HOLIDAYS AND CELEBRATIONS

Halloween is almost over. Many communities postponed trick or treating because of the weather which means those little ones will be knocking on doors tonight.

Don't ya love this cartoon? Out with the pumpkin and get ready for the turkey.

This time of year seems hectic because one shelf has candy left from Halloween and across the aisle the Santa hats are already out. Each year the turkey and Thanksgiving receive less and less shelf space. A few napkins, a stack of paper tablecloths and a fall candle for the table are sitting in boxes, in the middle of the aisle, so they can quickly be stashed away on November 29. So much for Thanksgiving.

When did celebrating Thanksgiving shrink? Yes, we still get together and expect a huge meal of turkey, dressing, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy and all that topped off with pumpkin pie, but then it quickly falls apart. That big meal, which took hours to prepare, has to be consumed between the parades and the ball games. Of course, the family no longer sits around, letting their turkey digest and telling stories on this crazy aunt or that unique cousin, because the stores are open.

What does Thanksgiving mean today? It means CHRISTMAS SHOPPING BEGINS!

SCRIPTURES

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. Psalm 100:4

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God, acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire." Hebrews 12:28

AND NOW

The pumpkin is right. The turkey is next. Thanksgiving is next. As you plan holidays and celebrations, don't forget Thanksgiving. Why not start a list now. Each day list something you are thankful for. Come Thanksgiving you will realize just how blessed you are and you will be excited to celebrate.

LET US PRAY (Please use this as a beginning of your prayer. Finish in your own words, words from your heart.)

My God, with reverence and awe, I say, "Thank you." Amen

GIVE THANKS

Thanksgiving is almost here so, of course, this will be on giving thanks.

SCRIPTURES

I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High. Psalm 7:17

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. Psalm 100:4

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

GIVE THANKS

We are told to give thanks to the Lord. We are told to enter his gates with thanksgiving. We are told to give thanks in all circumstances. Give thanks - oh, this could be fun!

MY THANK YOU PRAYER:

Lord, thank you for ice cream. Don’t know how ice cream was first thought of. Guess I could Google that, but I just want to thank you for ice cream. I especially like vanilla because it has such possibilities. Vanilla is good on pie and cake. It is good with root beer poured over it. It is good with chocolate, caramel and marshmallow crème on top. Yes, Lord, thank you for ice cream.

Lord, thank you for mud. There is just nothing like squishing my toes in mud after a nice summer rain. And it makes the neatest sound when I pull my feet out. Yup, mud deserves to be on the list. Thank you.

Lord, thank you for knee high nylons. What a pleasure to put those on, under slacks, instead of fighting with a pair of panty hose. And, if my skirt is long enough and I watch how I cross my legs, those knee highs will work just fine. Bless you for giving someone a creative mind and that mind coming up with knee highs.

Lord, I so enjoy magnets. Have you gazed upon my refrigerator and freezer? Or the door in our office? Or the file cabinet behind me? Magnets! The pictures of our grandchildren are on the office door. (What a treat that is to see them watching me work. Do you have my picture sticking around somewhere?) My file cabinet has business cards, a cow, a cross, two angels, a scripture (Do I get brownie points for the angels, cross and scripture?), notes and a calendar. The magnets on the refrigerator reflect where we have traveled or give me good advice. Thank you for magnets.

Lord, when I enter your gates with thanksgiving, I am absolutely going to say thank you for toothpicks. You just have no idea what it is like to have a tiny, tiny seed caught between your teeth. And that seed is always stuck where my tongue cannot get to it! What a relief when a tooth pick is handy! Thank you that someone looked at a sliver of wood and thought, “Wonder if that would get that seed out of my back tooth?”

Lord Most High, I am thankful for family, friends, home. But Lord, I thank you for all the little joys you place in my everyday life: Ice Cream, Mud, Knee High Nylons, Magnets and Toothpicks. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you and Amen.

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Relax. Take a deep breath. Smile. Now: WHAT ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR?

HAVE A BLESSED THANKSGIVING!

ONE TURKEY SAVED

When you think about Thanksgiving dinner do you see a pilgrim chasing a turkey? Axe in hand, ready to do the poor fellow in. Or do you see the Norman Rockwell painting of the lady sitting the perfectly browned turkey on the table already straining under the weight of potatoes, cranberry salad, green beans and dressing? Or do you see ---

Ham?

Next week, we are off on a Thanksgiving Adventure. Six adults and seven children will be celebrating together in a cabin in Gatlinburg. This has required the strategy skills of at least a Three Star General (aka me).

We had to reserve the cabin more than a year in advance. Our children had to inform the in-law sides of their family they would not be around for Thanksgiving. This in itself can be a tricky maneuver with the potential for minor repercussions. Pulling the grandchildren out of school a day early also takes some smooth talking to those in charge of the attendance chart. These were the easy decisions.

