Abundance and Gratefulness

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Nature's Blessings: Autumn Grace

What a wonderful day! A day when we in the United States celebrate all our blessings. A time to be grateful for the abundance of blessings we enjoy. It is also a time for family. Minor disagreements and personality quirks are put aside and we reconnect. It matters not whether your family is of blood, decision, or circumstance.

Do not be alone today. Loneliness is a choice.  (I am not naturally social so I understand it is not always easy -but so necessary and from such a small seed of effort, blessings will bloom. I promise.) Choose to cultivate joy. Cherish relationships and mend rifts. I keep the quote "It is better to be kind than to be right." on my desktop and try to remember it when I so want to put in the last word.

Today you just might need to broaden your usual definition of family and let it include those who may need you most. Help serve at a homeless shelter, visit a nursing home, take a treat to someone who has to work today. You know, if we trace our family tree far enough back, you'll find we are all related and humanity is not a bad family to belong to. Sure there a few black blots but there are also some amazing moments as well.

My personal blessing are countless (seriously countless -too many to count, we are talking infinity and beyond) but I thought I'd list just a few of the biggies. Just so you don't think I am too Pollyanna (which I have been told I can be -annoyingly so I am occasionally told) I do get in funks (remember the computer post) and have to fight the dull gray of melancholy. I sometimes get anxious and even when I know -I really KNOW how incredibly blessed I am I fight discontentment and impatience. 

So here we go with a highly abbreviated list:

I am thankful for my Dad. That he is here with us this Thanksgiving -it has been a tough and exhausting few months and I am so grateful that Dad is still fighting and continue to pray for healing.

I am thankful for my Mom. What a strong woman she is. An inspiration and best friend.

I am thankful for my daughters, Autumn Rose and Carey Anne. Sometimes my heart hurts because the love I have for them is almost too big for it to hold. I am so proud of them and so honored to be their Mom.

I am thankful to live in a country that even with all its issues is still one of, if not the greatest in the world. I am truly blessed to have been born here where there is such privilege and freedom. May I never become jaded or take the responsibility which comes from such an undeserved blessing lightly.

I am thankful for my beautiful home, secure job, and healthy body. I may complain but I am grateful.

I am thankful for my crazy wonderful diverse loving and beloved extended family. I can't wait for many of them to grace my home for this upcoming feast.

Finally and most importantly, I am thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ. I am grateful for a God who sent his son to pay for my sins and the deposit of the Holy Spirit which guides me daily with a desire to know, glorify, mirror his holiness.

Have an incredible Thanksgiving. Eat lots, love lots and live abundantly!

Greeting from just a few of the clan last Thanksgiving.