Give thanks not just on Thanksgiving Day, but every day of your life. ~Catherine Pulsifier
We had an early Thanksgiving dinner at our church today. We’ve been having this special time together as a church family for many years. My mother used to like to go with me to these special dinners. We used to have them in the evening, but many of our members now live a good drive from the church and some don’t like to drive after dark. So, we changed it to middle of the day after the morning service. Makes things a little harder when you are one of the volunteers to supply the turkey and fixings. But I got it done and was even almost on time to Sunday school. I did cook the turkey on Saturday which made it not fresh out of the oven but it must have been okay. It got eaten along with the old fashioned cornbread and biscuit dressing I made.
Back at those early dinners, we would make a cirle and each of us would name something for which we were thankful. I loved that because I got to hear the hearts of my church family. We had too many in attendance today to do that. Actually, we do have a praise and thanksgiving time every Sunday when we mention things we are especially thankful for each week. Maybe we will have an extra time for that next Sunday as we get closer to Thanksgiving week.
Anyway, remembering how we used to name our blessings has me thinking about some of my everyday blessings now. I am blessed in so many ways with my husband, children, grandchildren and all my family. I had a good mother and father. I feel blessed that I grew up on a farm and learned about working. I am still blessed to live on a farm where I can walk out in the fields and woods and be treated to the wonders of nature. It is a blessing to be able to take pictures of those wonders with abandon now that I have a phone in my pocket that doesn’t mind me storing a few thousand pictures in it or out there on the Cloud.
But here are a few more reasons I have for thanksgiving. I’m thankful each morning when the sun slides up over the horizon and shines down on my world and other people’s worlds too. I’m thankful for all the times that sunrise or sunset has lit up a visiting grandchild enjoying time here on the farm.
I’m thankful for wildflowers that grow in the fields. Nature spreads their seeds and each year the flowers pop up to gift us with their beauty. No tending, no seeding, no tilling. They are just there blessing us year after year. Of course, I like those tilled and tended flowers too, but right now I’m counting black-eyed Susans and Queen Anne’s lace.
I’m thankful that I have a place for a garden and that with that weeding and tilling and tending, I can have fresh vegetables for my dinner table. I’m thankful that I learned from my mother how to preserve that produce to enjoy even after the snow flies. Those gardens have guaranteed that my family got plenty to eat.
In the last dozen or so years, I’m thankful that my son has taken over doing a lot of the tending and tilling as his family grew in number and they needed more of the fresh produce than my husband and I did. It’s been fun watching the grandchildren weeding and picking and tending the garden. Sometimes the littlest ones want to do the harder jobs like pushing the seeder. I’m thankful my grandchildren have a good father to let them give it a try. I’m very thankful that all my grandchildrem are blessed with loving fathers and mothers.
I’m thankful I have beautiful places on my farm to take walks and to discover the beauty of nature. I haven’t gone down the creek as much this year. Mostly because one of my dogs, Marley, has gotten too old to make his way down the steep cliff path. But I am thankful for both my furry walking companions and for the dogs I’ve had through the years to keep me company on my walks.
I am thankful for the gift of words the Lord gave me and that I have found many story ideas such as my Hidden Springs mysteries. The giveaway for a set of these 3 mysteries, Murder at the Courthouse, Murder Comes by Mail, and Murder Is No Accident is till going on. You can throw your name in my giveaway hat by making a comment on this post. You must be at least 18 years old to enter and the deadline to make that enter is midnight EST on Novenber 26, 2o24. Each time you leave a comment on a new post before the deadline, you get another entry to increase you chances of being the lucky winner. I’ll pick that winner by random and contact her or him by email. I’ll announce the winner (first name and initial only) here on my next post after that.
One of my reasons for thanksgiving is you. I’m very thankful for you readers who read my words. Thank you! Thank you!
I could keep typing until my fingers got tired and not run out of reasons I have to be thankful.
If you were in the circle at my church on one of those Thanksgiving gatherings over the years, what thing would you mention as a reason you feel blessed?