For Saturday, November 30th, 2013

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 30TH, 2013

21 DAYS UNTIL WINTER

25 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS

Sunrise:7:35 am

Sunset:5:00 pm

If you can't see the Bright Side, polish the dull side

In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy. 

William Blake

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Remaining Thankful…

Over the years it’s been a popular thing for everyone around the table to tell what they are most thankful for on Thanksgiving.  It seems that much of what we are thankful for like our friends, family, work, food, and health are things we are often thankful for every day.  The every day things and people in our lives are what we value most.

Thankful hearts need to continue every day, just as what we are most thankful for is there everyday for us.  We should never forget to say THANK YOU for the everyday little things in our lives.

I’m getting out the Christmas decorations today and putting away everything fall.  I’ll also begin to get out those Christmassy teeshirts and sweaters that have accumulated thought the years.  I believe I counted them one time and found out that I never need wear the same outfit twice.  I have enough to see me though the whole month of December.  I do have a huge array of things to wear. When you are my age, you do tend to collect a lot. They never wear out as I only get a chance to wear them once a year and I haven’t changed sizes either.  It may not be officially winter yet, but it looks and feels like it here.

I hope you all have SUPER Saturday!  And don’t forget to count your blessings! 

COUNTING MY GIFTS

Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories. 

From the movie An Affair to Remember

I have counted at least 3 things every day that I'm thankful for this past year and have now reached my 1000 gifts.  I'm not stopping, but will continue on counting.  There is always, always something to be thankful for.

1178. Plenty of good warm clothing to wear

1179. for boots and wool socks that keep my feet warm

1180. for hats and scarves and mittens, wardrobe essentials for northern Ohio

Enter into His courts with thanksgiving — and in His presence is fullness of Joy!

PRAYER FOR OUR TROOPS

 

Please pray for God's protection of

our troops and HIS wisdom for their

commanders.

 

Lord, hold our troops in

your loving hands.

Protect them as they protect us.

Bless them and their families for the

selfless acts they perform for us

in our time of need. I ask this in the

name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

AND bless our Police Officers, Firefighters

and Paramedics and EMT's

GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

Winter is not a season, it's an occupation. 

Sinclair Lewis

A little smile, a word of cheer, 

A bit of love from someone dear…

 

Love,

ma

 

 

 You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought

Matthew 5:5 (MSG)

For Friday, November 29th, 2013

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29TH, 2013

22 DAYS UNTIL WINTER

26 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS

Sunrise:7:33 am

Sunset:5:00 pm

If you can't see the Bright Side, polish the dull side

...if you let something steal your thanksgiving, you let something steal your joy, and if you let something steal your joy, you let something steal your strength.

Ann Voskamp, 1000 Gifts

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Even if happiness forgets you a little bit, never completely forget about it.  

Jacques Prévert

I know that we all have days in our lives that make us forget what happiness is, but if we just try and look for the bright side, there is always always something good in every day.  Maybe you lost your best friend, but there will be opportunities to make new ones,  Maybe you don’t like your job, but at least you have one.  They say we never appreciate what we have until we don’t have it anymore.

As November comes to an end and the season of Advent is about to begin, I’m remembering all those that are no longer here to celebrate with us.  Let us fondly remember all the JOY that they did bring into our lives during their time with us.    

We can be thankful we had them in our lives no matter how short the time.

Time is short and we should be thankful for every day. Never miss a chance to tell those you love just how precious they are.   Let your memories be sweet and never waste a day with out finding your JOY!

I hope you all have FANTASTIC Friday!  And don’t forget to count your blessings! 

COUNTING MY GIFTS

We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.  

Frederick Keonig

I have counted at least 3 things every day that I'm thankful for this past year and have now reached my 1000 gifts.  I'm not stopping, but will continue on counting.  There is always, always something to be thankful for.

1175. for the people in my life that are no longer with us

1176. for the JOY in my heart that never fades

1177. for the bright spots in every day

Enter into His courts with thanksgiving — and in His presence is fullness of Joy!

