Thanksgiving Yearnings

Blessings to you and your family this Thanksgiving. I would encourage each of us to bow with me and reflect upon how even on our most discouraging and helpless days there are blessings we can be thankful for. This is a day to put aside that which weighs us down and thank God for even the smallest awareness of life's gifts and bounties. We are, for God has graced our being. This is also a day, inherent in the word Thanksgiving itself, of giving, of ourselves, our bounties, in thankfulness for our blessings. Even if we can offer no more than a smile, let us graciously warm another's heart with our gift of blessing this one day of the year set aside for thoughtfully expressing thanks in the spirit of gratitude. Open your hearts to one another. May your humanity reflect divine attributes in your loving actions one towards another.

As you read these words, open your arm's wide in the spirit of gratitude and symbolically open yourself to the lives of others and draw them into your heart. Take time and visualize individually those in your life and those who come to mind as you reach outward and embrace them and feel and breathe in the connection between you. Hold them in your heart, even those who are passed on, for in this one moment they are as real to you as those you will physically encounter again. This moment is a blessing for the clouds of people past and present who are even in this brief interlude, a blessing in your life and who you can be a blessing for. Carry on the love of those who have gone before you and those who are with you still.

Know deeply that you are blessed and that as deeply as you have felt the presence of one another, God embraces you, blesses you moment by moment and goes before you in blessing to others. Let us read with new eyes the words of D&C 163 and understand how our personal thanksgiving is a moment of awareness that calls us to compassion with God towards all.....none are excluded.

"God, the Eternal Creator, weeps for the poor, displaced, mistreated, and diseased of the world because of their unnecessary suffering. Such conditions are not God’s will. Open your ears to hear the pleading of mothers and fathers in all nations who desperately seek a future of hope for their children. Do not turn away from them. For in their welfare resides your welfare."

It is difficult to read these words. It is exceedingly difficult to dwell upon those images, those sounds that come to mind. How, O Lord, do I answer the tug on my heart now that it is open? My friend, that is what Mission is all about! Together in community we can better answer that call we inwardly feel. With your heart open, in the spirit of sensed thanksgiving and your experience of blessing towards others, become a catalyst of grace and hope that opens others hearts to respond with you.

May you find peace, the peace of Christ, that dispels the burden of thanksgiving accountability through your compassionate response in Mission.  May abounding grace and fervent thanksgiving erupt with passionate self-giving from your life......today.

submitted by Kerry

Toilet Paper

It was not because it was American Thanksgiving yesterday that I started thinking about this, although it is something to be thankful for, and I am.  Nor is it the fact that today is so called Black Friday and several million people are out frantically shopping for great bargains on things they mostly don't really need, (Just saying).  This reflection started simply because the toilet paper roll was empty. I opened the cupboard to get some more and there they were, several rolls all lined up just waiting until they were needed.

 At the risk of sounding really, really, really old, when I was a child we did not have toilet paper.  We didn't have a bathroom for that matter.  What we had was a well ventilated outhouse, especially in the wintertime!  I know some of you will have similar memories, while others are probably appalled.  To my childhood mind, the lack of indoor plumbing and toilet paper did not make us poor since all our neighbours had the same.  My grandmother told us that when she was a child they had to go to the bush!  We really had nothing to complain about. Of course toilet paper was not unknown to us, but it was beyond our family budget.  Instead we had last year's Eaton's or Simpson's catalogue.  It was the 1950s form of recycling paper I guess.

At S.S. # 2 Eastnor school, toilet paper was provided but students were always cautioned to use it sparingly.  I can still here the teacher saying to use "just one square!"  We didn't.

In preparation for a trip to Honduras for a World Accord build last January, one of the things we were told to take with us was toilet paper.  In that not-so-far-away part of the world, T-paper is still a luxury item for many people and not readily available, so we should bring our own.  We did.

How many people in our world today still do not have toilet paper, I wonder?  How many people use an old catalogue or newspaper, or magazine or whatever they can find?  Probably millions.  How many people must go beyond the treeline to relieve themselves, then use leaves or long grass? 

Some readers may find this a weird post and wonder what on earth I was thinking, but I am grateful for a heated, indoor washroom with hot and cold running water and flush toilets, especially on nights like tonight when there is a cold wind blowing with snow in the air,.  And I am thankful for a cupboard well stocked with toilet paper.  I do not want to forget the disparity in which we live or take this simple item for granted. 

Do we realize the myriad ways in which we are fortunate? 

