Tag: Gratitude
-
Thankful Perspectives
The First Thanksgiving It’s estimated Americans will gobble down some 40 million turkeys this Thanksgiving . . . good time to be a chicken 😊 A customary Thanksgiving meal tradition is having each person seated around the table share one thing they’re thankful for . . . family, friends, faith, health, material blessings, etc. .…
-
Attitude Paradigm Shift
My wife has been ‘vacationing’ in a rehab facility since a fall nearly 6 weeks ago shattered her right arm … naturally she’s right-handed ☹. This unexpected event suddenly thrust me back into temporary bachelorhood, and I’m not particularly enjoying it. Perhaps I’m different … tone down those AMENs!😊 … but my default response to…
-
Thin Spaces and Bottled Tears
Celtic Christians have a deep appreciation for nature and coined the term Thin Space . . . those transient, ephemeral moments when suddenly eternity seems to invade time, and heaven touches earth. Yesterday, my morning woods wander was graced with such a Thin Space interlude. A brief cloudburst had soaked the forest in the fragrance…
-
Frozen Wonder
It’s been a tad ‘chilly’ here in the Smokies lately. Folks here aren’t accustomed to lotsa’ snowflakes and ‘black ice’, or even regular ice other than ice cubes when the thermometer bounces around zero . . . it’s definitely not Alaska Virginia 😊 The magnificent winter wonderland surrounding our home up here in the mountains…
-
Sentimental Gratitude
Having witnessed over 8 decades of the final days of another year ticking off, 2024 is departing with a comforting aura of sentimental gratitude. Sentimental because I’ve somehow survived to attain the stage of life where the trails seem a tad longer; my steps a tad shorter; other hikers a lot younger; and odds…
-
Wonder and Gratitude
The splendor of a lily bursting into bloom today immersed me in wonder and gratitude. Wonder of my Creator’s immeasurable greatness . . . Gratitude that the One who decks the fields with flowers (Luke 12:27); numbers and names the stars (Psalm 147:4); knit this infinitesimally small, wayward prodigal together in my mother’s womb (Psalm…
-
Memorial Day
“All gave some, some gave all“ This Memorial Day we honor those who “gave all”. Their ultimate sacrifice has provided freedom for all Americans. This “gave some” man is forever especially indebted and grateful for those “gave all” individuals no longer with us. Some six decades ago 23 young Marines stood proudly at attention at…
-
Promised Land
As a young boy . . . a really long, long time ago 😊. . . I spent summers fishing and wandering the forests of Promised Land State Park in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains. Eight decades later it remains my Happy Place where life’s trails and responsibilities consisted of running out of worms and bailing out…
-
24/7/365 Thanksgiving
Representing 4.23 % of the world’s population, we Americans are truly blessed to enjoy a 24/7/365 Thanksgiving. Statistics testify to the abundance that is ours. Yet, while we’re thankful turkey prices have dropped 5.6 % from last Thanksgiving, we grouse this savings has been gobbled up by the 2.1% overall price increase of groceries during…
-
Change of Plans
Uncertainty is a certainty of life. I can’t help but wonder if King Solomon, who exceeded all the kings on earth in riches and wisdom, had this in mind when he penned Proverbs 16:9 . . . “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord established their steps.” I planned to be in…