Thankfulness Challenge

We are on day 10 of the Giving Thanks Challenge, but it is never too late to join! Just write what you are thankful for and add one new thing each day this month of Thanksgiving. I put my list in my sidebar; that makes it easy to add to daily.

"Be thankful . . . with gratitude in your hearts to God. Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord, giving thanks to God the Father through him."  ~ Colossians 3:14-17


Do you realize that:

if you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head, and a place to sleep, then you are richer than 75% of this world?

if you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, then you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy?

if you woke up this morning with more health and strength than illness and weakness, then you are not to be one of the million people in the world who will not survive this week?

if you have never experienced the terrors of war, imprisonment, torture, or the pangs of starvation, then you are better off than 500 million people in the world today?

if you can attend religious service without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, then you have more freedom than three billion people in the world?

if you can even read this, then you have more formal education than over a billion people in the world today who cannot read at all?

Gracious God, we thank you for bringing us to another Thanksgiving Day to celebrate your goodness to us. Open our eyes to see and appreciate the many ways that you care and provide for us and our families. In grateful response to your goodness, may we be your instruments of kindness and mercy in this world, knowing that we are blessed by you so that we might provide help and create hope for others. Thank you, O God, for the wonderful things you do. We are truly grateful for all your gifts to us. AMEN. 

All from Catholic Charities' We Come to Give Thanks, where you can also find an absolutely beautiful prayer of thanks.

Now that you realize how very blessed you are, please go and share that blessing with others.

I Surrender to the Turkey

I have a confession to make: Thanksgiving and I just don't see eye to eye. I have fun with Halloween, All Saints Day, All Souls Day. Then I am in the mood for Christmas. But there is Thanksgiving, sitting smack dab in the middle, blocking any decorating or activities I want to do for Christmas.

I do like fall very much, but I celebrate it all of October. I am all for being grateful and celebrating history, but we should have these any day rather than just once a year. As for family and the big dinner, my extended family is very close so we already spend plenty of time together and share plenty of meals and celebrations together. Thanksgiving is just not worth making me wait an extra month to start getting ready for Christmas  season.

This year I am giving up the struggle. Thanksgiving, you win. I will celebrate you, cook for you, wait on Christmas for you and yes, even try to enjoy you this year. But I can't promise that I will not secretly make some Christmasy crafts and tuck them away until you are officially gone for another year.