WE THANK THEE, LORD

One of our choir's Thanksgiving songs this year says it well........

For all the blessings of the year
For all the friends we hold so dear
For peace on earth, both far and near
We thank Thee, Lord.

For life and health, those common things
Which every day and hour brings
For home, where our affections clings
We thank Thee, Lord.

For love of Thine, which never tires
Which all our better thought inspires
And warms our lives with Heav'nly fires
We thank Thee, Lord.


And all God's people said, "Amen!"

THIS YEAR'S LIST

It's the day before Thanksgiving.  My, how time rolls around so quickly!

The scriptures say "in everything give thanks".  There's not enough room to list "everything" so I'm doing just a few this year.  Here goes:

My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ ALWAYS tops the list as without him, there would be nothing.  How do folks survive without HIM?

Family...The Husband, The Girl, The Son-In-Law, The Grandbaby and all the other many extended family that I call mine.

Wonderful "in-laws" for The Girl and wonderful dear friends now to The Husband and me....more "family", if you will.

Friends, both near and far.

A church where I can freely worship, a church family who cares, and a pastor and wife who love.

Doctors who know their stuff and fix fixable things while teaching one to live with the more "unfixable" and God's direction of their hands and minds in MY time of need.

Sunshine and rain, both of nature and of life.

Carraba's Sausage and Lentil Soup and my discovery of the recipe!  Happy Thanksgiving food!

Curious George, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and a little one's giggles.

A good night's sleep....I'm still searching for this one but I have faith and feel thankful already that it will happen.

A roof over my head, heat and cool in my house when I need them, and dust on the tables.

Books ready for reading such as Max Lucado's "Anxious for Nothing", Jan Karon's "To Be Where You Are", and Dr. Joe's "A Good Start is a Great Beginning".  Gotta love the feel and look of those pages.

My Lord's faithfulness and love....

and the list goes on and on and on.

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Be careful for nothing: but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."  Philippians 4:6

YET ANOTHER BLESSING

I decided to continue my reflecting.  Yes, today is MY birthday!  It's as my younger sister said, "This age used to seem so far away!"  Ain't that the truth?

The way I see birthdays now is "Praise the Lord, I'm having a birthday!"  So I will praise and praise as I rejoice and am glad.

I could bore you with all the life details but instead I will just say, "Happy Birthday to ME!"

I'm thankful!

IN ALL THINGS?

Approaching Thanksgiving week always brings my heart more to gratitude.  I will admit as I have aged that I am learning more and more how gratitude is a 365 days a year attitude.  As Thanksgiving approaches though, much I read and see relates to the attitude of thanksgiving.

This morning was no exception.  As I was reading my email inbox daily devotion from Proverbs 31 Ministries a day or two or three late, I was touched by a the words of the author, Alicia Bruxvoort.  Here's a couple of the things that I especially loved:

"Gratitude was prying open the eyes of the heart...."

and

"When gratitude shifts our gaze from our circumstances to our Savior, we find the joy for which our hearts have been longing."

Well ain't that the truth?  All we really long for is joy.  Joy in everyday things, joy in special things, joy in pain, joy in happy times.  Joy.  Gratitude.  They walk hand in hand.

"In everything give thanks."  1 Thessalonians 5:18

Consider.....

ENCOURAGEMENT

I reflect that there have been three times that I know for sure that I was closer to death than life.  Once was a few months ago when that internal hernia was so near to a rupture and the other was in January 1992.  I had an emergency surgery at midnight and then had another emergency surgery a week later.  On that particular midnight, I realized that one could be too sick to pray.  Thankfully I had a praying husband to do his and mine too and I had a very wonderful doctor doing the physical stuff.  He was a doctor who was filling in for my regular one who was on vacation.

We often pass that doctor's office on occasion and The Husband never ceases to say, "That's Dr. Joe's office.  He saved your life."  And the two of us never cease to be thankful for that wonderful doctor AND the wonderful GREAT physician, our Lord and Savior.  Every.  Single.  Time. 

A few weeks ago, something came in my sight that reminded me of that doctor.  With all the technology now, I was able to locate him again, not far from where he was all those years ago.  I felt compelled to write him a note of thanks and remembrance.  I mailed it and thought very little more of the act.

