“Gratitude bestows reverence…..changing forever how we experience life and the world.” ~ John Milton

Good morning, dear friends.  Here we are ~ the Sunday before Thanksgiving.  I remember not so long ago I said, “We will blink and it will be Christmas.”  I am going to stop saying such things as they always come true and often, too quickly.

As we are approaching Thanksgiving, I wanted to share a few favorite thoughts about gratefulness and the enjoyment of the day.  The words sincerely express my feelings and I rather feel they do yours as well.

 

“An Old-Time Thanksgiving,”  by, Edward Payson Powell, 1904

“We belonged to each other. So you may be sure that we did not have our feast all by ourselves. “Why should we be selfish with the Lord’s goodness?” said my father. “It would spoil the taste of it all.” So there came together, not only the cousins and the aunts and uncles and the grandparents, but also some family friends and neighbors.  And the world invited us out of doors; we sat and ate at tables under the big arms of the butternut and the pear trees. And there came some birds of passage that sat on the mountain ash trees and ate a Thanksgiving dinner of the berries, and one of them sang to us in a soft monotone — I think it was a Thanksgiving hymn. The sun smiled warmth through the branches, and the soft wind played quiet pranks, dropping now and then a brown leaf on our plates. And then we settled our dinner by carrying full baskets of food to those who had less of God’s favors.” 

“When something does not insist on being noticed, when we aren’t grabbed by the collar or struck on the skull by a presence or an event, we take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” ~ Cynthia Ozick

Seeing one of God’s majestic and noble creatures is certainly a gift.  A gift never to be taken for granted.   Just look at the magnificent colors of this beautiful pheasant.

“When one has a grateful heart, life is so beautiful.” ~ Roy T. Bennett, 

“Gratitude is the music of the heart when its chords are swept by the breeze of kindness.” ~ Author unknown

 

Dear friends, know how grateful I am for you.  While our friendship is virtual, that does not make it any less important to me.  I wish you and those you love a glorious Thanksgiving. 

And. . .

 

May life bring you always an abundance of love, laughter, and grace.  But especially the blessing of good health.

Be well!

 

Amour,

Sandra

 

“Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.” ~ W. T. Purkiser

 

 

 

 

 

 

Images:  Tumblr