Being Thankful

Don't you just love these sunny November days? It's almost cool enough to open the windows so I know I need to tackle the job of cleaning all those windows. Now my mom didn't sit me down and remind me to schedule this in once every fall and once every spring. I merely observed her pattern of doing it season after season, year after year. Although my mom often did it while we were in school I had the privilege of helping my grandmother do her windows. She did the inside and I got to climb the big ladder and do the outside. (Grandmothers: even though the children might not do quite as good as job as you would, these create life-long memories of working beside you). It almost feels like a piece of cake to do my windows which only involves washing the outside and inside and hosing down the screens. Because we lived up north "doing the windows" was at another level. Each screen was taken down and stored away until spring and the heavy storm windows had to be taken out of storage and washed and put up. This meant that for each window opening there were two sets of windows to wash! It was important to do this in the fall as cold weather would be soon approaching and the extra window helped to keep out those cold winter winds.

If you drove by my house today you would see my bedroom curtains hanging between the crepe myrtle tree and a ladder. (The ladder already fell over once so I had to tie it to my van with a small rope. I guess when the piano students come this afternoon they'll think we're practicing for the "limbo".) I love for the curtains to blow in the breeze and linger in the sunshine. Clean windows are a lot of work but the result is worth the effort. Once the task is done the sunbeams can come dazzling in and your family can enjoy cool breezes at night minus the spiderwebs and other things that were swept away. (By the way, for me this is a multi-day task. I don't have big enough chunks of time or enough energy to tackle the whole house in one day like my mom seemed to do. I'm glad I can have memory snapshots of her being superwoman.)

~ Brenda Edwards

Being Thankful

I adore this little prayer. It illustrates the spirit of Thanksgiving beautifully. The children and I share in memorizing this each November as we focus on His goodness and respond with gratitude.
~ Allie Olsen



"Thou hast given so much to me.

Give one thing more, a grateful heart;

Not thankful when it pleaseth me,

As if Thy blessings had spare days,

But such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise."

~George Herbert

Being Thankful

This time of year always gives me a warm fuzzy. The weather is cooler and the smell of pumpkin and spices are in the air. It is by far my favorite time of year. I also enjoy it because time is put aside to be with family and loved ones on Thanksgiving. For me, Thanksgiving is about the people and being together with family and friends. While we’re waiting for the food we play games and just enjoy the company of those around us.

In thinking about what I am thankful for, my focus turns to my husband. As many of you know he was deployed with his Navy Reserve unit last year. And although it was a difficult time, God’s grace was sufficient and the Lord taught us both so much during that time. A verse that I kept on the forefront was from James 1:2-4 "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

So this Thanksgiving my heart turns to my husband, family and friends. Being together and having those relationships in our lives is precious and should never be taken for granted. May you all enjoy the company of those you hold dearest in your life this Thanksgiving.

~ Sharlyn Eddy

Being Thankful

A few years ago, a dear friend gave me a little jewel of a book called The Morning Watches and Night Watches, by J. R. MacDuff. It is a collection of 31 devotional prayers for starting your day and 31 for ending your day. So often the Lord would use the words of these prayers to bring encouragement and conviction. He would use the words, written over a century ago, to pierce my heart and address my need for that day. May this prayer "For Gratitude in Mercies" encourage thankfulness in your heart and point you to our generous Saviour as we enter the season when we celebrate Thanksgiving. ~ Adrea Thomas

A prayer for Gratitude in Mercies, from The Morning and Night Watches, by JR. MacDuff:

"Good Lord, preserve me from the sin of insensibility to Your unwearied kindess--of taking Your mercies as matters of course, and thus living in a state of independence of You. May my whole existence become a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving--may all my doings testify the sincerity and devotion of a heart feeling alive to every gift of the great Giver; and especially, may I be so brought under the constraining influence of redeeming love, as to consecrate every power of my body and every faculty of my soul to Him who so willingly consecrated and shed His very life's blood for me.

