27 Days of Thanksgiving – Days 13, 14, 15

Little Things

Being in the midst of a move is not the best time to try and blog daily! Today I’m thankful that I have internet access again. But I wanted to share with y’all a story from Wednesday night, and three particular things I was grateful for.

Wednesday evening I drove down to Richmond from the new house in Winchester. I had a dance class and afterwards I went out for ice cream with a few friends. It was late when I finally left, but thankfully I only had an hour’s drive home, since I was returning to Dinwiddie. I arrived home well after midnight and, stepping out of the car, observed that the night was very bright, even though it was a starless night and the moon was hiding. Grabbing my camera bag and my purse, I headed up to the front porch and opened the screen door. Placing my hand on the doorknob, I started to turn it. It didn’t budge. Confused, I tried again. Still nothing. This time I tried turning the knob and pressing against the door with my hip at the same time. The door didn’t open. It was locked.

Stepping back, tears began to fill my eyes as the puzzlement gave way to frustration. We never lock our front door! How had this happened? It was after midnight in almost the middle of nowhere. There was no spare key. What was I to do?

I stood there for a few minutes, trying to process the situation and decide what to do. The back door is always locked, and it currently has dozens upon dozens of moving boxes piled in front of it, but I decided to walk around to the back and check it out anyway.

Thankful moment #1: the starless, moonless, yet incredibly bright night

Dropping my bags in a wicker chair on the front porch, I made my way around to the back of the house, climbed the steps, stepped over the cat, and reached for the door. “Please, Lord,” I prayed. “Let it be open!”

Thankful moment #2: the back door, which is always locked, was not latched

Relief washed over me. Now the challenge. Would the door open enough for me to get inside? I pushed on the door and it swung inward about three or four inches before hitting a stack of boxes and coming to a sharp stop. I pushed again. It didn’t move. Reaching my arm in I was able to grab a corner of one box and give it a push away from the door. Then I slipped in my foot and wedged as much of my body into that small opening as possible. Then I wriggled and pushed and squirmed until finally I was in the house!

Thankful moment #3: God made me small

It’s so wonderful to look at a situation and see the little things God does that make such a big difference to us. He’s so amazing.

Blessing book entry day 13: bright nights, unlocked back doors, being little

Blessing book entry day 14: dance, and friends to dance with

Blessing book entry day 15: my family

What are you thankful for today? And what have you been thankful for the past several days? Please share your links here so we can rejoice with you!

27 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 12

Give Thanks

This has been one of my favorite songs since I was a little girl.

Blessing book entry for today: Music.

What are you thankful for today? Add your link here!

27 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 11

A Happy Home

I thought that since I started this “project” due to an ungrateful heart regarding our new house, I should post things about it that I am thankful for. Then I can look back over this list whenever I need to be reminded of the good things.

• I get to paint my room lavender and Daddy’s putting in white wood flooring for me.
• The craft supplies will have a space of their own – not in my bedroom!
• We have two kitchens.
• When I lay in bed at night, my right ear pressed against my pillow, the heater sounds like rain. I love the sound of rain.
• The view from my room is beautiful. Horses in a pasture, a gorgeous backyard (the neighbor’s), and a bit of woods.
• It just takes a two-minute drive before the mountains come into view.
• Our family is together again!

That’s what I was able to come up with in just a few minutes. I’m sure time will reveal more wonderful things to be thankful for.

My blessing book entry for today: My incredible daddy.

What are you thankful for today?

27 Days of Thanksgiving – Days 9 & 10

My apologies for the tardiness of this post. Between working on the house and having an ear infection, I’ve just not set aside the time to update my blog. I’ll try to be better about the next couple weeks!

Our Soldiers

I don’t know about you, but every time I see a soldier in uniform I want to run up and thank him profusely for serving our country. Some days I do. And I usually start do cry as I do so. Most days my bashfulness takes over and I just wish I had the courage to speak up. What amazes me is the smile it puts on a soldier’s face to know that he’s appreciated. I need to work on overcoming that shyness and expressing my thanks more often. What our soldiers do for us is definitely more of a sacrifice than me taking a moment to step out of my comfort zone.

