We sometimes focus too much on what we don't have (e.g. dis-abilities) and not what we already have (e.g. abilities-gifts, talents, skills, etc..) or blessed with. Do you "count your blessings" before you go to bed? I challenge you to share what are you thankful during this Holiday weekend and start doing this daily! Have a blessed thanksgiving...
As Thanksgiving approaches, many of us "American's" can think about turkey and the food we'll be eating. We can also reflect the many blessings we can thank God of with the love ones we'll be with on Thanksgiving Day. Sadly, there will be others out there who don't have love ones to spend this Holiday with-love one died this past year or they don't have anyone in their lives at all.
This year in 2005, God has touched my heart to remember those overseas (e.g. U.S. Soldiers, missionaries, etc...) and those who are being persecuted for their faith (November is known to be the month to remember Christians being persecuted)or or suffering (e.g. hurricaine, financially, cancer, etc...) in our very own backyards.
You want joy?
J-Jesus
O-Others
Y-Yourself
*put these priorities in order from top to bottom, which will help you get JOY everyday!
"I'm thankful for Jesus, who has been my personal savior since I acknowledge him as my Lord of my life torwards the end of my first year in college (UMM).
Then, I'm thankful of my family (church family included), friends, and the rest of my love ones/Others that God has put in my life.
Lastly, I'm thankful for the many blessings God has given me (Yourself) in so many ways (e.g. able to walk, graduate from college, having a job, and the little to big things we sometimes take for granted daily)"
Blessed Others
*Note: Below was written in 2004
If you are by yourself this Thanksgiving Day, find someone else who is looking for that special someone to spend this special day with. The past 4 years living in Morris after graduation, I had to work at the group home in the afternoons (@2-10p). I spend the lunch/dinner hour at the local Assumption Catholic Church, where they do an annual Thanksgiving Dinner for people who don't have someone to spend this time with. The first 2 years, I helped volunteer serving, and then would eat. The third year, I brought a friend, who didn't have a family to spend this Holiday with. God blessed him and I with the leftovers to bring back home-praise God! Last year, I brought a single parent with 3 kids, who didn't want to cook.
A Family in Morris
Being a single guy not being able to go home and spending this holiday here, I've grown to find a bigger family here. Working at the group home is like family already for me. This year (2004), I plan to spend Thanksgiving with a family that I've grown with these past couple years with. In fact, this same family invited me over after I took another family to the Thanksgiving Lunch/Dinner at the Assumption Catholic Church.
Below are some stories I've collected in a disk that I started doing when I was looking for "good news" via the internet:
BreakPoint Commentary #91125 - 11/25/1999
"God's Instrument": The Story of Squanto
by Charles Colson
" Most of us know the story of the first Thanksgiving-at least, we know the Pilgrim version. But how many of us know the Indian viewpoint?
No, I'm not talking about some revisionist, p.c. version of history. I'm talking about the amazing story of the way God used an Indian named Squanto as a special instrument of His providence.
Historical accounts of Squanto's life vary, but historians believe that around 1608--more than a decade before the Pilgrims landed in the New World--a group of English traders sailed to what is today Plymouth, Massachusetts. When the trusting Wampanoag Indians came out to trade, the traders took them prisoner, transported them to Spain, and sold them into slavery.
It was an unimaginable horror--but God had an amazing plan for one of the captured Indians--a boy named Squanto.
Squanto was bought by a well-meaning Spanish monk, who treated him well and taught him the Christian faith. Squanto eventually made his way to England and worked in the stables of a man named John Slaney. Slaney sympathized with Squanto's desire to return home, and he promised to put the Indian on the first vessel bound for America.
It wasn't until 1618--ten years after Squanto was first kidnapped--that a ship was found. Finally, after a decade of exile and heartbreak, Squanto was on his way home.
But when he arrived in Massachusetts, more heartbreak awaited him. An epidemic had wiped out Squanto's entire village.
We can only imagine what must have gone through Squanto's mind. Why had God allowed him to return home, against all odds, only to find his loved ones dead?
A year later, the answer came. A shipload of English families arrived and settled on the very land once occupied by Squanto's people. Squanto went to meet them, greeting the startled Pilgrims in English.
