Happy Thanksgiving--Love These Decorations!

This is the best decorated house I found in our neighborhood for Thanksgiving.  This has been a tough year but I am so thankful I was retired all year and did not have the pressure of having to work from home.  We enjoyed the fitness classes, pinochle and shooting pool at the Sr. Center the first two and a half months of the year.  I was also off to a great start of strength training with our free membership at Planet Fitness, but since COVID, we just worked along with exercise videos at home.  

Also, thanks to being dog owners of a husky mix, we got lots of walking exercise in which I would not have done otherwise.  We were able to enjoy some fun days at the Metroparks with Roxy too.  This really kept me from becoming a couch potato watching TV all day long which I promised myself I would not do when I retired.  My goal is to keep active, so thanks, Roxy for helping me achieve that goal!

It was very strange not teaching Sunday School and attending church regularly this year.  Our church did stream online services so at least that was something.  I also enjoyed watching Dr. Charles Stanley's sermons on TV and our dog was very happy she did not have crate time every week when we went away.  We did not go away much.

I missed playing pickleball with 4 people but am thankful at least my husband and I got a lot of games in at our neighborhood court just playing against each other.  It was better than nothing and Roxy could come along to watch us.  She preferred that to staying home alone with Spunky Doodle who isn't much company for her.  

When my husband fell and broke his collarbone in August, I realized how much he actually did around the house.  We are thankful he did not need surgery and that it healed on its own in just four weeks instead of the six which was the estimated healing time. 

And finally, we are thankful that we both stayed healthy and did not get COVID.  We wear our masks in public when we can't stay 6 feet away and try to keep that 6-foot distance from others during our walks.  I do the food shopping with a mask once a week and made a few trips inside the library with my mask and successfully avoiding people.  I was able to attend an outside women's Bible Study 6 weeks during the summer with my mask.  Only 16 people attended so we could keep apart easily.

What are you thankful for in spite of or because of the changes this year?

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and stay safe! 

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So Much to be Thankful For!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU!

O come, let us sing unto the LORD:  let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.  Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.  For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. (Psalm 95:1-3, KJV)

What our Pastor said last week is true:  "Once you start thinking of something you are thankful for, more things will come to mind."

God has blessed me so much and given me almost 62 years (my birthday is Dec. 13).  I am so thankful that most of those years (all but the first 7) I spent knowing, loving and serving Jesus, my personal savior.  What a blessing, privilege and honor to serve the true King of Kings and Lord of Lords! 


One game I like to play in my Sunday School classes around Thanksgiving is Scattegories.  I give them a letter and have them list things they are thankful for that begin with that letter in a minute (or whatever time limit I choose).  Then they get a point for the things on their list that no one else has.

Another game I did last year with a small class of four 5th graders was to let them build towers with big cardboard blocks.  They took turns naming things they were thankful for going through the alphabet.  We got all the way up to "S" I think.

Okay, if you've read this far and are curious, here's my list (let me know if I didn't include something you are thankful for as well)  (click on "read more" below the social media icons):

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What Are 5th Grade Boys Thankful For?

I teach a Sunday School class of 5th grade boys so last week we played a little game like Scattegories. I asked them to write down things they really are thankful for in three minutes and for every item on your list that no one else had, they got a point. (The one with the most points got a piece of candy.) Here are some of the things they are thankful for:

No. 1 answer: God/Jesus, family, food
No. 2 answer: house/home
No. 3 answer: animals/pets, water, school/teachers
No. 4 answer: friends/clothes

Then came the original things:

Bible, life, air, plants, electricity, technology, iPods, cars, trucks, holidays, forgiveness, laughter, art, girls, love, paper, nature, colors, Steve Jobs, Guy who created skateboards, guns, good health, heaven, oxygen, photosynthesis, the President, government, light, snow, church, milk, warmth/heat, and toys.

I thought they did a very good job on their lists!

Things I am thankful for that haven't already been mentioned are:

answered prayer, my husband, a good job, steady employment, indoor plumbing, blue skies, cooks, restaurants, stores, sports, buses, and that I live in the USA.

When  I see pictures and hear about the poor living conditions many people around the world deal with every day, it breaks my heart.  That is why I love going through the World Vision, Samaritan's Purse and The Jesus Film Catalogs that list many needy projects and choosing ones I want to donate to.  Instead of ordering another wool shirt that cost $105 for my husband who already has lots of shirts and several others I am buying for him, I donated that $100 to World Vision where my donation is multiplied by 8 for Christmas gifts which include: 

• Nutritious food
• Warm clothes
• Sturdy boots
• Books, toys, and games
• Vital medicines
• And more

Now that was money well spent!  I hope you will join me in this.

Joining up with Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop:  Something you are thankful for. 


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Sunday Sharing: Be Happy

Good people, rejoice and be happy in the Lord.  All you whose hearts are right, sing!--Psalm 32:11

This morning when I read this verse, the song that came to mind that I sang was "Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow."  Growing up, we used to sing this one at the beginning of every service, every Sunday at the Brooklyn Christian and Missionary Alliance Church.


As we count our many blessings this week and give thanks on Thanksgiving, let's remember the one who gives us all  these blessings.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone! 

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Give Thanks All The Time, Not Just on Thanksgiving

“O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!” (1 Chronicles 16:34, AMP)

 We should not only give thanks for all God has done, but also for the things he is going to do.  This demonstrates our faith in God's goodness and faithfulness.

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.  Serve the LORD with gladness:  come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God:  it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.  Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise:  be thankful unto him, and bless his name.  For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting:  and his truth endureth to all generations. --Psalms 100

Every time we pray, we should have a song on our lips and give thanks.  Do we spend as much time thanking God as we do requesting for things?

