We are entering the time of the year in which we are reminded the most about giving thanks. We all know giving thanks should be a year-long habit, and most of us do try to make it so, but still, it’s never more present in our minds than when the holidays roll around. Let’s remind ourselves of the importance of giving daily thanks. : )
“A Thanksgiving Thought”
When you woke up this morning And washed your sleepy face, Did you think to pause a minute or two And thank God for His grace? Or when you stepped outside today And you saw that big blue sky, And that shinin’ sun that smiles on you Like the Lord was sayin’ “Hi”… Did you stop to pray and thank the Lord For the good He sends your way, For His matchless love and His endless care That He pours out everyday?
How would you rate At the Pearly Gate If God said, “Don’t you know… You’ve as many days As you filled with praise When you walked down there below!”
Would you get to spend Just a short weekend Or a half a dozen worth, If He let you stay For each single day That you thanked Him while on earth?
While it sure is great That we celebrate What we call Thanksgiving Day, And it’s fun to see All the family And to watch the children play… Still, it just seems odd That we thank our God Only when Thanksgiving’s here, For it seems to me Giving thanks should be Every day throughout the year!
-Connie Hinnen Cook
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“Thanksgiving Every Day”
The table is brimming with good things to eat; We’re surrounded by family and friends; what a treat. The feelings that fill us today can’t be beat; It’s Thanksgiving Day, and it all feels complete.
But other days, sometimes things don’t seem so fine; Those days are not polished and don’t seem to shine. It’s then in our minds, we forget all the good, And think of the things we would get, if we could.
On days when our thinking causes us dread, If we could remember, it’s all in our head, And not let our minds take our gratitude away, Then we’d make every day like Thanksgiving Day.
-Karl Fuchs
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“A Prayer of Thanksgiving”
Let us give thanks…
For generous friends…with hearts as big as hubbards and smiles as bright as their blossoms;
For feisty friends as tart as apples;
For continuous friends, who, like scallions and cucumbers, keep reminding us we had them;
For crotchety friends, as sour as rhubarb and as indestructible;
For handsome friends, who are as gorgeous as eggplants and as elegant as a row of corn — and the others — as plain as potatoes, and so good for you.
For funny friends, who are as silly as brussels sprouts and as amusing as Jerusalem artichokes, and serious friends as complex as cauliflowers and as intricate as onions;
For friends as unpretentious as cabbages, as subtle as summer squash, as persistent as parsley, as delightful as dill, as endless as zucchini, and who — like parsnips — can be counted on to see you through the long winter;
For old friends, nodding like sunflowers in the evening-time, and young friends coming on as fast as radishes;
For loving friends, who wind around as like tendrils, and hold us despite our blights, wilts, and witherings;
And finally, for those friends now gone, like gardens past, that have been harvested – but who fed us in their times that we might have life thereafter;
For all these we give thanks.
– Max Coots
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“I’ll Sit Here and Pray”
So I’ll sit here now and I’ll pray to You (‘though I can’t really say why), as the walls collapse around me and my loved ones suffer and die, and my health gives way and bills pile up and time slips too quickly past, as I count all the joys life’s denied me, and those that didn’t last. I’ll offer You thanks, my Creator, for the gifts You’ve yet to repeal; for walking and vision and laughter, for music, and dreams that seem real, for people who love me and seasons that change, for my body’s own memories of love, and I’ll sit here and pray in the darkness, for all the good it does.
-Veronica A. Shoffstall