According to the diary of Pilgrim Governor William Bradford, Squanto "became a special instrument sent of God for [our] good . . . He showed [us] how to plant [our] corn, where to take fish and to procure other commodities." He "was also [our] pilot to bring [us] to unknown places for [our] profit, and never left [us] till he died."
When Squanto lay dying of a fever, Bradford wrote that their Indian friend "desir[ed] the Governor to pray for him, that he might go to the Englishmen's God in heaven." Squanto bequeathed his possessions to the Pilgrims "as remembrances of his love."
Who but God could so miraculously weave together the lives of a lonely Indian and a struggling band of Englishmen? It's hard not to make comparisons with the biblical story of Joseph, who was also sold into slavery--and whom God likewise used as a special instrument for good.
Squanto's life story is remarkable, and we ought to make sure our children learn about it. Sadly, most books about Squanto omit his Christian faith. I'm delighted to say my former associate Eric Metaxas has just written a children's book called "Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving." I highly recommend it.
It will teach your kids about the "special instrument sent of God"-who changed the course of American history.
Copyright (c) 1999 Prison Fellowship Ministries
Related Sites:
Pilgrims-Wikepedia
"The people who would come to be known as the Pilgrims (known as the Pilgrim Fathers in the UK) were brought together by a common belief in the ideas promoted by Richard Clyfton, parson at All Saints' Parish Church in Babworth, East Retford, Nottinghamshire, between 1586 and 1605. This congregation held Separatist beliefs comparable to nonconforming movements (i.e., groups not in communion with the Church of England) led by Henry Barrowe, John Greenwood and Robert Browne. Unlike conforming Puritan groups who maintained their membership in and allegiance to the Church of England, Separatists held that their differences with the Church of England were irreconcilable and that their worship should be organized independently of the trappings, traditions and organization of a central state church.[1]"
Squanto-Wikipedia
"He returned once more to his homeland in 1619, making his way with an exploratory expedition along the New England coast. He was soon to discover that his tribe, as well as a majority of coastal New England tribes, had been decimated the year before by a plague. This had been thought to be flu or smallpox, but more recently historians believe French fishermen carried Bubonic Plague to what is now Maine. Much of the aboriginal population of the northeast is now thought to have fallen to the plague around 1617. [citation needed].
Tisquantum finally settled with the Pilgrims and helped them recover from their first difficult winter by teaching them how and when to plant corn, to increase their food production by fertilizing their crops, and by directing them to the best places to catch fish and eels."
William Bradford - First Thanksgiving part 1
History Channel presents: Desperate Crossing 5 mins
"It's a story familiar to most of us from school. And in many ways, the story of the passengers on the Mayflower is like that of every immigrant who has come to America to start a new life. Yet the true story of the Pilgrims is far more complex than the one most of us learned as children -- and also more intriguing. This is a decades-long epic tale, filled with real drama, tragedy, and inspiration, revealed in the three-hour special DESPERATE CROSSING: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE MAYFLOWER, a World Premiere on The History Channel on Sunday, November 19 at 8pm ET/PT" (2006)
The History of Thanksgiving part 1 , from youtube.com
The True Meaning of Thanksgiving , from youtube.com
"This is a documentary short film about the word "THANKSGIVING" and how it came into being. Often, a less heard tale of the Thanksgiving celebration. This film was submitted to the Festival de Cannes 2008 for review."
*see GoodnewsEverybody.com Native Indian Americans
2006 Thanksgiving Reflection
*below is a sample of one of my different e-mails I sent to different folks
"Hi/Hola/Shalom,
This is probably going to be the warmest Thanksgiving Holiday that I can remember. The year is coming to an end-no matter what circumstances, trials, or challenges you faced this past year so far; I hope and pray that you can find peace ahead. Have a blessed holidays and here is just a challenge or something to think about-let's all gather at the table wherever we are at and share how thankful/bless you are; save the family troubles...
