Happy Thanksgiving

Praise God from whom all Blessings flow,

Praise Him all Creatures here below,

Praise Him above, ye Heavenly Host,

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

~ Composed by, Anglican Bishop Thomas Ken in 1709 ~

Thankful people are happy people.

Thanksgiving 2015

For our family's Thanksgiving, it won't be "Over the river and through the woods, to grandmother's house we go..."  Instead, it'll be onto the freeway to Uncle Steve's house we go [pictured below]. Steve is our middle child. Most of the snow that fell last weekend is gone, and the Thanksgiving Day forecast is 55 degrees with 60% chance of rain.  Whatever weather it'll be a great family day!

What am I cooking up to take?  Two boneless, roasted turkey breasts with gravy [alas no wishbone], cornbread dressing, corn pudding [Susan Branch's recipe], maple candied sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, rolls, tea, and coffee.  One daughter-in-law is making cheesy potatoes, and the other Amish noodles and cranberry punch.  My daughter is bringing apple and pumpkin pies, so we definitely won't go hungry.  

Did you know...

"Over the River and Through the Woods" was actually a Thanksgiving poem written by Lydia Maria Child in 1884 recalling her visits to her grandparent's house in New England, before it was set to music by an unknown composer.  The house still stands near the Mystic River in Medford, Massachusetts, and was restored by Tufts University in 1976.  

Although we sing "to grandmother's house we go," the poem originally read to grandfather's house we go. There are twelve stanzas in the poem, but only four are typically included in the song. Can you sing it from memory?  I may check my family's memory, and make them sing it for their dinner, in addition to the doxology.  We always sing the doxology as the blessing for our meal on Thanksgiving:

 "Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him all creatures here below;

 Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;

 Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.  Amen" 

[published in 1709 by Anglican Bishop Thomas Ken]

From our family to yours,

Happy Thanksgiving!

Celebrating America's 394th Thanksgiving

Just as the Plymouth Colonists gave thanks on that first Thanksgiving proclaimed by Governor William Bradford in 1621, and our country rallied in the midst of the Civil War to give thanks following President Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1863, may we, on this special day of thanks in 2015, pause to acknowledge God's continued blessings on our great nation with grateful hearts.

While the Plymouth Colonists were celebrating Thanksgiving in 1621, the Netherlands granted a charter to the Dutch West India Company giving it a monopoly to trade and found colonies along the area of America's Hudson River, designated as New Netherland.  Peter Minuit was appointed governor of the small colony in 1624.  He purchased the island of Manhattan from Indian Chiefs and named it New Amsterdam.  By the time Peter Stuyvesant arrived as governor in 1647, records of household inventories indicate that tea was very popular among the settlers in New Amsterdam, and their tea-drinking habits were equal to those of their native Holland.  I'm so grateful the Dutch [followed by the British] brought tea to the United States for us to enjoy in abundance today!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving From My Home to Yours!

I have a large collection of turkey tureens, but I only photographed one for this greeting to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

A devotion I read yesterday stated that practicing thankfulness actually produces good health benefits.

"...Thanksgiving can actually make us healthier. Studies have shown that being thankful improves our physical and emotional health... Feelings of thankfulness boosts our immune system and increases blood supply to our heart... The habit of keeping a weekly gratitude journal can increase our alertness, enthusiasm, energy, and improve our sleep. People who describe themselves as feeling grateful tend to suffer less stress and depression than the rest of the population..."  

For several years when my family gathered around our Thanksgiving dinner table I gave everyone a little paper cup containing two or three kernels of Indian Corn.  Each kernel represented something family members were thankful for as we went around the table counting our blessings.  As the little song goes, "Count your blessings name them one by one, count your blessings see what God has done! Count your blessings... And it will surprise you what the Lord has done!"

"Let us come before Him with thanksgiving..."

Psalm 95:2

Amidst all the turkey and trimmings, may tea abound at your Thanksgiving celebration today!

Sunday Reflection...

I love Psalm 100:4 that's printed above, as well as David's Song in Psalm 9:1:

"I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart.

I will tell about the wonderful things you have done."  [ERV]

The Doxology is a short hymn of praise to God often sung at the end of a church worship service.  It was written in 1674 by Thomas Ken, an Anglican Bishop, and was published in 1709.  It was intended for morning and evening worship in England's Winchester College. I can't think of a better way to begin and end each day in the twenty-first century, can you? We have so much to be thankful for.   My family often sings the doxology as the blessing for our meal on Thanksgiving Day:
  

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Amen

May God Bless Your Week!

Sunday Reflection...

[Internet Photo]

"Gratitude is being more aware of what you have than what you don't.  Recognizing the treasure in the simple - a child's hug, fertile soil, a golden sunset. Relishing in the comfort of the common - a warm bed, a hot meal, a clean shirt."     ~ Max Lucado

May my attitude and actions reflect what the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 34:1 [NLT]

"I will praise the Lord at all times.

I will constantly speak His praises."

May God bless your week!