A Few More Thoughts of Thanks

     I hope all of you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration, and that there are plenty of leftovers to keep you from having to do any serious cooking for a few days.  That, after all, is one of the greatest joys of Thanksgiving!  
     We had a wonderful time with family, and the grand kids always give us reasons to laugh.  There were also many messages of thanks from friends and family via Facebook, e-mail, personal visits and phone.  In short, we had a very special day.  A day blessed by those we love!  Most especially, it was a day to thank God for all His gifts.  May we never forget where our bounty and blessings come from!  One friend posted this on her Facebook, and I want to second her thought. 

     As we leave this Thanksgiving behind, looking forward to next year's opportunity to again give thanks with family and friends, I hope we will carry its spirit into everything we do, noticing each gift that comes, expressing heartfelt gratitude, and recognizing how very blessed we are every day of the year! 


TODAY'S  INSPIRED  QUOTATION:
"In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich." Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I Can Almost Smell the Turkey Roasting

     I'm zeroing in on the day, just counting the hours.  Tomorrow will be overflowing with good food, great company and abundant laughter.  Thanksgiving is just a day away and I'm as excited to be preparing for it as I will be to actually sit down with family and enjoy the fruits of our labor and God's blessings.

     Today will be consumed with baking pies and bread, and spending some time saying, "thanks" to at least a few friends who have blessed my life during this past year.  No working today, just enjoying the privilege of  time to do what I love best--be at home doing homey things.  I suppose if every day were like this I wouldn't appreciate it so much.  But every day isn't, so it's a treat and a blessing that I plan to thoroughly enjoy.

      To my family who can't be here--I am so grateful for your good lives and I miss you all so very much!  To my friends who live far away--I am as thankful for you as ever, and wish the distance that separates us could vanish, and that you could be a very present part of this festive season.  To my friends and family who are near--thank you for the time you allow us to share, the memories you are helping to make, and the love you so generously express each day of the year.  To my readers, both in the United States and in some dozen foreign countries, I appreciate your visiting this site so regularly.  I hope it helps to inspire your own sense of gratitude and that it brings all of our hearts a little closer to a recognition of just how much we are all alike.  Thank you for your support.  I am overwhelmed with blessings, and don't know nearly enough words to express the gratitude I feel.

     Thornton Wilder wrote, "We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures."  Perhaps that is why Thanksgiving is so special, why we look forward to it with such delight, and why it is, in so many ways, a day set apart. Because it is a day when we put other things aside and become keenly aware, with all our heart, of family, friends and all our blessings.  Indeed, on this one blessed day, we are conscious of our treasures!    
      So, no matter what our trials or struggles, on Thanksgiving, may we truly be "alive" and grateful for the gifts that bless our lives!

TODAY'S  INSPIRED  QUOTATION:  The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts.  No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.  H.U. Westermayer

Thanksgiving Week

     Here we are entering one of my most favorite weeks of the year.  The week of Thanksgiving.  Work on Monday and Tuesday will give way to the big pie making day on Wednesday.  Add a couple of loaves of cranberry bread, and the house should be warm, cozy, and filled with delicious aromas.  Thursday is the day for making artisan bread, a special request from my daughter, and joining with her family and our oldest son for turkey and all the trimmings.  What could be better than celebrating with loved ones the gifts we've been given throughout the year?

     For me this has been a wonderful twelve months.  I've had some extra time to be at home--my favorite place--caring for my favorite person, and simply enjoying being a homemaker.  Recently, I've been blessed to be offered an at home job, where I can be accessible to my husband and able to care for his needs.  In a climate that is sometimes harsh and icy, I have to add the blessing of not having to drive on ice and snow to get to work.  How great is that?!
     I've been delighted  this month to see some of my friends on Facebook post daily entries of blessings for which they are grateful.  It has been a constant reminder that there are gifts, great and small, that grace each day.  Therefore, there are reasons every day for joy.  
     Because this is Thanksgiving week, I plan to let this be an extra special time of pondering and gratitude as I count my blessings and express, sometimes silently, sometimes aloud, the appreciation I feel for each one. In addition, I've set a goal to send written expressions of thanks to some of the people who have especially blessed my life through their actions, who have been an example of goodness, or who have inspired me. 
     What a perfect season for reflection; a time, not to be hurried through or dismissed, but to be savored.  An opportunity to think of those who have touched my life for good, and of those things which have come to gladden my heart and ease my way.

First Thanksgiving, Plymouth Colony, 1621

     It seems incredible to me that it was nearly 400 years ago that the Pilgrims established their new home at Plymouth colony.  I am grateful that in spite of all the hardships they suffered, and the deaths of so many of their little band, those 53 survivors still found it in their hearts to set aside a day to thank God for His blessings, and for a successful harvest.  I wonder, how many successful
harvests do we enjoy throughout our year?  The harvest of income to meet the needs of our families; the harvest of a good education;  the harvest of information that comes as we read books, magazines and newspapers; the harvest of strength and guidance we receive through the support and encouragement of family and friends; the harvest of good health through abundant food and skilled medical care; the spiritual harvest of prayers that are answered and blessings received--of safety, of happiness, of wants supplied, of peace and freedom; the harvest of joy from time spent with those we love.  We do not lack for an abundant harvest.  For all these blessings, may we give thanks all year long, and especially during this wonderful Thanksgiving week.


TODAY'S GENTLE ENCOURAGEMENT:  During this special week, take time to hold a child close, or to be extra kind to a pet, to remember the goodness of a friend, to reflect on your love for your spouse, to consider God's care.  Then, let your lips express the appreciation that your heart feels.