Marriage
http://www.angelfire.com/mn2/goodnewsumm/issues.marriage.html
Financial
http://www.angelfire.com/mn2/goodnewsumm/life.financial.html
Miscellaneous
http://www.angelfire.com/mn2/goodnewsumm/issues.html
or fights (I've been hearing too many of them lately) and give it personally to God (don't do it in front of the "little ones"). Remember you are not alone on this! In fact, lets do this everyday...
http://www.angelfire.com/mn2/goodnewsumm/bless.thanksgiving.html
"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus".-1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Caring in love,
Sal:)
2007 Reflections
I'm very much thankful again this year for many what I wrote last year (above). I'm thankful to God for each one of you out there that He has put in my life (past, present, and continue to do so in the future). Each of you has contributed to my life in various ways. This year, I would like to really remember other of my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ in other parts of the world-particularly those being persecuted for their faith.
E-mail Replies to What are you thankful for?
Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2007 23:24:04 -0800 (PST)
Today (Wednesday, December 5th of 2007) I wanted to write a follow-up on what God did during my Thanksgiving weekend while in the cities (St. Paul) visiting family. I had the opportunity to lead a group prayer of thanks and blessing at my younger brother's house twice! First was on Thanksgiving Day/Hmong New Year and second was during another house-gathering party for Ceo and Khua's friends and family (bro, sis, and aunt). On Saturday, November 24th-my mom's washing machine broke down....
I feel this negative/bad circumstance turned out to be positive/good situation, which we need to look in every part of our daily life (e.g. accidents). I pray and hope this would be a reminder for all of us.
2009 Reflection
Today (Monday, November 23rd 09'), I wanted to share my "early" 2009 Thanksgiving Reflection. I just came home from my job and had a reflection talk with a co-worker about being thankful to just having a job! I hear many stories of folks losing jobs due to the current economic situation, which some are going into poverty or homelessness. One must not take for granted with what they have as you hear/read about these unfortunate stories in our current day. After being "laid" off 2 years ago today at my current job, I feel more compassionate for folks that have lost their jobs as I can "somewhat" relate. I want to do everything that God has blessed me (e.g. education to "teach" others to get their GED through my weekly volunteering with others at the Morris Literacy Project) with to help those in these circumstances. I pray and hope that you can take some time during these "busy" holidays to reflect God's goodness. Also, to not just reflect on this for one day, the holidays, or whenever you feel "blessed" (e.g. your sports team won, saved money from coupons, won something, etc..) ; but show your gratitude (e.g. family, friends, food, clothing, shelter, etc...) "everyday" no matter what circumstances you are in. This can be easily done by helping (e.g. using your "God-given" gifts) others "less fortunate"-whatever God shows you individually! From a recent theme message at my local church the past two weeks, I'm learning from the ones "before us" in the Bible made many mistakes (e.g. jealousy, envy, covet, comparing oneself to others, etc...) we do today. Lastly, I'm very thankful for God giving (through the CROSS His Son-Jesus Christ that we may have life "abundantly" and "eternally". Have a blessed Thanksgiving Day, season, "everyday"!
Q: What are your 2009 Thanksgiving thoughts...
2010
I'm currently (Thursday, November 25th 2010) reflecting what I'm thankful to God for this Thanksgiving morning. There is always so much to be thankful for. With our recent "wintery" (see blog) "pre-thanksgiving" driving conditions yesterday, I'm just thankful to make it home (St. Paul) safe and sound. I was thinking of leaving this morning from Morris, but because of some two great informational websites (weather channel and MN Dept. of Transportation Road Conditions site) -this helped me decided to leave yesterday after work.
I guess, I'm thankful for the internet to provide great resources. I'm very thankful also for family as many people I know don't really have a "close family" to come to during the holidays.
Just recently a former high school classmate asked me for prayer for her up-coming brain surgery. Prayer requests like this encourages me to be more thankful for my "good" health..for now! There are a lot of people (even yourself) out there (many close ones that we don't all know about sometimes) going through some challenges in life right now, which we can really encourage one another right now by helping one another.
People in Your Life
SHREK THE FINAL CHAPTER - IN THEATERS MAY 21
Q: What are you going to do show your appreciation to that person(s) today, tomorrow, everyday?