Why don’t you take a moment today to thank a soldier, too. You can even do it without leaving your house! Here are some links to various ways you can express your gratitude to the men (and the women) who lay down their lives for yours and mine every day. It’s because of them that we still enjoy the freedoms of this country and live in safety. Let’s not let them go unappreciated.

Let’s Say Thanks – Select a greeting card designed by a child, enter your message, and hit “send.” Xerox will print your card and deliver it to a soldier.

Adopt A Platoon – Adopt a solider, or a whole platoon, and send him letters or care packages.

Give 2 The Troops – Help send care packages to our soldiers overseas.

A Million Thanks – Send a thank-you letter to a soldier.

donate a phone card – Support our troops by helping them call home.

Blessing Book Day 9: A healthy, happy family who loves each other.

Blessing Book Day 10: Our soldiers.

What are you doing today to cultivate or share a heart of gratitude? Link here to your blog entry!

27 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 8

Beautiful Days

“This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

Every night before she goes to bed, my six-year-old niece “says her prayers.” Never a prayer goes by when she doesn’t say, “Thank you, Lord, for this pretty day.”

A pretty day, or a beautiful day, is not dependent upon the weather. Or the current circumstances of our life. Every day a beautiful day just is. Because the Lord has made.

Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

My blessing book entry for today: Beautiful days. The kind that are beautiful when I wake up with sunshine in my soul, and the kind that are beautiful when I feel the Lord’s new mercies washing over me, and the kind that are beautiful when my heart is filled with sadness and yet God is in control and has made the day. Beautiful.

What are you doing today to cultivate or share a heart of gratitude? Link here to your blog entry!

Taste for Life review panel

Would you like to join the Taste for Life review panel?  Panel members receive sample products of organic, nutritious and/or environmentally-friendly products in exchange for sharing their opinions in product surveys for the items they receive to test. If you’d like to join, leave a comment with your e-mail address and I’ll have a referral e-mail sent to you. (I won’t publish the comment or use your e-mail address for anything except the referral.)

27 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 7

Overflowing with Thankfulness

This article by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson is a great read. I want to be like the Pillsbury Dough Boy. What about you?

Today’s blessing book entry: Warm weather and sunshiny days.

What are you doing today to cultivate or share a heart of gratitude? Link here to your blog entry!

27 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 6

Wise Words

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say “thank you”?
~William A. Ward

Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone.
~G.B. Stern

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “thank you,” that would suffice.
~Meister Eckhart

The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.
~H.U. Westermayer

You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.
~G.K. Chesterton

If a fellow isn’t thankful for what he’s got, he isn’t likely to be thankful for what he’s going to get.
~Frank A. Clark

The unthankful heart… discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!
~Henry Ward Beecher

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
~ Psalm 100:4

My blessing book entry for today: Photographs. I’m thankful for photographs.

What are you doing today to cultivate or share a heart of gratitude? Link here to your blog entry!

27 Days of Thanksgiving – Days 4 & 5

How to Write a Thank-You Note

Have you ever sent a gift to someone, only to wonder if it was ever received? The arrival of a thank-you note would have quickly eased your mind, assuring you that your package did indeed reach the proper recipient, and the few moments that the other person took to jot down a short note of thanks would also have given you the pleasure of knowing that your gift was not only received, but also appreciated. Sometimes, however, even someone with the noblest intent draws a blank on what to write, or even when a thank-you note is appropriate.

When to Send a Thank-You Note

When gifts are exchanged in person, appreciation should be expressed at that time, face to face. While a written “thank you” is always welcomed, it is not expected if the giver was present when the recipient opened the gift; The exception to this is showers, whether it be for a wedding, housewarming, or a new baby. Remember to have someone take note of which gifts come from whom, so you don’t end up sending Cousin Jody a thank-you for the set of pots and pans you received from Great-Aunt Lila.

Other appropriate times to send notes of thanks would be occasions when someone gives of herself and her time. This could include the friend who gives you a ride to work, the sister you visit for a week, your mom handling all your chores while you were sick, etc. Anyone who opens their home to you or offers their service to you deserves to be thanked with a written note.