Posted by Carman

Gobble Gobble

Today, Monday, is Thanksgiving day but most of you will probably not see this until Tuesday. That is okay, I am actually preparing the post on Sunday, and only anticipating that it will be Monday or Tuesday. (If that confuses you, just wait until you figure out that most of it was actually written a year ago!)

I confess that I am wondering how many people will not have family or friends to celebrate Thanksgiving with this year. Is there someone I personally know who will be alone, and as my friend Bryce Taylor would say, living on "tea and toast"? Our home will be full of family and friends, but there is always room for one more, and they would be most welcome. I suspect you feel the same.

On a personal note, a year ago one member of our extended family who serves in the Canadian Forces had Thanksgiving in Afghanistan. This year he is home, and we are very grateful. Still, many are not. Lets spare a thought or a prayer for them today.

What follows is the post from October 12, 2010, which was the day after Canadian Thanksgiving last year. When I looked back, I rather enjoyed reading it again, and The Gobble Song still makes me smile. I hope you enjoy it too.

Happy Thanksgiving, or if this is Tuesday, Happy Thanksgiving plus one.

*******************************************************************************
Definition:
1. The gurgling sound made by a male turkey.
2. To devour in greedy gulps.

Canadian Thanksgiving is over. The hours of stuffing and cooking the turkey, making the cranberry sauce, peeling the potatoes and turnip, baking the pumpkin pies and whipping the cream are done. The meal has been eaten and the family has left for home. The house that bulged with the sounds of eighteen people talking and playing is now strangely quiet. The only sounds are the keys on my computer and the quiet splash of the dishwasher doing the last load of dishes for the evening. Ah bliss!

Despite good intentions about not overeating, my waistband feels a little snug at the moment. It must have been the fact that there were four different desserts on offer, and I knew I would be asked my opinion on at least three of them! I am happy to report that regular pumpkin pie with a healthy dose of spice and a dollop of whipped cream is still far superior to cream-cheese pumpkin pie. I can further opine that apple crisp made without wheat flour should only be eaten by people who are wheat intolerant. They will be very thankful for a dessert they can safely eat. The rest of us should stick to regular apple crisp!

All in all, today was a good day at our house. We have greeted each other, talked, laughed, eaten, enjoyed the children, and even celebrated three October birthdays while we were at it. Now we have sent everyone safely on their way home to bed. No better day than that!

Now, so that we don’t forget how and what we gobbled too soon, click on the following link for a very cute You Tube video called The Gobble Song.

Thanksgiving (Canada)

On Thursday, January 31, 1957, the Canadian Parliament proclaimed:
“ A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed – to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October.

Shopping for pumpkins for Thanksgiving at Ottawa's Byward Market.


This morning I sat down at the computer to prepare a blog about Thanksgiving, anticipating I would list at least some of the sources of my gratitude. Out of curiosity, I decided to do a little research on the origins of this annual Canadian celebration. What I found surprised me, going far beyond the usual images of Quebec settlers and First Nations people sharing their scarce provisions. I thought you might enjoy it too. The following is quoted directly from an article in Wikipedia entitled “Thanksgiving (Canada)”. It is a little longer than our usual posts, but very worth reading. Enjoy.



The history of Thanksgiving in Canada can be traced back to the 1578 voyage of Martin Frobisher from England in search of the Northwest Passage. In this, his third, voyage to the Frobisher Bay area of Baffin Island in the present Canadian Territory of Nunavut, it was also the intention to start a small settlement and his fleet of 15 ships were so fitted out with men, materials and provisions for this purpose. However, the loss of one of his ships through contact with ice along with much of the building material was to prevent him from doing so. The expedition was plagued by ice and freak storms which at times had scattered the fleet and on meeting together again at their anchorage in Frobisher Bay,

“..Mayster Wolfall, [ Robert Wolfall ] a learned man, appoynted by hir Majesties Councell to be theyr minister and preacher, made unto them a godly sermon, exhorting them especially to be thankefull to God for theyr strange and miraculous deliverance in those so dangerous places,…” .

They celebrated Communion and

“The celebration of divine mystery was the first signe, scale, and confirmation of Christes name, death and passion ever known in all these quarters.”

Frobisher returned to England in the fall of the year with over a thousand tons of what he thought was precious gold ore which turned out to be totally worthless, and minus “fortie”, or about ten percent of his ships’ compliment

“whiche number is not great, considering howe manye ships were in the fleete, and how strange fortunes we passed."

