I am thankful for you! Thank you for reading my blog. Thank you for allowing me to share my heart and ministry with you. I am thankful that you have a heart for the things of God and that you are seeking to know Him better and walk more closely with Him. I […]
That’s right and I mean it too…there is power in giving thanks. You can and should unleash the power of thanksgiving! And I’m not referring to the big fancy, elaborate “thank you” either. No, the simple two words “thank you” connected to a sincere heart has life changing power. We are wowed with the […]
While the Thanksgiving holiday is behind us, it’s warmth and essence are more fragrant today that they were Thursday. Let me explain.
When I discovered that Kimberly’s three fledglings would be out of school on Wednesday before Thanksgiving, I asked if I could borrow them. I had been planning crafts and things we could do together for several weeks. While none of my pictures come close to Pinterest quality, the memories we made were awesome. They made popsicle stick puppets, then moved from one craft to another where they painted and glued and created. It was messy. It was wonderful.
We made Indian Teepees from Pinterest. I should have read the directions more closely, because the cones tipped and leaked into my oven. (No, the smoke alarm didn’t go off, because I took it down. I’m tired of being the Smoke Alarm Queen.) Sorry, Kimberly, I know that doesn’t make you too happy. But think about it this way, they made it safely home…so no worries.
Karyn made her first pie crust all by herself from scratch! Way to go, girl! It was flakey and delicious!
Brayden and Ashlyn helped me arrange flowers for Kimberly’s table.
It was sooo much fun! They cleaned up behind themselves.It just doesn’t get any better, but then it did. Ashlyn came up to me and asked, “Would you mind if I vacuumed your floor?” I though I heard the Hallelujah Chorus right then and there! Hallelujah! Yes, baby, you just have at it!
We decided to go for a walk.I didn’t know God was going to use Ashlyn again, as He has on so many occasions to talk to me. They had been inside all day, so it was time for some exercise. Ashlyn handed me the camera as we put on our shoes to go outside with the instruction, “Here take this.”
“Why do I need the camera?” I asked. “We’re just going to walk down the street. We’re not going anywhere except right here in the neighborhood!”
Her twinkling smile was convincing,”In case we see something special,Nana.”
We walked a few houses down the street, “Show me something special,” I asked Ashlynn.
She flashed that big grin at her Nana and pointed to the mailbox. “Take a picture of the mailbox, Nana.”
So I did. It’s a beautiful mailbox. I’d never seen it before. I chuckled; because all these years that I’ve lived in this house, I’d never noticed that beautiful mailbox.
Again, she pointed and I clicked. “Look Nana, see the flower…
and the fountain ….
By this time, Brayden had joined the search…is the fruit ripe yet? …referring to the loquat tree at the entrance of the neighborhood.
“Take a picture of the roses, Nana.”
She was right my neighborhood was filled with special things! Thank you, Ashlyn for helping me to see them. They are special. Gifts of beauty–from God–there for me to enjoy, but I hurry past without even noticing until with tiny fingers she points them out to me. Pleasures, simple pleasures, but I have to see them, to enjoy them.
I respond with heartfelt gratitude and glee (Does that sound like too strong a word for such little things? Not when you’re seeing the beauty through the eyes of a child! Or when you see every little thing as a gift from God.), “Thank you God for sweet smelling velvet roses on a late November day. Thank you God for a childish reminder to notice special things, so I can savor them. Thank you a little hand inside mine, skipping alongside me as I tried to remember how to skip…and I did. Thank you God, for Brayden racing ahead, you know he’s our miracle boy, jumping across the drain grate at the pond and calling to Ashlyn to do the same—and she did!
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Ten Warnings that Could Save Your Thanksgiving or Christmas for that Matter
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I love turkeys, because my grandchildren love turkeys. Jason joined us and the grandkids at the cabin one day. The grandkids wanted to see turkeys. It was a little late in the morning, but we loaded into the car and began to drive up and down the hills straining our eyes to spot one or two of the masters of camouflage that filled our woods. Jason spotted three turkeys. So with passion akin to his mother’s, he ordered us to stop. Jason grabbed Brayden, who was pretty small at the time, and began to run in the direction of the turkeys, just so Brayden could get close enough to see one. Jason didn’t know that those skinny birds can run twenty miles an hour and burst into flight speeds of 50 miles an hour. Brayden didn’t see the turkeys, but we made a memory.