One often overlooked “thank you” is the “bread and butter” note. This is a note of thanks sent for “small” offerings of hospitality — a friend’s parents allowing you to spend the night, another friend inviting you over for tea, the family that has you over for dinner, etc. If someone serves you “bread and butter,” make sure to thank them for it.

What Do I Say?

It happens to everyone at some point — someone gave you a gift and even though you truly are grateful, you find yourself staring at an empty sheet of paper and the only words that come to mind are “thank you.” How do you express your gratitude when it feels like your entire vocabulary just packed up and left? Or worse, when you’re staring at the loud yellow and orange floral tablecloth you received from your Aunt Jane and all you can think is, “You shouldn’t have . . . you really shouldn’t have”?

First of all, remember to start small. When you’re having difficulty coming up with three sentences to express your appreciation, nothing is as depressing as a large sheet of blank paper. Select an appropriate notecard that has enough space inside that you can write more than the greeting line and your signature, but is still small enough that three or four sentences will fill it.

It is more appropriate to choose a card with a blank inside, rather than one with a pre-printed sentiment. However, if you have a pressing need for a card and that is all you are able to acquire, it is better to use a pre-printed card than to send none at all (and the recipient of your note will be appreciative that you sent one, regardless of whether the greeting card company stamped their own words on the inside). However, even if there is already a message on the inside of the card, find a small space that you can pen out one or two sentences and express your thanks in your own words, rather than simply signing your name.

Now that you have your notecard, what will you write in it? This is where creativity and diplomacy come in. Never lie, even if you aren’t particularly fond of the tablecloth from Aunt Jane. Start by simply thanking her for the gift, then select one aspect of it that you can portray in a positive light. Something along the lines of, “the colors remind me of the popsicles you made for me when I was a little girl,”or “floral patterns always makes me think of summer,” or even, “you send the most unique gifts; they always make me think of you and smile when I see them.” End your note by stating your appreciation that she was thinking of you because, although it is nice to receive gifts that we especially like, it truly is the thought that counts. Short and simple, your note will let her know that you’ve received the gift that she took the time to select (or make) and send to you, and will express to her that you recognize and are grateful for her thoughtfulness. The finished product may look something like this:

Dear Aunt Jane,

Thank you for the tablecloth you sent for my birthday – you never send run-of-the-mill

gifts! The colors in this remind me of the orange and lemon popsicles you used to make when I was a little girl. It was so sweet of you to think of me – thank you for remembering my birthday.

Love,
Sara Jane

Once writing thank-you notes feels less overwhelming, it can actually be fun! You may even find yourself looking for opportunities to pull out a notecard and pen to send a note of appreciation to someone. There’s always someone to thank for something . . . just keep your eyes open for the chance to bless someone else by letting them know that you notice their acts of service.

Article originally published in A Lady in Waiting: Holiday Issue 2007.

November 4th Blessing Book entry: I’m so thankful I live in a country where I have the right to vote.
November 5th Blessing Book entry: I’m grateful beyond words that my God still holds the world in His hands.

I didn’t have internet access yesterday, which is why I’m posting now for both yesterday and today. Please feel free to add links to both your November 4th and November 5th blog posts.

27 Days of Thanksgiving – Day 3

In Everything.

“In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” I Thessalonians 5:18

One of the things I find most interesting about this verse is that is says in everything. Now, note that it doesn’t say for everything, but in everything. That means when we go through heartache and hardship we’re supposed to give thanks. When things aren’t going “our way” we’re supposed to give thanks. When all around us the world seems to be crumbling apart, we’re supposed to give thanks.

I wonder how our hearts would feel and what our lives would be like, if we truly did give thanks in all circumstances. How much more joy would our hearts hold? How much sweeter would our countenances be? How much more Jesus would people be able to see in us?

My blessing book entry for today: I am oh, so thankful for the love and care of my dear friends.

What are you doing today to cultivate or share a heart of gratitude? Link here to your blog entry!