Pie Night
The night before Thanksgiving, Thurman's, Mangini's, and Henderson's get together for Pie Night. Before partaking of the pie, we all write down on index cards what we are particularly thankful for from the previous year. Sandra reads the cards and then we all try to guess who said what. Usually, I win. Leave it to me to make gratitude a competitive sport.It's a good tradition, even though I don't like pie. It forces you to put into words what the previous year has meant to you. Certain people are always easy to figure out. My niece is always a tad snide...she's a senior so she comes by that honestly. My nephew is usually thankful for petrol and things that blow up. He's a junior so, ditto. Others are tougher to figure. Lisa's grandma, Sandra's mother-in-law, and our mom are often thankful for the same things: kids, church, and the U. S. of A. For some reason, Sandra's hubby and my wife write remarkably similar things each year. Probably, they're just so grateful to be married to Sandra and I that they sound the same. Yes, I think that makes sense. This year I won again, of course, going a perfect 13 for 13. My brother-in-law, Lex, tied me. Not bad.
First reason I mention all this: This year was very important to me. I was never really able to put into words the reasons for my gratitude. Maybe it's because the ACCIDENT is still so fresh and I'm just so grateful for God's protection over my family. But I truly think it's because this year, for the first time in a loooong time, I feel like God is opening a new door for me...like a new chapter in my life is about to begin. For everybody but a very few, that's probably a cryptic statement and one on which I'm not ready to elaborate just yet. But I will when the time is right. For now, it's just nice to be His instrument, to feel His pleasure, and at the ripe old age of 41, to feel fresh.
The second reason may mean more to you. One of the things I wrote on my little card of thankfulness this year was how glad I am to have new friends. When I wrote that, I meant Greg and Cecil...and even Randy and Brady, who I've known for years but have become friends with through the past months of blogging. I believe that this is a community and a growing one. This is more than just a medium of journaling and daily communication. It is a method of support and mutual prayer. A way to spread how great our God is and how we feel about the ups and downs of His church. This is a way of telling people and reminding each other that there is more to Christianity than right-wing politics, judgmentalism, and rebuke. That primarily we are here to glorify, to love, and to be Jesus to the world. I'm grateful for that. And perhaps the reason I struggled so to write it all down is that there simply aren't words.
Happy Thanksgiving!
posted by Thurman8er @ 11:03 PM
5 Comments:
A thankful heart is the secret to joy. And I've been enriched through reading others' thoughts too.
Congrats on the perfect record.
You expressed very well the words on our heart. And way to go on the 13 for 13. Do you study for that? Have charts in the war room the night before?
I am so thankful that Greg iinvited me into this community. It is an encouragement. I am most thankful for "family." Right now it is a very comprehensive word for me. It includes my immediate family, my extended family, church family, my newfound blog family--even the local band of which I am a part. I think it is a word that many people in our country only can wish for and probably one of the reasons we are in such a mess.
It is great to see your heart of gratitude.
psfzzy - the feeling you feel when your living a life of gratitude.
Well said Math Brother. I too echoed those very same thoughts about our blog community. I think my in-laws thought I’d lost my mind when I made those statements. They are constantly on Barb and me for the amount of time we spend with our church family and working with the church. When I informed them that I’ve added some new friends who I’ve never meant the look in their eyes was priceless. I persevere nevertheless and I look forward to our blog community growing even more.
djaop (technique used against nagging in-laws)
Can't wait to hear what your "news" is. I have a guess. You might say I'm getting real ggetxaxq.
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