Yesterday, my mailbox was full.  There were many envelopes, mostly junk mail thankfully.  There were packages crammed in there.  (I figured must be a substitute mail carrier as my regular just brings that many goods to the porch.)  I dug them out....the familiar dark blue Zulily package, the aqua blue Snapfish package, the envelopes, and a large white cardboard Priority mail package.  Crammed in my small box.  

Well being as I get very few white cardboard priority boxes, I sat in the car and noted that it had Dr. Joe's return address.  I quickly opened it and there was a book he had written with a personal message written inside.  It also had a single full typed letterhead sheet of paper with a letter to me.  I sat there, read that letter, and cried like a girl.  I won't go into all it said as it was to me personally, but I will say it offered me encouragement for my journey as it voiced to me how he had received encouragement from my note for his journey.  He, too, remembered my case well after all these years--it WAS a scary one.  The book is one I will enjoy as we all know how I love medical stuff....and the letter will be a treasured one.

I would like to share a couple of statements from his letter to me.  He says, "Your message is such a confirmation and source of encouragement for me.  Being one of God's children I know how often I fell short but am so grateful that on many occasions I was able to be His instrument to care for His family."  He also says, "I believe our Savior is pleased when we reach out to one of His children in an act of kindness and love."

I gave thanks to my Savior that Dr. Joe was on call that particular night so long ago and that He knew MY Savior then and they both helped me through.  

I encourage all of you to don't hesitate when you feel compelled to do something good even though it might seem random or odd.  God reassures us in so many ways that He has a plan and He will provide.  I know I say that often but it is so true.....He proves it o'er and o'er and o'er....and then o'er some more!

I'm thankful.  

A NOVEMBER BIRTHDAY

Today is the birthday of The Son-In-Law.  He is thought much more as The Son.  The Husband and I are so happy to have him as a part of our family.

God always knows our needs.  The Son-In-Law loves The Girl and The Grandbaby.  He loves his family, friends, and others.  He is kind.  He is a great provider and supporter of those he loves.  He is dedicated to his War Eagle Orange and Blue.  But more than anything, he is a wonderful spiritual leader for his little family.  I know that God smiles when He considers The Son-in-Law as do I.  We are proud of him and love him dearly.

So here's wishes for a happy birthday and much of the Lord's and life's joys!

"Delight thyself in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart."  Psalm 37:4

IT'S FALL, Y'ALL!

Even though the temperatures yesterday argued otherwise, fall has arrived in my area of the world.  It seems as if the leaves on the trees changed overnight.  Just like that...one minute they are dull, the next minute they are vibrant.  And man, do I love the beauty of the colored leaves!

As I drove towards my driveway yesterday late in the day, I was enthralled at the sight of the maple tree with the bright late day sun shining on it.  As soon as I drove in my carport, I unloaded my three perishable items, grabbed my camera, and headed that way to try to capture it on film.

Here's the sight just before my driveway.  My driveway is to the left right over that slight hill and curve.

The beautiful maple tree has been there longer than The Husband or I have and that's a lot of years.  We had planted another one years ago but it's not nearly as vibrant as this one who's stood the test of time.  When the sun shines on it, it's a sight to behold.

In my walk yesterday, I found leaves to also be a thing of beauty.  It's amazing how there are no two the same and it seems as though there's not one that is "perfect".  They are kind of like us, scarred a bit from the test of time and the weathers that affect them, but their beauty remains--even scarred.  And when there are many together, their beauty is brighter.

One of the prettiest sets of leaves I saw were these:

Do you recognize poison oak?  There's a sermon in that, too.  😁

As you enjoy the colors of the season, consider........

DRESSING

Being a "mature" homemaker, I have always made dressing to accompany chicken or turkey.  I have never had a recipe.  Truly, in my beginning homemaking life I did need one but found that as others gave me advice, I could concoct my own.  For the past few years, I have had success making it.  No brag, just fact.

The Girl asked me to teach her once she got her own kitchen and I was happy to do so.  I am preparing a Thanksgiving meal in three or so weeks so I decided I would go ahead and make this dressing for that meal.  I have also learned as I have matured that it's nice to do all you can ahead of time.  That's why God made freezers.  A friend told me that it's good to freeze dressing before final cooking and that it will freeze well for up to a year.

Keep in mind that my pictures are not exact.  For instance, for the following amount of breading, I used two boxes of broth plus  about two cups of water with chicken bouillon dissolved and an onion and a half.  When all was said and done, I also used two cans of cream of chicken soup with one being "with herbs" that I bought by mistake.  It was the perfect place to use it.

