Thanksgiving Thoughts

It seems to me sometimes, in this fast-paced world we live in, that Thanksgiving sort of gets lost in the push for Christmas. I'm seeing Christmas decorations, and gift displays, and already hearing Christmas music in the stores.

Don't get me wrong--I love the Christmas season. I just feel I should take time to dwell on my blessings and all that I have to be thankful for. I am of course thankful for all of the things that are common to many--my wonderful family, my friends, a loving husband who provides well for me, my pastor and a church where the Word of God is taught, and most of all a personal relationship with my Lord and Savior.

Beyond that, I'm so very thankful for my eyesight. I have wet macular degeration in my right eye, which requires an injection every month to keep it at an acceptable level of sight. But I am so very grateful that there is medicine available for this, and that my left eye has not been affected. It is truly a blessing from the Lord.

I've come across some Thanksgiving quotes and wanted to share a few here.

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them. (J.F. Kennedy)

He who thanks from the lips, thanks but in part; the full true Thanksgiving comes from the heart. (J. A. Shedd)

Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and true homage comes form the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds. ( T. Roosevelt)

No one is more impoverished than the one who has no gratitude. Gratitude is a currency we can mint for ourselves, and spend without fear of bankruptcy. (Fred D. V. Amburgh)

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. (Melody Beattie)

(I think this last one says so much what my heart feels)

For, after all, put it as we may to ourselves, we are all of us, from birth to death, guests at a table that we did not spread. The sun, the earth, love, friends, our very breath are parts of the banquet--Shall we not think of the day as a chance to come nearer our Host, and to find out something of Him who has fed us for so long?

I trust you will have a blessed Thanksgiving, as you recall the ways you've been blessed this past year.

(I am having a problem with my personal computer, so I am allowing comments to post without approval for now. Hopefully I have set it correctly to do that. I did add a word verification.)

Two Are Better Than One

Bride,Bridegroom, Beautiful, Blessing, Beginnings, Beloved--These are all words that came to mind today, as I had the privilege of attending the marriage celebration of my niece Amy to her betrothed, Eric.

BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM--Repeating their vows to each other, before God and many family and friends.

BEAUTIFUL--I had never seen this done before, but what a beautiful picture of the union of not only Amy and Eric as husband and Wife, but uniting them as a family with these two beautiful girls. (This was the Unity Sand ceremony, where each of them put in a different color of sand. Once the sand is all put together, it can never be separated into individual parts).

BLESSING--How wonderful it has been to see how God has brought them together. The ceremony was a reflection of how they both want the Lord to be the most important person, to them individually as well as in their lives together as a couple and a family.

BEGINNING--They were introduced for the first time as husband and wife. This, then, is the beginning of their journey together: there will be much joy and gladness, as well as challenges, but whatever comes, they will find that "two are better than one".

BELOVED--Lauren and Mackenzie, Eric's beloved (and charming) daughters, made him a special groom's cake. Is it possible he loves football?

Yes indeed, a beautiful, blessed, beginning for this wonderful couple and their two precious girls.

Genesis 2:18 It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helpmate suitable for him.

Ecclesiastes 4: 9, 10, 12 Two are better than one...if one falls down his friend can help him up! Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands (God, Amy and Eric) is not quickly broken.

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our Fifth Wedding Anniversary. It hardly seems possible in some ways, and in other ways seems like we've known and loved each other for a long time.

Last night he brought me flowers. He is very sentimental, so it shouldn't have surprised me that he would remember. We actually celebrated our anniversary the end of September with a weekend trip to Chain of Lakes.


It has been a very special relationship for us, as we each lost our first spouse. I don't think either of us expected to find someone again who would love us so completely. We are both so very blessed. I've had some challenging times during these years, all of which would have been much more difficult to handle without a loving, supportive husband.


I believe I speak for both of us when I say that, we hope to continue our journey together through the sunset of our lives. As young as we are, I'm sure that will be many years down the road!

"Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude or self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs....It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."
(I Corinthians 13: 4-8)

Happy Anniversary, Sweetheart!

Heart-felt Gratitude

I know, I know! Thanksgiving is almost a month away. But I've been thinking a lot lately about how blessed I am at this point in my life. God has blessed me in so many ways and I am so thankful.

One of the things that prompted me to write this post at this time was a little article I read; it was written by the editor-in-chief of Guidepost magazine, Edward Grinnan. I trust it will be OK to quote him in my post, as you could also read it in the November issue of the magazine.

