Thanksgiving Blessings

After a tumultuous year, filled with a broad spectrum of emotions, blessings and fears... we are incredibly blessed. God is loving and merciful, and in the spirit of true Thanksgiving, I came across this Thanksgiving Prayer (author unknown) online. I feel that it is absolutely perfect:

Lord, bless this gathering of our family, a circle of strength and love.

We are a close-knit group of fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins and more. With every birth and every union, the circle grows. Every joy shared adds more love. Every crisis faced together makes the circle stronger.

Help us realize how much we mean to each other each and every day and guide us so that our bond of love lasts eternally.

Look down on us Lord and surround us all with your divine guidance and love so that we may continue to be blessed by our children. Grant us the wisdom to embrace their innocence and see the world through their eyes with simple wonder so that we might not take for granted one single moment of the miracle that is life.

We thank you for the many blessings and great abundance in our lives. As we gather to celebrate this Thanksgiving, let us remember to share with others and keep the spirit of giving ongoing throughout the year.

We Thank Thee, Heavenly Father, for all things bright and good. Please bless this loving family… our lives, our health, our food. We ask these things in Jesus’ name.

Amen

I share this with you, your loved ones and not so loved ones.... in the spirit of true Thanksgiving. Love one another.. no matter what. Cherish each day. Keep the faith.

God Bless each and every one of you....

Annie

My Thanksgiving ABC's

Borrowing this idea from Allen Hunt's Blog, I have created my own Thanksgiving ABC List. Some are fun, some are serious, all are heartfelt. Well, maybe not the zoom.. that was pure silliness, but I couldn't come up with a better word for "Z"! Maybe next year, if I remember to continue this! Anway, here are my "Thanksgiving ABC's":

My Thanksgiving ABC’s

A - Audrey and Aaron, two special people who are awesome!
B - Butter Pecan Ice Cream… the BEST flavor ever!
C - Cousins – the Joneses and the Shooks, and all their extended families… I appreciate you more than you know
D - Dogs! So many have blessed my life Wimby, Punkin, Poohbear, Spencer and many more
E - Effie, my Mother in-law
F - Fletchers, our dear friends
G - Garret aka Gear-itttt! Love you honey
H - Haswell & Herman… my family heritage…
I - Internet… so awesome and a great way to stay connected
J - Julia & Jack, my parents… who I will love forever
K - Kindle… I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Kindle
L - Logan aka Logie-Wan! Love you sweetie
M - Mary, Mother of God
N - Newfoundland Dogs, Cora, Sadie, Sailor, Kira, Neiko, Ben & Yelda, as well as all the Fosters who stayed with us
O - Oz, Wizard of… one of my favorite movies as a child
P - Pepsi, Diet… of which I love and drink too much of
Q - Quests…. Love them, whether on games or In real life…
R - Russell, my beloved husband
S – Sister, my sister Lilli… who is very dear to me
T - Trinity, God the Father, His son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit
U - University of Dayton… where I work, where I began my faith journey, where I am blessed
V - Vatican, I hope to visit some day
W - Wisconsin, a special place, filled with loving and awesome memories
X - XAN, Memories and friends… many of whom I've reconnected with on Facebook
Y - Yahoo, my email… love it!
Z - Zoom! I love to zoom zoom zoom!

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While looking at this list, I am once again reminded that even with life's bumps in the road, I am very blessed. I wish all my loved ones, my friends, neighbors and colleagues a very joyous Thanksgiving. For those of you are traveling, Godspeed. For those of you who are cooking, cook well, and remember to rest and take time to enjoy. For those of you celebrating with family, enjoy each other... family is precious, and so many will be alone on this day. And for those of you who will be alone... know that you are in my thoughts and prayers. God Bless you all.

What About Thanksgiving?!?!?!?

The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth by Brownscombe


For those of us living in the states, the Holiday season seems to begin with Halloween, which, as most know, falls at the end of October. Halloween has always been one of my favorite times of year, and it seems that it is popular with many others as well. In fact, Halloween has become big business.

The next holiday is Veterans Day, and there is a healthy focus on that, and rightly so. Following Veterans day is "Thanksgiving" which is perhaps my most favorite holiday. And then, on the day after Thanksgiving, we celebrate the beginning of the "Christmas Holidays" with "Black Friday, the unofficial beginning of the "commercial" Christmas Holidays.

Last week, Halloween decorations were every where. This week, people have taken them down and are slowly replacing them with Christmas decorations. I was driving through downtown Fairborn, Ohio this morning, and wreaths are adorning the lampposts on Main Street and the City Christmas tree was being placed in it's traditional place. And it's only the 7th of November! On Facebook, many of the Halloween related "apps" have been replaced by Christmas related "apps". One even went as far to say: "first there's Halloween, then there's Christmas"! Flabbergasted and annoyed, I kept thinking: WHAT ABOUT THANKSGIVING?????

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday! It's the time of year when we gather together to give Thanks for our blessings. There is historical significance to this Holiday. In the United States, the First Thanksgiving was celebrated in the Autumn of 1621 by the surviving pilgrims who were celebrating their successful harvest. Thanksgiving was considered a religious holiday, where people gathered to worship and give thanks to God for their blessings. Over time there is less emphasis on the religious aspect of the Holiday. Yet it is still a time where families gather together around a table and share a meal. The focus is on the meal, and on the fellowship with family. Some families have small gatherings and others have large gatherings.

Personally, we have two Thanksgivings. I love this day. I love being with Family, and sharing a meal. I love gathering around the table and telling stories and sharing news. I love being with people who are dear to me. And I love the fact that there is know emphasis on gifts. Our Gatherings are about being together with loved ones. And that is precious. And since becoming Catholic, I love going to church for Thanksgiving.. be cause "it is right to give Thanks and Praise"!!!!

This brings me to the point of this blog. During this month of November, my focus is going to be on Thanksgiving, and giving thanks for things that matter to me.

Today, I would like to give thanks to God for my loved ones. I'd like to give Thanks for the glorious day I've had.. for the wonderful visit with my Uncle, who came to visit all the way from Arizona. I'd like to give Thanks for the wonderful visit with my Mother. I'd like to give Thanks for the awesome tour we had of the Wright Brother's Home. What a treat that ways... I lived in the same neighborhood as this house when I was growing up, and I've always wanted to see it.

In closing... I'd like to encourage anyone reading this to stop and think about the blessings in their lives... and to stop and take time to "Give Thanks" for them.

God Bless....