I begin with cornbread and biscuits.  No, I have no recipe for those either.  I just use Martha White Cornmeal (cornbread) and White Lily Flour (for biscuits).  Both have Crisco cut in and buttermilk added before baking in greased pans on 455 degrees until done.  For this recipe, I used a large and a small iron skillet for cornbread and two 8" cake pans of biscuits minus three used out for breakfast this morning.  You can also use loaf bread if you don't have biscuits.

Here's my beginning place:

The cornbread and biscuts are made into very coarse crumbs in the food processor with the regular food processor blade.  When crushed, they look like this:

I also forgot to say that butter is an ingredient.  After the crumbs are chopped, chop the onion in the same messy crumb food processor for only one time cleanup of food processor.  Mix, using a fork, both types of crumbs and chopped onions in a large bowl.

Boil the broth so it will be hot enough to melt the butter.  While it's boiling, to the combined crumbs add pepper, a smidgen of salt (the broth is also salty), and poultry season to suit your taste.  I gauge the amount by the smell.  Uh huh.  Then when all is mixed I gauge by the taste and add more if needed.

Add sliced butter and cream of chicken soup to the crumbs.  Pour boiling broth over it a bit at a time, mixing well with a spoon.  Keep adding more broth and more poultry seasoning as needed for taste and texture.  Dressing should be a bit soupier if freezing.

When mixed, mine looks like this:

The amount of breading I showed in the picture plus the extras I mentioned in the beginning made this much dressing for my freezer:

 
Now I am ready for as much or as little as I need depending on the number of people I serve in a few weeks.  And I most likely have some for another day in the future.  An idea also is to add cooked chicken to the dressing, freeze, and cook for a meal during the week.

If not freezing the dressing, cook at 400 degrees until done or thaw well and cook at 400 degrees until done.

FEAR

As I took the time just now to go ahead and read my online devotion early this morning, I could hear the Lord speaking to me to share.  The catchy phrase to me was:

"Fear can't catch what it can no longer reach."

Wow!  How's that for some wise words for us all?

The devotion wound up with two of my favorite verses from one of my favorite scripture chapters and it says this:

"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress:  my God; in him will I trust."  Psalm 91:1-2

Consider.......

"WILD"

Since I do not have nor plan to have a Facebook page, I will share my pictures and such that's "facebookish" here on my blog.

A couple of weekends ago, The Son-In-Law, The Girl, and The Grandbaby invited us to go on a Saturday morning trip to the zoo.  As a child (and we know that was a LONG time ago), I would get to the zoo a few times and then as a children's youth leader I have escorted a couple of groups of children in the past but it's been several years.  I found the zoo had changed little.  Face it, animals look the same for the most part.  I discovered this trip, though, that I see it differently when looking through a Gramma's eyes.   I did take my good camera so I could share my memories with you.

The first zoo attraction has always been the flamingos.

When The Poppa thinks The Grandbaby wants to feed them and he has no change for the feed machine, he goes to get some change.  He proved his "Poppaship" by coming back with a whole roll of quarters.  Wow.

The Grandbaby was dressed in her "wild" zoo finest of attires.

There were kangaroos....

....unusually red haired apes....

and other interesting monkeys of all ages.

Birds......

turtles....big turtles....

animals we couldn't identify.......

And animals with which we were familiar.

Every giraffe is called Sophie Speckles around here.  The Poppa named The Grandbaby's squeeze Sophie giraffe "Sophie Speckles" so now all giraffes are named that.

The Grandbaby loved the lions....the "roary" lions as she says.......Roar!

And she especially loved the elephants.  The Poppa taught her how to raise her hand and make elephant sounds many months ago.  She practices the technique often.

It seems like the favorite "aminal" of this trip was the panda bears.  

The Grandbaby and The Poppa enjoyed seeing the fish so much they just made a seat to watch.

Cookies and Cream Dippin' Dots.  Enough said.

"Here Gramma, you can wear my sticker for a while."

No zoo trip is complete without smiles and poses...

Look how much this girl looks like her dadadada....

...and how much she loves her mamama.

The Perfect Son-In-Law and The Perfect Mother-in-Law support the orange and blue.  War Eagle!

Learning fence antics....

The merry-go-round....no "aminals" please...

Yes, a wild day of fun, smiles, and joy!