He said: "One of the pleasures of growing older is the perspective it brings to the store of blessings that multiply in your life; growing older means growing more grateful. Of course there is loss and heartache and disappointment too. But it is against these adversities that our blessings stand in high relief, the joy of family and friends and faith and work, and gratitude for the gifts each new day holds. These are the things that make us whole, and with which, as I daily remind myself, I am so richly and undeservedly blessed. Even in these dark and troubled times I find more to be thankful for than not--much more. Gratitude is a practice of the soul that helps us live happier lives and grow closer to God, and our blessings are the living evidence of His grace."

PSALM 100
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us and we are His, we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.
For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.

Lots of Work--Some Play

I went from enjoying a great cruise to lending a helping hand to a friend. However, it involved a road trip of nearly 1000 miles to complete this assignment. In less than 24 hours after I returned to my home from the cruise, I was on my way to Hilton Head Island, SC.


My friend, Judy, and her husband have a condo there in Palmetto Dunes. Judy had helped me when I did some re-modeling at my home, including some very pain-staking wall paper removal. So I agreed to go with her to clean and organize the condo.

There had been some water damage and they had to replace some drywall, tear up carpet, etc. So they had new carpet and hardwood floors installed. Needless to say, everything was dusty. We washed all the bed linens for 3 bedrooms, as well as window curtains. And of course we washed down all the furniture, woodwork, windows and washed all the dishes--lots of them! You get the idea. It was MAJOR fall cleaning!

She also had the overwhelming task of sewing together drapes for two patio doors. We first had to rip out the seams so that she could sew the panels together. Judy sewed three panels together for each door. They had 3 layers, and she sewed each layer individually. When we finished with them Monday morning, including inserting the pleater hooks, and ironing, they fit perfectly. (One of the rods had been installed wrong, but we were able to figure out how to fix it).


Of course all work and no play is just not good. So we did have some fun and relaxing times. We walked along the beach one morning, probably about 2 miles. The weather was great!


One afternoon while she worked on drapes, I relaxed at the pool. The water was perfect, not too cold, the sun was great, and I even spent a little time in the hot tub.


I checked out the time for sunrise one morning, and we got to the beach at the perfect time to watch the sun come up. So beautiful and peaceful.


Sunday morning, after attending church, we had brunch at the "Black Marlin". They had some very interesting entrees. Judy and I had Bananas Foster French Toast, which had a carmelized syrup that was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. The gal on the right, also named Judy, was also working on her home that week.


After brunch we headed for Savannah, Georgia, and took a trolley tour of the this beautiful city. Once again, it was terrific weather and we were able to see the wonderful homes and parks in the historic district.




We left early Tuesday morning for the long trip back home, having had some fun as well as leaving the condo clean and decorated and ready to rent. The drive through the Smokey mountains was beautiful (I see I forgot to include a picture, although my pictures couldn't really capture the view.) We got into a rain storm and wind in Kentucky and some tense driving for a while. All in all, it was a productive and fun trip.

An Amazing Adventure

Because I'm such a world traveler, I haven't had a chance to post about our wonderful cruise to Key West and Cozumel, Mexico, except for the preview of the dolphin experience. I spent the last week in Hilton Head, SC (but that's a story for another time).

My sister Brenda,on her blog "Bee's Nest", has done a fantastic summary of our cruise,so you might check that out, as I can't add much to it. But there were a few things I thought I might share.

On our walking tour of Key West, we not only tasted some great food, but saw some interesting sights. These statues were interesting for me because I had seen a similar display this past summer in Auburn, Indiana with my friend Rebecca. They are done by Seward Johnson. The large one was also on display in Auburn.





On Sunday, on board the ship, they had a "Parade of Nations". There were people from 35 countries working on the ship, and they displayed the flags of their countries.




I was so impressed with the staff and crew members--dining room servers, state room staff, etc. They were absolutely gracious, kind and helpful. They must have excellent training in customer relations. However, even with training, sometimes it's difficult to maintain such a gracious demeanor. I would do well, as a christian woman, to make sure I am that gracious and kind to those I meet, as well as friends and family.

I am so thankful I had this opportunity to share such a wonderful experience with my sisters. It was full of fun, fellowship and food--three important ingredients for any trip!

Dolphin Push-Pull

I just got home from my cruise today, and will be leaving again tomorrow, so I will have more pics and details later. But I thought you might enjoy this short video clip and some photos of our fun time with the dolphins.

Look for more to come--We had a great cruise!