PRAYER FOR OUR TROOPS

 

Please pray for God's protection of

our troops and HIS wisdom for their

commanders.

 

Lord, hold our troops in

your loving hands.

Protect them as they protect us.

Bless them and their families for the

selfless acts they perform for us

in our time of need. I ask this in the

name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

AND bless our Police Officers, Firefighters

and Paramedics and EMT's

GOD BLESS YOU ALL !

I have only two kinds of days:  happy and hysterically happy.  

Allen J. Lefferdink

A little smile, a word of cheer, 

A bit of love from someone dear…

 

Love,

For Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 28th, 2013

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28TH, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving!

23 DAYS UNTIL WINTER

27 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS

Sunrise:7:32 am

Sunset:5:01 pm

If you can't see the Bright Side, polish the dull side

So once in every year we throng
Upon a day apart,
To praise the Lord with feast and song
In thankfulness of heart.

Arthur Guiterman, The First Thanksgiving

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Over the river and through the wood
Oh, how the wind does blow!
It stings the toes
And bites the nose,
As over the ground we go.

Over the river and through the wood
To have a first-rate play.
Hear the bells ring,
Ting-a-ling-ling!
Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day!

  Linda Maria Child

I’m not so sure I’ll be going over the river and through the wood today, but I love this poem/song.  We sang it many years ago as we’d go to visit my grandparents on the farm.

Today should be a pretty quiet day here for me as the family gathered last Saturday to celebrate.  Tomorrow a few of us will get together for our annual Christmas in the Colonies trip.  We travel to a little town not so very far away where they have a craft show, a great place to eat, and a candle factory to visit.  We’ve done this for so many years now.  Last year we skipped the trip as the craft show doesn’t have as good as a selection as it once did and the little town doesn’t offer as many quaint little shops to visit either.  However we missed doing the trip so this year we’ve decided to just do it.  

Old habits are hard to change and traditions are nice when you’ve got wonderful people to share it with.  Today’s pictures are of one of our past visits to Christmas in the Colonies.

I hope you all have THANKFUL Thursday!

COUNTING MY GIFTS

Give me the end of the year an' its fun
When most of the plannin' an' toilin' is done;
Bring all the wanderers home to the nest,
Let me sit down with the ones I love best,
Hear the old voices still ringin' with song,
See the old faces unblemished by wrong,
See the old table with all of its chairs
An' I'll put soul in my Thanksgivin' prayers.

Edgar A. Guest, Thanksgiving

I have counted at least 3 things every day that I'm thankful for this past year and have now reached my 1000 gifts.  I'm not stopping, but will continue on counting.  There is always, always something to be thankful for.

1172. for a special day set aside to remind us to be THANKFUL

1173. for pumpkin pie and apple crisp!

1174. for good memories I’ll never forget

Enter into His courts with thanksgiving — and in His presence is fullness of Joy!

PRAYER FOR OUR TROOPS

Please pray for God's protection of

our troops and HIS wisdom for their

commanders.

Lord, hold our troops in

your loving hands.

Protect them as they protect us.

Bless them and their families for the

selfless acts they perform for us

in our time of need. I ask this in the

name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

AND bless our Police Officers, Firefighters

and Paramedics and EMT's

GOD BLESS YOU !

T   hanks for time to be together, turkey, talk, and tangy weather.
H  for harvest stored away, home, and hearth, and holiday.
A  for autumn's frosty art, and abundance in the heart.
N  for neighbors, and November, nice things, new things to remember.
K  for kitchen, kettles' croon, kith and kin expected soon.
S  for sizzles, sights, and sounds, and something special that about.
    

That spells THANKS for joy in living and a jolly good Thanksgiving.                 