Meal Thanksgiving
"Bless us, O Lord, and these
"Come, Lord Jesus, be our Guest,
Miscellaneous:
Thankful - Inspirational Videos
Accidents
-Car '
Event
-Food
Articles
Cartoons
The Chipmunks & The Chipettes - The First Thanksgiving
E-Cards
-ESL
-Poem
It may be I'm old-fashioned, but it seems to me to-day
We're too much bent on having fun to take the time to pray;
Each little family grows up with fashions of its own;
It lives within a world itself and wants to be alone.
It has its special pleasures, its circle, too, of friends;
There are no get-together days; each one his journey wends,
Pursuing what he likes the best in his particular way,
Letting the others do the same upon Thanksgiving Day.
I like the olden way the best, when relatives were glad
To meet the way they used to do when I was but a lad;
The old home was a rendezvous for all our kith and kin,
And whether living far or near they all came trooping in
With shouts of "Hello, daddy!" as they fairly stormed the place
And made a rush for mother, who would stop to wipe her face
Upon her gingham apron before she kissed them all,
Hugging them proudly to her breast, the grownups and the small.
Then laughter rang throughout the home, and, Oh, the jokes they told;
From Boston, Frank brought new ones, but father sprang the old;
All afternoon we chatted, telling what we hoped to do,
The struggles we were making and the hardships we'd gone through;
We gathered round the fireside. How fast the hours would fly--
It seemed before we'd settled down 'twas time to say good-bye.
Those were the glad Thanksgivings, the old-time families knew
When relatives could still be friends and every heart was true."
Events
Movies
-Cartoons
Music
-Worship
Kari Jobe - I'm Singing (With Youtube user testimonies) {HD}
Today We Thank You - Inspirational Videos
Parades
Shopping
-Black Friday (Christmas Shopping Deals)
Testimonies
God Answered Georgia Rain Prayers! 8 hours ago , from megite.com
Thanksgiving and Our National Purpose - Part 1 of 3
Languages
Its Just God Trying to Get Your Attention 00:59
FWD: VOTED THE BEST EMAIL OF THIS YEAR
--- Brought to you by your Global Funny Folder ---
If you think you are unhappy, look at them
If you think your salary is low, how about her?
If you think you don�t have many friends�
If you think study is a burden, how about her?
When you feel like giving up, think of this man
If you think you suffer in life, do you suffer as much as he does?
If you complain about your transport system, how about them?
If your society is unfair to you, how about her?
Enjoy life how it is and as it comes
Things are worse for others and is a lot better for us J
There are many things in your life that will catch your eye
but only a few will catch your heart....pursue those�
From: "Shannon F
Subject: Re: Sal-have a blessed thanksgiving...
To: "Sal Monteagudo"
"Sal,
Here are some things that I'm thankful for: Loving friends and family, Being an American citizen, my job, my apartment, being a Christian, the American Armed forces, and so many more blessings. Have a blessed thanksgiving."
Pax Christi,
Shannon
...more....
God was sure watching us because any of us would get disappointed when their washing machine breaks down in the middle of a wash. We (sister and I) immediately looked at the ads during this "hottest" sale of the Christmas season. After searching (via internet and newspaper ads), we found a good deal at Sears for only $200 (s/h-recycling old washer and taxes =$300)-Halleluah!
Goodnewseverybodycom from blogspot.com
Shrek Forever After (2010) More at IMDbPro , from imdb.com
"...Rumpelstiltskin tricks a mid-life crisis burdened Shrek into allowing himself to be erased from existence and cast in a dark alternate timeline where Rumpel rules supreme...
Gratitude-People in My Life
thy gifts which we are about
to receive from thy bounty,
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
-from Meal Prayers wf-f.org
And bless what you have bestowed."
-from The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
*see Bible
Recommended Resources:
"People often don't appreciate the simple things in life, tasks such as being able to walk to the grocery store or drive a car.
But there are many people who do not have the luxury of taking everyday life for granted. They spend much of their time attempting to do these simple tasks once more.
Chris Carlson is one of them.
On Aug. 24 2007, Carlson was left with partial paralysis of all four limbs after a auto racing accident in a Late Model Street Stock race in South Dakota.
