With Thanksgiving

Celebrating the season

I love the month of November. The season of fall is in full-swing. Halloween is over, Christmas is nearly two months away. This is when I cherish taking time to focus on the in-between holiday. You know: Thanksgiving.

Somewhere, we have lost ourselves to the consumerism of Halloween and Christmas and forgotten Thanksgiving. Talking with a stranger in the checkout line the other day, she and I commiserated over this loss.

That's why I intend to corporately express my thanksgiving this month. I'm pretty good at being grateful for many things each and every day; I suppose it's my nature (Silver Linings, don't ya know.) But I feel my spirit moving to be intentional about it, and I chose this public forum. I'm not going to give myself a set number of things to list. I want to be true to each day and what my Creator puts into my heart and mind.

So here goes:

Saturday, November 1, 2014

• I'm thankful for the pleasantly warm morning. From the inside it looks chilly outside as the skies are somewhat gray and the wind is blowing, twirling the leaves in a waltz through the air. When I got outside to drive my son to his engineering program, we were both surprised at the balmy kiss we received.
• Speaking of my son, I'm so blessed he is in my life. Words cannot convey my heart's joy because of him. I'm also grateful that he had such a fun night with friends, collecting about 15 pounds of candy each on what was probably his last night of Trick-or-Treating.
• I am thankful for technology that allows me to write my thoughts so quickly and share them--which for a writer is like needing to breath.
• I am grateful for my two black and white creatures, one dog, one cat, who are my constant companions every day. (The mostly black, with a spattering of white, three-legged gerbil is also delightful to enjoy, especially when he's in his ball zooming around the house like Mad Max.)
• I am thankful beyond expression for my sweet husband, who has cherished me since before we said, "I do." He loves his family so much and takes care of us in every conceivable way, whether it's working hard for us, taking care of our home or expressing his love through his hugs and his words.

Even in the hardest times, God gives precious gifts to us each day. I am eager to look for more during this season of Thanksgiving.