In every thing give thanks:  for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. --I Thessalonians 5:18

If you are unsure of God's will for you, giving thanks no matter what situation you are in is a good place to start.  This verse makes it plain that God's will for us is to give thanks.

Here is a cute video about giving thanks that my cats insisted I share with you.


Seriously, though, we are very thankful to God for answering our prayers this year for our dog, Abby.  When she was attacked back in January by two Rotweilers, biting her 15 times and even have a hole in her groin area, the vet did not think she would recover.  We are so thankful she has made a full recovery, the hole closed up with no complications and all her fur has grown back.

We are thankful God has been so good to us and thank him for being at work in our lives.  I am thankful He holds our future and knows exactly what is ahead for all our days and is in control.  He will help us through anything that he allows to come into our lives so we can be at peace. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERY DAY!

See Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop for more Thanksgiving posts.  This is in response to this prompt:  We’re going around the table and it’s your turn to share what you are thankful for…go!

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How We Spent Thanksgiving Day

Of course our day began with Gerard walking Abby. We both watched "Parenthood" and then I watched "The Biggest Loser" while Gerard took Abby for another long walk.  Abby got a big bone and the cats got treats.

After Gerard read his email and printed a Steak-n-shake coupon, we had our Thanksgiving dinner at The Golden Coral. It was good and we did not over stuff ourselves. They even had a chocolate fountain so I had four chocolate covered marshmallows!

On Thanksgiving, we went to the zoo in the afternoon and the parking lots were pretty full. Admission is free to everyone on Thanksgiving Day! We enjoyed watching the four grizzly bear cubs playing and enjoying their special Thanksgiving day treat of a bunch of branches.

The people were interesting too, like this couple here.

I bought some battery operated candles at CVS to place in our windows that are time to light for 8 hours and be off 16 hours.  Gerard took Abby for another walk while I set up my new candles in the front windows, scheduled this post and took care of the cats.

We finished off the evening with some reading and some TV.  What did you do yesterday?  Are you going shopping today?

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Skit On Giving Thanks With A Grateful Heart

This video is by The Skit Guys. Visit their website for more great videos!

We have so much to be thankful for! Everything we have is from God and when we realize that we are really dependent on Him for everything,we will have a thankful heart all the time, not just on Thanksgiving. Look for God's purpose in every situation and be good stewards of all the things He has given to you.

I was thrilled to see my nephew and his wife dedicate their two little children to the Lord last Sunday. Children are gifts from God and a very huge responsibility.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!  Read about My Favorite Thanksgiving!

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A Thanksgiving Day Poem (Writer's Workshop)

This is the year we got our dog,
So thankful it is not a hog.
Abby, Dabby Doo,
We love you!

We also love our cats,
Even though they don’t wear hats.
We are thankful they both love to play,
And do so without any pay!

God is so good,
He knows what we need,
Which is a good night’s sleep,
So we don’t fall in a heap!

Although Cancer struck,
We did not get drunk.
As we looked up in faith,
God restored my health!

So this Thanksgiving,
We’ll be eating
At Hometown Buffet
In the middle of the day!

Thanking God for all his blessings,
Including our blogging buddies
Who visit our blog and comment away
Leaving us compliments that make our day!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL AS YOU COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS!

To see a complete list of things Gerard and I are thankful for, go to "So Much to be Thankful For"

This was a prompt from Mama Kat's Workshop where you can go see more posts or participate yourself.

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Happy Thanksgiving to All!

Karen Says: This is a picture of me and the turkey I made. When my mom got tired of cooking in her old age and since I am not a cook, I suggested on year that we eat out for Thanksgiving. A nice restaurant nearby that my mom liked had a buffet for Thanksgiving so I persuaded her to go there with me. My dad was on a strict diet because of his diabetes and eating was not a big deal to him so he didn't come with us. We discovered it was really nice not having to fuss with the cooking and the clean up so since then, we kept on going out for Thanksgiving. When I married Gerard, he joined us in this and today we are going to Best Buy to finally use our Gift Cards for a 32" HDTV for our basement, the zoo maybe, Hometown Buffet, and then watch the end of the Titans-Lions football game (I picked Tennessee to beat the 10 point spread). The animals get special treats today and it is free for everyone.

We have much to be thankful for. We have everything we need and I can't even think of anything else that I really want! It's been a very good year for us and now it's time I get started on our Christmas letter so I can get it mailed to friends and family on a timely basis.

I wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all of my readers and am especially thankful to all who are following my little blog. My shirt says "Remember your blessings, forget your troubles." (It's one my mom bought for me, I miss her so much because we were very close.)

Gerard Says: Thankful Every Day!
Today is Thanksgiving and what I'm most thankful for is my all-time Sweets--Karen. She loves me so much, I'm overwhelmed by it!! I don't always deserve it!! An example--this week I had to work an extra hour at work to make up for being off today and tomorrow. So, what did my Mrs. Wonderful do? She got out of her routine and drove her own car to the bus stop in the morning so I was able to just come home and stay home. She drove herself home and then pulled my car in the drive after she pulled into the garage. Is that awesome or what?? So, Happy Thanksgiving, Karen! You're the best!! Love you so!! 000xx00xx000xxx

(Normally, Karen walks or runs to the bus stop in the morning and then I meet her with the car at the bus stop when she comes home.)

Oh, if you haven't taken the personality quiz that's the post before this one to find out what game you are, please do. I'd like to see how many different games we can represent and I like finding out more about my readers this way too!