�My main goal is just to live as freely as I can, and with as little help as I possibly can,� Carlson said. �It just takes time everything just takes time.�
The accident occured on a dirt race track at the Interstate I-90 Speedway in South Dakota. Carlson was trying to avoid another car's spin out but he over-corrected. The car dove over the berm surrounding the track and and rolled nine times with Carlson still inside.
Clint Anderson, the owner of the car and Chris's employer, first thought was that he was dead.
�That accident was terrible, and I was hoping that he was going to walk out of there just fine,� Anderson said. �But it was a pretty bad accident. The car just flew apart and disintegrated.�
Carlson had shattered his C5 and C6 vertebrae, and his right wrist. He remained conscious as the crash unfolded.
Anderson rushed to the crash site and Carlson and said the first words that Chris spoke when he got out of the car were to call his parents to let them know what had happened, and that he was afraid that he was never going to be able to hold is daughter, Courtney, again.
Though Carlson has not fully recovered from the accident, he has made significant progress in the last year.
After the accident Carlson could not move his limbs for almost three weeks. According to his mother, Kate, the doctors told him that he would never be able to move again. However, with physical therapy, Carlson slowly began to gain back motor function in his limbs. Gradually, he gained the use of his legs more and more. Two days before Thanksgiving, Carlson was able to walk two or three feet with a walker. Later, he walked 30 feet with a cane.
On May 3, Carlson felt good enough that he walked unassisted down the aisle at his brother�s wedding. He�s looking forward to his upcoming driving test to see if he is able to drive with certain car modifications.
�(Chris�) ultimate goal is to be able to drive again, to just get back to his job and be able to live with a limited amount of personal care assistance,� said Tammy Vig, Carlson�s Occupational Therapist. They have been working for Carlson �to be able to go back to life,� she said.
Carlson said that a contributing factor to his recovery are those who love and support him and give him the motivation to continue progressing.
�My family has been there since day one,� Carlson said. �That has been a big help, because if I need anything they are always there.�
Carlson said his daughter is �always a good booster.�
�To see her always running around, smiling, and laughing, is always helpful,� he said.
Though Carlson said his back has �healed as well as it is going to heal,� he hopes to gain more movement in his limbs through more intensive physical therapy.
He hopes to be able to improve his basic motor functions and his walking. He aspires to be able to switch from an automatic wheel chair to a manual one and eventually to a �quad cane� permanently.
He eventually hopes to gain enough function in his limbs to do things around the house without his wheel chair.
Though the racing accident left Carlson partially paralyzed, Carlson said he still would like nothing more than to race again.
�I have no regrets about what I did,� he said. �It is something I love to do so I would rather get hurt doing something I love to do than just get in a car crash going down the highway. At least I did it doing something I love to do.�"
"The 10th annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner is Thursday, Nov. 26, at the Assumption Church Parish Hall.
The dinner is open to the public and will be served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Delivery service will be available to the elderly and shut-ins, but people who are able are encouraged to come to the church for the meal and conversation.
With influenza of greater concern this year, organizers ask that those who are sick stay home. To arrange a meal delivery, contact Kayla at the Morris Evangelical Free Church at (320) 589-2808.
Volunteers are welcome but should call in advance to offer their services. Showing up to volunteer on the day of the dinner creates organizational problems. To volunteer, call Theresa Fults at (320) 589-4499 no later than Monday, Nov. 23.
Last year, 407 people attended the dinner and $493 was raised for the Stevens County Food Shelf.
This year, the turkeys will be provided by the Stevens County Gobbler Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation.
The dinner is sponsored by Assumption Church, Faith Lutheran Church, Federated Church, First Lutheran Church, Morris Evangelical Free Church and Zion Lutheran Church."
*sponor through a college friend of mine=>Jeff M. on Nov. 25th 2010
"SCOTT DEPOT, WV (ANS) -- On Thursday of this week, November 24, we continued a celebration of gratitude first observed by The Pilgrims 390 years ago. After enduring a cold and difficult winter, the time for planting finally came. As the weather warmed the crops, berries, nuts and fruits grew, and then it was time for an abundant and thankful harvest.