Aileen Fisher, All in a Word

A little smile, a word of cheer, 

A bit of love from someone dear…

Love,

ma

Chapter 11, Page 27, Book 13

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27TH, 2013

1 day until Thanksgiving

24 DAYS UNTIL WINTER

28 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS

Sunrise:7:31 am

Sunset:5:01 pm

If you can't see the Bright Side, polish the dull side

Our little Cutie Patootie

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

Philippians 4:6, 7

Little Xfactor with DD and Cutie Patootie

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings. 

William Arthur Ward

The pictures today are of some of the visitors our little Cutie Patootie had at the hospital this past week.  She is finally home now and what a blessing that is.  I know that DS#5 and his wife and their other children too are very thankful for that.   I’m sure they will all be very happy to be home and together.  Thank the dear Lord for His many blessings!  My son has off work now for a few days to be home with them all.  It’s a big transition going from a family of 4 to a family of 5.  This year will be a very special Thanksgiving for them.

We have the promise of just a few more inches of snow today and tomorrow.  To the east of us they’ll be seeing a lot more.  I’m ok with a few inches, I can handle that.  Many schools were closed for today before I went to bed last night.  We never know just what the weather will bring, do we?  The news said that the winter storm is hampering many Thanksgiving travelers.  I’ll be saying a little prayer for all .

I hope you all have WONDERFUL Wednesday!

A baby is sunshine and moonbeams and more brightening your world as never before.

Author Unknown

Our Princess holding Cutie Patootie

COUNTING MY GIFTS

Babies are life's most precious gifts.

I have counted at least 3 things every day that I'm thankful for this past year and have now reached my 1000 gifts.  I'm not stopping, but will continue on counting.  There is always, always something to be thankful for.

1169. that DS#5 and his beautiful family can be home together for Thanksgiving

1170. for snow on the ground, but not too much

1171. for mac and cheese, the grands all love it!

Enter into His courts with thanksgiving — and in His presence is fullness of Joy!

PRAYER FOR OUR TROOPS

Please pray for God's protection of

our troops and HIS wisdom for their

commanders.

Lord, hold our troops in

your loving hands.

Protect them as they protect us.

Bless them and their families for the

selfless acts they perform for us

in our time of need. I ask this in the

name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

AND bless our Police Officers, Firefighters

and Paramedics and EMT's

GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

Prince Charming with Cutie Patootie

A little bit of heaven 

Drifted down from above
A handful of happiness,
A heartful of love.
The mystery of life,
So sacred and sweet
The giver of joy
So deep and complete.
Precious and priceless,
So lovable, too
The world's sweetest miracle,
Baby girl, is you.

Our little Lucky Guy with DDIL#6 holding Cutie Patootie

A little smile, a word of cheer, 

A bit of love from someone dear…

Love,

ma 

For Tuesday, November 26th, 2013

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26TH, 2013

2 days until Thanksgiving

25 DAYS UNTIL WINTER

29 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS

Sunrise:7:30 am

Sunset:5:02 pm

If you can't see the Bright Side, polish the dull side

THANKSGIVING

We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven. We have been preserved, the many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.

    Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to God that made us! It behooves us, then to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

April 30, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln’s Proclamation
for a National Day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, thank you, that would suffice.  

Meister Eckhart

After reading the proclamation by President Lincoln, I realized how true these words are for our own time as well, not just back in 1863.  We often forget that we alone are not responsible for what we have.  All blessings do come from God.  We may supply the hands and feet to get the job done but He provides the blessing themselves. I’ve been trying to be more thankful for what I have.  We take so much for granted it seems.  

Except for watching some of my grandchildren this week, it is relatively quiet here for me this week.  After our family celebration this past weekend, my Thanksgiving celebrating is done.  It’s time now to put away the fall decorations and bring out the Christmas things here at my house.  Advent begins this Sunday.  It will then be only 4 weeks until Christmas and I need to find my Advent Wreath and set it out on the dining room table.  

As part of my Christmas preparations, I’ll be posting a verse a day of the Christmas story beginning Sunday.  It is the greatest story ever told and is one I never tire of.  Just like Lincoln’s proclamation it relates to us today more than ever before. The story reminds us to prepare the way of the Lord.   Let us do what God requires of us and leave the rest in His Hands.

