Thanksgiving is over for another year, the day is over, but we can continue being thankful for all our blessings no matter what day it is. We've had a good holiday, a good evening tonight with our kids and look forward to more in the future, Lord willing. Good night everyone. Have a good weekend!

Thanksgiving

Things to be thankful for:

Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior

love of my family

a healthy body

a job to go to

friends

chocolate anything

beautiful sunshine

rain when we need it

a fire in the hearth

clothes in my closet

new blogging friends

decorating magazines

vacations we have had

music to sooth my mind

games to play with my children

my puppy, Bandi, who loves me

sweet smelling pies baking in the oven

a big fat turkey roasting in the oven

food to eat in abundance this holiday

guests in my home for the holidays

this wonderful, beautiful world we live in

the wonderful trips I've made with my sister

a nice warm bed piled high with quilts

The list could go on and on.

What are you thankful for today?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Give Thanks pic, Collage

Five Kernels of Corn

They came, they landed, they stayed!

It was a rough Winter. There was not much food, shelter had to be built, many things to be done. They would have to divy out their food to survive. They had five kernels of corn apiece, not much food to eat. They prayed. Finally the rains came and the crops grew. The first Thanksgiving feast was ready to be shared.

Every year after that, each person was given five kernels of corn as a rememberance of the hard time they had surviving and to remind them of God.

1. The Kernel of Forgiveness

Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget

not all his benefits - who forgives your sins...

Psalms 103: 2 - 3a

2. The Kernel of Healing

...and heals all your diseases

Psalms 103: 3b

3. The Kernel of Redemption

Who redeems your life from the pit...

Psalms 103: 4a

4. The Kernel of Love and Compassion

...and crowns you with love and compassion,

who satisfies your desires with good things...

Psalms 103:4b, 5a

5. The Kernel of Renewal

...who satisfies your life with good things,

so your youth is renewed like an eagle.

Psalms 103: 6

As we sit at our tables this Thanksgiving

let us take the time to thank Him for all He

has given us and honor Him above all things.

Remember this Thanksgiving season to put

five kernels of corn in your purse to remind you

of our compassionate God who loves us.

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,

slow to anger, abounding in love.

Psalms 103:8

Photos

Holiday on First Street

Every year on the Monday before Thanksgiving, our town

decorates the light posts and even the gazebo down town,

getting ready for the Christmas season.

The shops decorate their windows and the inside of their stores.

Then in the evening, there are different groups strolling the street singing Christmas carols and greeting the visitors to our town. Our church group sang tonight at the Gazebo. It was so much fun! There is so much community spirit here and most everyone knows everyone else!

The weather was good.

Wish you could have joined us for caroling!

Turkey Stuff

Let me give you a good laugh today! When Robert and I had been married for about five years, my mother-in-law told me that she thought that it was time that I learned to do the turkey for Thanksgiving, because she would not always be around to do it. I agreed to do it that year!

I got out my roasting pan, washed that babe down and got him ready for the oven. In he went that night around midnight. Oh it was hard to sleep with that smell wafting through the house! But boy, was he going to taste good the next day. Then we arose, had some breakfast and started getting ready for our Thanksgiving lunch. The potatoes, the green beans, the rolls and all the other goodies were ready. We only lacked the giblet gravy to be able to sit down and have a feast! Yum, yum. Mama Ruth asked me where the giblets were; she didn't find them in the pan. "Oh, you mean those things that were stuck inside the turkey? I didn't cook them with the turkey! I didn't know what they were!" Guess what? We had to stop and cook them before we could stir up the gravy, so needless to say, the other things were not hot by time we got the giblet gravy done.

That was my first Thanksgiving to cook, but certainly hasn't been my last. I cooked every Thanksgiving since for 32 years, until my daughter-in-law took over the job about four years ago. But do you know what? I NEVER forgot to cook the giblets again!

My mother-in-law is gone now, but I have her to thank for many of the meals that I have prepared through the years. She was the best cook ever and she shared many of her cooking abilities with me through the years. I still can't cook like she did, but I am thankful for all she taught me.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Photo

7 Ups!

1. Wake Up!

Decide to have a good day.

"This is the day the Lord hath made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Psalms 118:24

2. Dress Up!

The best way to dress up is to put a smile on your face.

It will improve your looks.

"The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.

Man looks at outward appearances,

but the Lord looks at the heart."

I Samuel 16:7

3. Hush Up!

Say nice things and listen.

God gave us two ears and one mouth,

so He must have meant for us to

do twice as much listening as talking.

"He who guards his lips guards his soul."

Proverbs 13:3

4. Stand Up!

...for what you believe in.

Stand for something or you will fall for anything.

"Let us not grow weary in well doing,

for at the proper time,

we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Therefore, as we have opportunity,

let us do good..."

Galatians 6:9-10

5. Look Up!

...to the Lord.

"I can do all things through Christ

who strengthens me."

Philippians 4:13

6. Reach Up!

...for something higher.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and lean not unto your own understanding.

In all your ways, acknowledge Him,

and He will direct your path."

Proverbs 3:5-6

7. Lift Up!

...your prayers.

"Don't worry about anything;

instead pray about everything."

Philippians 4:6

A Positive Thought

God sends your flowers every Spring,

and a sunrise every morning.

He's crazy about you and

will listen to you any time.

God answers Knee-Mail!

Have a great day!

Graphics by GranGran

Come Climb with Me

Good morning! It is a bright and beautiful morning this morning in east Texas. We had some stairs built onto our shed, as there is a good place for storage in the top of the shed, but it was very hard to get up the "pull down" stairs on the inside. I hope to get some painting done before Winter sets in here.

When we were young we didn't think about such things, but as we have grown older, those things have become so important. Let's talk about stairs.

It's nice to have plush, carpeted stairs in your home. Feel the squshy nap to the carpeting beneath your toes. Wiggle your toes, oh how good it feels! It not only feels good, it is so nice to look at too. It's a nice taupy color and it takes on an elegance of it's own. Then there is the sparkling crystal light that lights up our way. What would we do without the light? I'm so thankful for light!

Then there are other stairs that are just as important, but they don't look so good. Take, for instance, my shed stairs. They are utilitarian, safe but not so pretty. They still need painting, but can't be painted till the wood cures. But oh, I am so excited about having them.

Isn't life a lot like that? There are some really pretty people in this world. They are good to look at and you want to be around them because they are pleasing to the eye. But what about those that aren't so pretty? These are the ones that are sometimes shunned and no one wants to have anything to do with them. There are those that are just not so good to look at, but oh what wonderful personalities they have, if we just take the time to get to know them. I want to know them, how about you? "Lord, please help me to be kind to all people, not just the pretty ones."

I don't want to miss out on some wonderful experiences and getting to know some wonderful people in this life. Wont you come climb the stairs with me?