In the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation in 1863, with these words: “The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessing of fruitful field and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they came, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God."
This proclamation established Thanksgiving Day as a legal national holiday. President Lincoln proclaimed the fourth Thursday of November to be the official “National Thanksgiving Day.”
Thanksgiving Day is the most American of all holidays, dating from 1621, with the turkey, nuts and berries. It is a time for sharing with others. Food is gathered at sporting events, churches, service clubs, at radio and television stations, and various missions.
Thanksgiving is an attitude of the heart and mind. It may be translated into “Thanksliving” and become a way of life. Refuse to allow Thanksgiving to become just a one-day or one-month event. Let it become a daily event.
New Testament writer, St. Paul, put it this way: "God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly" (2 Corinthians 9:8). Because we have freely received, we may freely give. We show our appreciation by our attitude of blessing toward others.
Dr. Mark Martin, pastor of the large Maiden Lane Church of God, Springfield, OH, where Kitty and I were married, June 4, 1955, was seriously injured in a horse riding accident on August 12, 2011. After weeks of healing, sometimes-painful days and rehabilitation, he was back in his pulpit last Sunday for the third time since his mishap. His father and mother, Otis and Loretta Martin, live in our area and keep me up-to-date on his progress.
In a congregational letter, Pastor Martin expresses his gratitude “for the gift of life, a loving and caring wife, Chris; bright and beautiful daughter, Heather; praying parents, friends who pray earnestly and daily for me, the pastoral and church staff, the church is whose courts I serve and worship, the privilege of preaching God’s eternal Word and a Father in Heaven who loves me.”
Chet Marshall, internationally known public speaker and author, challenged all who attended our Putnam County-wide Thanksgiving dinner to always take the positive approach and "find the good in all of life." He also encouraged us to "add value to the lives of others.”
Daily, we should be in a spirit of Thanksgiving. This Psalm of gratitude is appropriate, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise" (Psalm 100:4).
One of the great thinkers of the last century whom I had the privilege of meeting was Francis Schaeffer who said, "The beginning of men’s rebellion against God was, and is, the lack of a thankful heart."
W. Somerset Maugham said, “Gratitude is not a virtue that comes easy to the human race.” Let us all cultivate daily the attitude of the grateful heart. Meister Eckhart reminds us that, "The most important prayer in the world is just two words, 'Thank you.'"Those who are thankful seldom need anything more.
-30-
"
CHARLES CITY, Va. (AP) - President Bush says Americans should thank God this Thanksgiving.
Speaking at Berkeley Plantation in Virginia, which bills itself as the site of America's first official Thanksgiving, the president said, "We give thanks to the author of life, who granted our forefathers safe passage to this land. "
Bush noted that in 1619, two years before the Pilgrims' first Thanksgiving in Massachusetts, Virginia settlers declared that the day of their ship's arrival should be "yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God. "
Bush said Americans today should be thankful for public servants, "good Samaritans" and clergy, and should pray for the families of U. S. troops who are far from home this Thanksgiving.
The president also worked briefly alongside a minister loading crates at a Richmond food bank. "
"(CNN) -- This Thanksgiving holiday, Linda Moses is thankful just to be alive.
The 54-year-old Texas woman was in a car crash in August with her son, his pregnant wife and a family friend. They were on their first family vacation together in the coastal area of Rockport when a texting driver veered into their lane and hit her son's Chevy Tahoe head-on.
Everyone survived, including the driver of the other car. But their struggles were far from over.
Moses lost her job when she was unable to immediately return to work while recovering from a cracked sternum and ribs. Her son, Ryan, lost part of his right leg, ending his dream of entering the National Guard, a few weeks before he would have started basic training. His wife, Courtney, went into labor in September, almost four months early.
It's been rough, Moses said, but amid the trauma, brights spots are starting to emerge. Her son received a prosthetic leg Wednesday and he starts physical therapy next week. Little Kaileigh, Moses' first grandchild, has grown from 1 pound 10 ounces to 3 pounds 8 ounces in two months. Her parents held her for the first time last week and posed for a picture that Moses submitted to CNN iReport.