The General's Aide (aka hubby) decided to leave Tuesday afternoon instead of Wednesday morning. That meant the General had to determine the best pick-up schedule for the two grandchildren riding in the command vehicle and arrange for Tuesday night accommodations.

The General then began assessing the grocery list. What to take from supplies on hand and what to purchase at the local commissary. Easy task? NOT! Numerous emails later, the General now knows that one family prefers strawberry jelly to grape. The Sergeant in charge of breakfast strongly expressed disdain with the hash browns on the list. Real potatoes will be served, thank you. The other Sergeant added that her army, of four boys, would consume a bit more milk and eggs, so those numbers were increased.

Have you been wondering about the ham? After taking into consideration the comments from the "But what is Thanksgiving without turkey?" supporters and the "Ham doesn't have to be thawed, taken off the bone and is a lot less work" side, the General pulled rank and said: "We shall eat ham."

Did you really read all of this? I do have a point. Time with our family is valuable. Our Thanksgiving Adventure has required planning. It has required co-operation. It will require patience pills for the General's Aide. But it will be worth it.

The reward of our year long planning will be the joy of being together as a family.

The reward of working for the Lord will be the joy of receiving an inheritance from God and being together with our family for eternity. Now that is something to work for!

TODAYS SCRIPTURE:

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. Colossians 3:23-24

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY

What is something you have really worked for? Do you work equally as hard for the Lord?

LET US PRAY (Please use this as a beginning of your prayer. Finish in your own words, words from your heart.)

Thanksgiving. What a beautiful word, Lord. Fill my heart with Thanksgiving and wrap my soul around the blessing I hold dear. My eyes behold such wonders. Trees. The night sky. Promises in the Bible. My ears hear sweet sounds. Water filling a glass. Music. Prayers. My blessings surround me. They begin when I wake. They cover me when I sleep. Thank you for ........................ Amen

THANKSGIVING

TODAYS SCRIPTURE: HEBREWS 12:28

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,

THANKSGIVING

I am writing this Wednesday evening, but by the time you read this, the left over turkey will be in the refrigerator. The dressing will be waiting to be eaten for lunch and I will still be wondering why Bill likes Mincemeat Pie. Thanksgiving is Bill's favorite holiday and I do love fixing the meal.

This year we had an added surprise when a beautiful centerpiece was delivered. One of our farm management families sent it to thank us for years of service. Bless their hearts. Every woman loves unexpected, fresh flowers.

I started on Wednesday baking and getting ready. The piecrust stuck to the counter and I ended up patching it. The Jello turned out just right. Then I made a peanut butter cake. (I know that is not traditional, but our son and I love peanut butter cake.) The cake was going good until I realized I did not have quite enough brown sugar. No problem. I just added a little white sugar. Then I realized the cake batter was thicker than usual. I checked the recipe. Right there it said 1/3 cup of peanut butter. Below that was one cup of something. Guess why the batter was thick. You are right. I had put in one cup instead of 1/3. A problem? Not sure. The cake looks okay and it baked fine, but I guess the taste test will come tomorrow. I put on extra icing just in case the cake is only fair.

If this is a normal year, the turkey will look like the picture in those cooking magazines, but will fall apart when we cut it. I guess we like ours actually cooked all the way through. Bill will mash the potatoes and I will make the gravy. The cranberry Jello salad will be eaten by some and some will turn their noses up.

I have the table set and it looks pretty. I had planned to use the everyday dishes that could be stuck in the dishwasher, but then the flowers arrived I changed my mind. The table is set with our 43-year-old wedding china (a gift from my parents), the good glasses and coasters that belonged to Bill's uncle. When we sit down to the table, we will miss having our daughter and her family, but will welcome our son's friend and her children.

I can see why Thanksgiving is Bill's favorite holiday. It is a day to enjoy family. It is a day to reflect on blessings. The big ones we notice -- Health. Family. Friends. Home. The small ones we almost forget and take for granted -- Electricity. Water. Laughter.

Today my biggest blessing is faith. I had religion a long time and I found there is a big difference between faith and religion. I will take faith.

QUESTION OF THE DAY

What were you thankful?

Please use this as a beginning of your prayer. Finish in your own words, words from your heart.

Friday morning: A note before I post this: The cake was tremendous. I will put extra peanut butter the next time too. The turkey was drier than usual. The dressing (stuffing to you city people) was very good this year. And Bill was the only one to eat the pie. Know what? Dry turkey or not - IT WAS A WONDERFUL DAY. Of course, I will have to write about the kids saying someone is at the door and finding a police officer ready to ring the bell. And no, he was not going door-to-door for charity.

LET US PRAY

Today, please offer a prayer of your own. Use simple words. Or exquisite words. Offer a prayer thanking God for all He has given you.