I hope you all have TERRIFIC Tuesday!

COUNTING MY GIFTS

Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.  

Edward Sandford Martin

I have counted at least 3 things every day that I'm thankful for this past year and have now reached my 1000 gifts.  I'm not stopping, but will continue on counting.  There is always, always something to be thankful for.

1166. for the stories that never grow old

1167. for all my grandchildren

1168. for reminders, they help us keep on track

Enter into His courts with thanksgiving — and in His presence is fullness of Joy!

PRAYER FOR OUR TROOPS

 

Please pray for God's protection of

our troops and HIS wisdom for their

commanders.

 

Lord, hold our troops in

your loving hands.

Protect them as they protect us.

Bless them and their families for the

selfless acts they perform for us

in our time of need. I ask this in the

name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

AND bless our Police Officers, Firefighters

and Paramedics and EMT's

GOD BLESS YOU ALL !

He who thanks but with the lips
Thanks but in part;
The full, the true Thanksgiving
Comes from the heart.

J.A. Shedd

A little smile, a word of cheer, 

A bit of love from someone dear…

 

Love,

ma

 

For Monday, November 25th, 2013

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25TH, 2013

3 days until Thanksgiving

26 DAYS UNTIL WINTER

30 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS

Sunrise:7:29 am

Sunset:5:02 pm

If you can't see the Bright Side, polish the dull side

Gratitude is the music of the heart, when its chords are swept by the breeze of kindness.  

Author Unknown

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness.  It will change your life mightily.  

Gerald Good

I believe that Thanksgiving is not just one day but a whole season for us to be thankful.  It is wonderful that the US does continues to set apart a day a year for giving thanks. And it’s doubly great that most of us still believe that Thanksgiving is a day for actually giving thanks to God, not just a time for feeling for the good food we’ll be eating and the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade or the  football games we’ll be watching.  

Gratitude will improve your life.  Gratitude magnifies our experience of the good things in life, enabling us to enjoy them more thoroughly. Gratitude also helps us to endure the hard things in life when they come along.  It’s so good to have those things we’re thankful for when things go wrong.  

Today and every day is a great day to give thanks, we don’t have to wait until November 28th to do so.  Expressing heartfelt gratitude to God is one of life’s greatest joys.

We need to be sure to remember to say Thank You to those people in our lives that mean so much to us.  The pictures today were taken Saturday and show some of my grandchildren playing together.  There is a wide range in ages from teens to babies but they all love playing with their cousins. The picture directly below has my SIL in it too.

I hope you all have great Monday!

Grateful people may be more likely to:

Take better care of themselves physically and mentally

Engage in more protective health behaviors and maintenance

Get more regular exercise

Eat a healthier diet

Have improved mental alertness

Cope better with stress and daily challenges

Feel happier and more optimistic

Have stronger immune systems

Maintain a brighter view of the future

Be Grateful!

COUNTING MY GIFTS

All that we behold is full of blessings.  

William Wordsworth

I have counted at least 3 things every day that I'm thankful for this past year and have now reached my 1000 gifts.  I'm not stopping, but will continue on counting.  There is always, always something to be thankful for.

1163. for a new week to give thanks

1164. for all the wonderful people in my life to say THANK YOU to.

1165. for a little warmer temps today, I believe we go above freezing

Enter into His courts with thanksgiving — and in His presence is fullness of Joy!

PRAYER FOR OUR TROOPS

 

Please pray for God's protection of

our troops and HIS wisdom for their

commanders.

 

Lord, hold our troops in

your loving hands.

Protect them as they protect us.

Bless them and their families for the

selfless acts they perform for us

in our time of need. I ask this in the

name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

AND bless our Police Officers, Firefighters

and Paramedics and EMT's

GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

If you count all your assets, you always show a profit.  

Robert Quillen

A little smile, a word of cheer, 

A bit of love from someone dear…

 

Love,

ma