"Just the fact we're all alive and that we survived despite the accident is a blessing," she said. "And to have Kaileigh -- they didn't give her much of a chance to live, and now she's 2 months old. We have a lot to be thankful for."
Despite a year of economic, political and social turmoil, many Americans didn't have to dig hard to find something they were grateful for on this most thankful day of the year. Among the submissions to CNN iReport's "what are you thankful for?" assignment, common themes emerged: gratitude for family, pride in being American and relief at having a job.
Jean Lindsay is especially thankful for the opportunity to be able to work from her home in Geneseo, New York.
"As an older worker, trying to get to work outside my home is stressful in extreme heat or cold of winter; costs additional time and money to drive to another location; and is hazardous in negotiating snow and ice in winter," the 70-year-old iReporter said.
Luckily, she was able to find a job as a customer service representative, working from the comfort of a desk in her dining room. She works about 25 hours a week without paid vacation time or benefits. But at her age, it's better than nothing, she said.
"I am truly grateful for companies that have a work from home component and I have seen first hand how it has benefited not only so many workers with disabilities, etc. but has benefited the company as well in garnering really dedicated workers."
Not everyone's as lucky as Lindsay. But with unemployment rates hovering around 9% since the summer, Jannet Walsh is grateful just to be receiving unemployment insurance.
The 47-year-old photojournalist was laid off in September from her job with a newspaper in Minnesota. She had worked there for 11 months after moving from Florida to care for her mother, who died in October.
This will be her first Thanksgiving without her mother or father, but at least she'll be spending it with family, she said.
It's hard to stay positive with each rejection letter that comes in, she said. To keep her mind occupied, she edits video she shot on a trip to Ireland this year.
"That's the best medicine for times like these, to be as creative as possible," she said. "I'm ready, willing and able to go back to work. I'm also very hopeful I'll find an even better job than I was laid off from."
As bad as the political and economic landscape in this country might seem, iReporter Egberto Willies said there's nowhere else he'd rather be.
"I am thankful to be in America and all those in America should be, too," said Willies, a naturalized citizen who moved to Texas from Panama in 1979 to attend the University of Texas-Austin. "Everyone in America has the ability to make a difference. I have the ability to make a difference."
Many iReporters were grateful for the support of family through layoffs, illness and financial hardship. But the small things on a day-to-day basis went a long way, too.
"During this holiday season, I am thankful that I am loved and that I have an opportunity to give love," said Ethel Marie Chadwick, a part-time office administrator and radio show host from Scottsville, New York.
"I thank God that I have three wonderful adult children who are kind, compassionate and affectionate, and also for my loving husband who warms me up when I am cold, who rubs my back when I can't sleep, who cheers me up when I am sad and encourages me when I feel discouraged," Chadwick said.
Moses said she isn't sure she would have made it through the past few months since the car crash without her son and daughter-in-law. And she's not sure how they've done it, either. She credits her son's positive attitude with keeping the family hopeful.
"We've been through so much. But if we can still find the blessings, I hope we'll inspire others to get through the hard times."
CNN's Matthew Rehbein contributed to this report."
"
Thanksgiving Day is the fourth Thursday in November. It is a federal holiday, so schools, banks, post offices, and government offices are closed. Thanksgiving was the first holiday celebrated in America. It was first celebrated in the autumn of 1621 when the Wampanoag Indians and the pilgrims got together for a three-day feast and festival of fun. Today, families celebrate Thanksgiving by eating turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, yams, corn, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and an NFL football game are special Thanksgiving Day events. In 2011, Thanksgiving will be on Thursday, November 24. (3 pages)"
"It may be I am getting old and like too much to dwell
Upon the days of bygone years, the days I loved so well;
But thinking of them now I wish somehow that I could know
A simple old Thanksgiving Day, like those of long ago,
When all the family gathered round a table richly spread,
With little Jamie at the foot and grandpa at the head,
The youngest of us all to greet the oldest with a smile,
With mother running in and out and laughing all the while.