"Bless all near and dear to me. Defend them by Your mighty power. Give them, too, gratitude for mercies past, and the sure and well-grounded hope of a glorious inheritance in that better world, where mercy is unmixed with judgment, and joy undarkened by sorrow."

Being Thankful

Thanksgiving will soon be here. In anticipation of the day we even had our favorite pumpkin bread the other night which fills the house with such wonderful aromas! As the holiday nears my heart turns to thoughts of thankfulness. There are so many things I am thankful for: my husband, my children and granchildren, my extended family, our home, etc. But as I pondered which one to extol, my thoughts turned to the Lord Himself, the maker of all these things. I can't imagine not knowing Him and living a life without His daily presence. Recently I read a book set in Provence, France. I was intrigued with the attention given to food preparation, food presentation, food consumption. It made me want to take up french cooking! But as I neared the end of the book it was apparent that though the author knew all there was to know about french cooking he did not know God. There was nothing overt and vile, just a keen absence of any reference to the almighty. This man had lived his entire life cultivating an appetitie for delicious things of this world but never seeking after the bread of heaven. How sad. When I encounter people like this it does two things: makes me want to pray for their salvation and causes me to once again be amazed that the Lord would choose me. I am overwhelmed with gratitude and reminded afresh of His sweet mercy and forgiveness. The cross is once again brought into full view. As we are given the opportunity to spend time over the holidays with those who do not know the Lord, let's contemplate how we can be the fragrant aroma of Christ to them. At first glance they may seem to be just nice, ordinary folks. But let's ask the Lord for spiritual eyes to see them as He sees them: Spiritually starving and in need of the bread of heaven. Oh may we have many encounters with these kinds of people and speak words of real comfort and joy! ~ Brenda Edwards

Being Thankful

Thanksgiving is always a special time for our family. It is a holiday that celebrates family and friends. Often times the meal becomes the main event, but the real treasure is the gathering of those you love. With the holidays upon us let us remember to give thanks to God for the gift we have in family and the many memorable traditions we hold close.

I would like to share a story with you that our oldest daughter wrote when she was much younger about a memory she will forever carry in her heart concerning Thanksgiving.

“Every year we would all gather for Thanksgiving at my grandparent’s house to share in the festivities. Thanksgiving dinner was always the highlight along with making new memories and reliving the old. Turkey, dressing, giblet gravy, mashed potatoes and of course sweet potato casseroles along with cranberry sauce were the traditional must haves at our family meal.

Several years ago, my mom was excited to be having Thanksgiving dinner at our house. All morning she scurried about the kitchen making all the necessary preparations for the day. The house was beautifully decorated with a seasonal theme. A replica of the Mayflower was the center piece for the children’s table. The adult’s table was adorned with muted orange pumpkins and a variety of leaves and flowers arranged to perfection.
The air smelled of spicy pumpkin pie and freshly baked bread. Soon it would be time for our guests to arrive. All that was left to be done was to take the turkey out of the oven to be carved. My mom partially pulled the turkey out of the oven when she left to call my dad to come help. All of sudden we heard the sound of clashing metal. We ran to the kitchen to inspect the disaster that we were sure awaited us. When we arrived at the kitchen doorway, we halted in disbelief. As we surveyed the scene, we beheld our beautiful Thanksgiving turkey lying on the kitchen floor. Turkey juice flowed swiftly through the grouted tile greeting us at the doorway. We thought that our beautifully browned turkey had been ruined. Slowly we attempted to clean up the mess. My dad inspected the turkey and found that it, surprisingly, could be salvaged. My mom was even able to conserve some of the turkey broth remaining in the pan as well. One of our favorite parts of this Thanksgiving dinner hadn’t been ruined after all. We had a good laugh with family and friends that night at dinner; as we retold the events of the day. Needless to say, my family enjoyed a most memorable Thanksgiving Day with gratitude overflowing for God’s gift of His Son and the love of family and friends.”

May every day be a day of Thanksgiving. ~ Rhonda Calabello