Thanksgiving Blessings

Our family had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. I hope yours did too! We spent the morning at the VFW (not to be confused with the VHF, which I told several people we were going to!) helping the Salvation Army pack turkey dinners in to-go boxes for the meals-on-wheels recipients. It was a delight and gave extra meaning to the day. What a blessing!

Later that day we shared a scrumptious Thanksgiving dinner with the Ed Radmore family. Ed is our Senior Adult and Pastoral Care Minister at the church. His son-in-law Pauguin and daughter Beth cooked a huge dinner of turkey, turducken, tilapia, ham, and all the fixin's. I think there were about 12 pies! We have spent many Thanksgivings with other families and enjoy it every time. God is always good to supply someone to share the day with. Let's see, we've had Thanksgiving dinner with the Lyons, the Dallys, the Rolls, the Burnetts, the Radmores, and probably several others. What a blessing!

We rounded out the day watching movies together as a family. Abby and I enjoyed the Alfred Hitchcock thriller, Vertigo, and then we all watched Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. We had to fast forward through a couple of language explosions by Steve Martin, but the movie is such a Thanksgiving classic. And with two busy teenagers it's a treat to occasionally sit down together with popcorn and cokes. What a blessing!

Because I missed my opportunity to write this on the day of Thanksgiving, I'm stretching Thanksgiving into a season. I'd like to share a few of the things I am most thankful for. Yes, I am most grateful for many of the things you are also thanking God for during this time - family, friends, health, etc. But I would like to go a different route and tell you a few additional blessings I am counting this season.

I'm grateful for opportunities. Opportunities are what make the days exciting and challenging. Opportunities to serve, opportunities to love, opportunities to grow. I'm grateful for opportunities to start over and opportunities to soak in. Opportunities for my children, my husband, my family, my church, myself. Thank you God for giving us opportunities. Help us to take advantage of every one of them! Opportunities. What a blessing!

I'm also thankful for memories. Oh I have such wonderful memories. I still take the time to recount memories of my childhood - memories of family vacations, times with friends, special holidays, growing times, interventions by God, and even little insignificant moments. I also remember teenage days, college days, early marriage, and the births of my children. Memories are special little gifts that are definitely worth carefully unwrapping every now and then. Memories. What a blessing!

Finally, I am thankful for God's Word. It continues to grow more and more special and meaningful to me every day. It is truly my daily bread. I do not know how one handles the complications of life without it. It is a light for my path and a lamp showing me how to navigate that path. It actually causes my heart to quicken within me when I read the truth I need for a particular time. It blesses me and I know it blesses others who read it, treasure it, and obey it. The Word of God. What a blessing!

Remember, God is always good to us and every good and perfect gift comes from above. But if you want to see those blessings with clarity, you have to really be on the lookout. Blessings, like bluebirds, are worth looking for, gazing upon, and pointing out to others. Seen any bluebirds lately?