Thankful

I finally have some Thanksgiving photos to share!

We had a lovely, wonderful time with more people, more food and more help in the kitchen than ever before.

I feel so blessed this year, for many reasons, but the added bonus of family, friends, fabulous food and fellowship gave me even more for which to be thankful on this feast day.

We assembled in the biggest empty space we had to offer, our unfinished, new addition on the house. It ended up being a cozy place with a golden glow that added a special ambiance to our gathering.

This year it was Bring Your Girlfriend to Thanksgiving Day.  There were a total of four girlfriends by the end of the day.

I try to avoid having a kid's table but with twenty-four place settings it could not be helped this time. In the end the youngsters enjoyed their special seating.

The only way our holiday could have been better would be if all our family could have attended. I was dearly missing having my grandchildren here. With the blessing of modern Jetson-style technology we were able to visit with them on our computer.

Skype- the next best thing to being there.

Our blessings are innumerable, our joys outweigh our sorrows. 

We are thankful.

So on the day set aside to thank the One from whom all our blessings flow, my husband gave this prayer of thanks:

Lord, on this day set aside to remember at least a few of our many blessings, we give thanks before we eat. In these days of war and violence, we are thankful for being able to gather and worship in peace. In these days of repression and totalitarianism that pervades much of our world, we thank You for the freedoms we enjoy in our country. With the hunger and poverty that stalks much of the world, we should always be thankful for the abundance of food that we enjoy today and throughout the year. Lord, we thank You for the jobs and work we all have, when so many people in our land are out of work. We thank You for the warm homes we enjoy, when so many are homeless and living in cars or on the street. We pray on behalf of those families that cannot be together today and thank You that we are so blessed to be together and enjoy this food. We are thankful for those who spent so much time and effort to prepare this wonderful meal. Lord, we thank You for the greatest of all blessings, that You sent Your Son, Jesus Christ, to pay for the sins of the whole world, that all who have faith may enjoy eternal life with You in heaven. Amen.