I love turkeys, honest I do, but turkey day? If you’re a hunter I understand your enthusiasm, but if you’re talking about Thanksgiving…really? A turkey…the symbol of Thanksgiving?
OK! You think they’re cute. Have you actually seen a turkey? They don’t make my list of cute…interesting–very… cute–not so much! Delicious? Now you’re talking my language. I can’t wait to pile my plate with potatoes and gravy, southern cornbread dressing and yes, I’ll have turkey on my plate, especially since Jason is smoking the turkey this year! I love smoked turkey.
Maybe a turkey should be the symbol of thanksgiving, because a whole lot of gobbling will be going on! Most of us will gobble our way through the green bean casserole, the sweet potatoes with toasted marshmallows, and through the homemade bread and right on through the carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Gobble. Gobble. Gobble.
I get it and I do it. I gobble, gobble on Thanksgiving Day. I always gobble way too much! But gobbling is only part of the celebration, not the reason, not the symbol, not my sign! I will celebrate with good food, great friends and some of my family. But I will do more than celebrate. I will be grateful.
I will Stop. Drop. And thank. And that’s not a Southern way to say think, although you might have to listen close when I say it. I will stop my gobbling. Drop my fork and thank God for His blessings, His love. Thanksgiving is not a noun, it’s a verb! It’s not about gobbling, it’s about giving thanks. The name is still Thanks Giving isn’t it? Thanksgiving doesn’t need a symbol, it needs action. People that will live it out in their everyday lives all year long. Giving Thanks!
I’ll leave my Thanksgiving table full. But when I am grateful, it leaves my heart full too.
And I am so thankful! Thankful for Jesus who died to save us from our sins. Thankful for my husband, my children, their mates and their children. Thankful for my pastors Jimmy & Esther Wilder. Thankful for all my friends that read my blog. So thankful for so many blessings and yes…for turkeys! It’s going to be sooo good… on my plate right beside the dressing!
The chances are great that there will be many cooks making their very first Thanksgiving meal this year. I’ve written this blog because I want to help both them and you avoid some cooking blunders that could ruin your Thanksgiving. I must admit, my only claim to fame is “Making the Smoke Alarm Go Off the Most Times in One Year”. And maybe I should tell you that when my children were little, they always ended their blessing with the words, “…and please God, make it good” And while my only qualification for blogging about food is that I like to eat, I still want to share my “Ten Warnings to Save Your Thanksgiving.” Please pay very careful attention to each of them.
1. Do defrost your turkey before you pop it in the oven and no, it will not defrost in 30 minutes.
2. Spaghetti O’s is not a vegetable and it does not go with turkey.
3. Dressing the turkey does not require a visit to your favorite clothing store.
4. Forget your Cracker Jack days: Do not leave that little bag inside the turkey. It is not the prize.
5. Do not set the table with personalized barf bags.
6. Do not carve the turkey with a chainsaw, even if it is still a little frozen.
7. Do not fry the turkey inside the house.
8. Do not put the antacid on the table. But be sure you have some on hand.
9. If guest will be spending the afternoon, do not serve beans or sweet potatoes.
10. Do not leave the dog to guard the food while you greet your guests at the door. When someone calls them guard dogs, they are not referring to food.
Can I add one more? Can I make that, Eleven Warnings That Could Save Your Thanksgiving?” This one is more important than all the rest–“Don’t make Thanksgiving all about the food. OK, maybe that’s what you would expect from someone that is the Smoke Alarm Queen. If your day is only about food, you may feel full and filled, but your day will fall short of FULL FILLING its purpose. Make Thanksgiving about giving thanks. Express your gratefulness to God.
When you do, everything tastes better. I like that thought—maybe there’s hope for my cooking after all! Blessings on you and your cooking this Thanksgiving!
Brayden, my little Jedidah is my kinda cook!
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Thanks Giving I love to cook almost as much as I love to eat. The hardest part is the clean-up afterwards; which often influences my cooking. The second most difficult part of cooking is deciding what to cook, which also influences and limits my cooking to a few favorite recipes. From time to time, I […]