast to be celebrated at Fort McPherson, plans are in works to hold a national prayer breakfast in spring.