The exact locations of Frobisher’s activities remained a bit of a mystery until the discoveries of the American explorer Charles Francis Hall in Baffin Island nearly three centuries later in 1861.

Years later, French settlers, having crossed the ocean and arrived in Canada with explorer Samuel de Champlain, in 1604 onwards also held huge feasts of thanks. They even formed 'The Order of Good Cheer' and gladly shared their food with their First Nations neighbours.

After the Seven Years' War ended in 1763 handing over of New France to the British, the citizens of Halifax held a special day of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving days were observed beginning in 1799 but did not occur every year. After the American Revolution, American refugees who remained loyal to Great Britain moved from the newly independent United States and came to Canada. They brought the customs and practices of the American Thanksgiving to Canada.

Lower Canada and Upper Canada observed Thanksgiving on different dates; for example, in 1816 both celebrated Thanksgiving for the termination of the war between France and Great Britain, the former on 21 May and the latter on 18 June. In 1838, Lower Canada used Thanksgiving to celebrate the end of the Lower Canada Rebellion. Following the rebellions, the two Canadas were merged into a united Province of Canada, which observed Thanksgiving six times from 1850 to 1865.

The first Thanksgiving Day after Canadian Confederation was observed as a civic holiday on April 5, 1872 to celebrate the recovery of the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) from a serious illnesses.

Starting in 1879 Thanksgiving Day was observed every year, but the date was initially a Thursday in November. The date of celebration changed several times until, in 1957, it was officially declared to be the second Monday in October. The theme of the Thanksgiving holiday also changed each year to reflect an important event to be thankful for. In its early years it was for an abundant harvest and occasionally for a special anniversary.


Canadian troops attend a Thanksgiving service in the bombed-out Cambrai Cathedral, in France in October 1918.

After World War I, an amendment to the Armistice Day Act established that Armistice Day and Thanksgiving would both be celebrated on the Monday of the week in which November 11 occurred, starting in 1921. Ten years later, in 1931, the two days became separate holidays, and Armistice Day was renamed Remembrance Day. From 1931 to 1957, the date was set by proclamation, generally falling on the second Monday in October, except for 1935, when it was moved due to a general election. In 1957 Thanksgiving was permanently set to be the second Monday in October.

Happy Thansgiving, everyone.

Posted by Carman

Gobble

Definition:

1. The gurgling sound made by a male turkey.
2. To devour in greedy gulps.

Canadian Thanksgiving is over. The hours of stuffing and cooking the turkey, making the cranberry sauce, peeling the potatoes and turnip, baking the pumpkin pies and whipping the cream are done. The meal has been eaten and the family has left for home. The house that bulged with the sounds of eighteen people talking and playing is now strangely quiet. The only sounds are the keys on my computer and the quiet splash of the dishwasher doing the last load of dishes for the evening. Ah bliss!

Despite good intentions about not overeating, my waistband feels a little snug at the moment. It must have been the fact that there were four different desserts on offer, and I knew I would be asked my opinion on at least three of them! I am happy to report that regular pumpkin pie with a healthy dose of spice and a dollop of whipped cream is still far superior to cream-cheese pumpkin pie. I can further opine that apple crisp made without wheat flour should only be eaten by people who are wheat intolerant. They will be very thankful for a dessert they can safely eat. The rest of us should stick to regular apple crisp!

All in all, today was a good day at our house. We have greeted each other, talked, laughed, eaten, enjoyed the children, and even celebrated three October birthdays while we were at it. Now we have sent everyone safely on their way home to bed. No better day than that!

Now, so that we don’t forget how and what we gobbled too soon, click on the following link for a very cute You Tube video called The Gobble Song.

Posted by Carman

Thanksgiving

As Thanksgiving Day approached this year, I decided to attempt a list of what I am thankful for. It was soon quite a long list. I thought perhaps I should try to prioritize or rank these elements, but in the end, I decided I did not know how to decide for which elements I am the most grateful.

Then I made a list of what I am not thankful for. That was a short list. Because it is a short list, I supposed I should decide if I wanted to do something about these few elements. I certainly could. Would it be for the best? Again, I decided I did not know, so went back to the first list.

In the end, perhaps thankfulness is like happiness. Just as we can affect our happiness level by deciding to be happy, in the same way, perhaps it is less important to know what we are thankful for than it is to simply be thankful. Despite my lack of conclusions, I still found this a useful exercise. I recommend it to each of you. What are you thankful for? I wonder how similar your list might be to mine.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. May gratitude be part of your day today, and everyday.

Posted by Carman