" Jonas Brothers performing "Year 3000" at the 80th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Parade - 11/23/06
Copyrighted to NBC "
NBC.com - Macy's Parade
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"is an annual parade presented by Macy's. The tradition started in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States, tied with America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit, and four years younger than the 6abc IKEA Thanksgiving Day Parade in Philadelphia. The three-hour event is held in New York City starting at 9:00 a.m. EST on Thanksgiving Day....
Thanksgiving around a ping-pong table
DON MOEN - Thank You Lord
"DON MOEN (Thank You Lord/Album) Recorded at Regent University with a packed house of energetic worshipers. "
Gratitude-Thank You Lord..week reflection-Saturday, October 24th of 2009, from Goodnewseverybodycom (blogspot.com)
"Kari Jobe sent a message asking people to give short testimonies of why they are "singing"! The awesome response messages that were received are the basis of this clip.
Hope you are blessed and encouraged!"
"A short and upbeat fall-themed worship intro that will complement any Thanksgiving service. Based on David's Prayer from 1 Chronicles 29:10-13."
*see GoodnewsEverybody.com Issues: Greed, Greedy, Elite, Money, Power, Pride, Rich, Wealthy, etc...
"(CNN) -- Violence marred Black Friday shopping in at least seven states, including California, where police say a woman doused fellow shoppers with pepper spray in a bid to snag a discounted video game console.
The incident happened Thursday night at a Walmart in the Porter Ranch area of Los Angeles, said Officer Robert Chavira, a police spokesman.
Ten people were exposed to the spray. Los Angeles firefighters treated them at the scene and no one required hospitalization, Chavira said.
The woman sprayed the crowd as people were grabbing for Xbox video game consoles, Los Angeles Police Detective Gus Villanueva said.
The suspect was able to pay for her purchases and leave the store before police arrived, Chavira said.
Villanueva described the suspect as a Hispanic woman, 32 to 38 years of age, 5-foot-3, 140 pounds and wearing black pants and a black sweater.
Authorities haven't identified the suspect and will be looking at available video, Villanueva said.
He said charges such as spraying a caustic compound would be determined later, but the action doesn't appear to have been self-defense.
One witness to the incident, Juan Castro, said he and other shoppers were hunting for "deals," when a woman began using pepper spray. He was trying to buy a Wii video game at $20, marked down from a typical $60, he said.
"I don't know if she felt threatened or she felt she had to do that to get what she wanted," Castro told CNN.
"I didn't see her personally, but I sure got the scent of the mace. I got it in my throat. It was burning. I saw people around me, they got it really bad. As you see in the video, some woman was crying 'my eyes, my eyes,'" Castro said.
"I tried to get away as quickly as possible because I didn't think it was worth it. No deal's worth that," he said.
Incidents also occurred in South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, New York, Alabama and Connecticut, with most of the reported incidents happening at or near Walmart stores.
Despite the reports, Walmart said the day's shopping frenzy had been remarkably safe for shoppers at its thousands of stores nationwide.
"There were a few unfortunate incidents but overall we have received very positive feedback from our customers," Walmart spokesman Greg Rossiter said.
In 2008, crowds of frantic Black Friday shoppers trampled a Walmart employee in New York as he and other workers tried to unlock the door at 5 a.m.
While no deaths were reported in this year's shopping, authorities said they handled fights, shootings and other incidents through the morning.
Psychologist Jeff Gardere, in an appearance Friday on CNN, put some of the blame on retailers for staging sales that encourage hyper-competitive behavior among shoppers who may be desperate because of the poor economy.
"They shouldn't be psyching them up so much and using all sorts of psychological tactics to get them to feed into this desperation and competitive spirit," he said.
"I think people are whipped into a frenzy, physically, psychologically," he said.
In San Leandro, California, police had one man in custody and another was hospitalized after a 1:45 a.m. shooting in a Walmart parking lot.
"It was a robbery gone bad," police Sgt. Mike Sobek told reporters. "The victim's family fought with the robbers. They were able to detain one suspect. We are not sure if that suspect is the shooter, but we do have one person in custody right now."
In Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, police said two people suffered injuries in an apparent armed robbery attempt after they left a Walmart store around 1 a.m. Friday, CNN affiliate WMBF reported.
Would-be robbers struck a man on the head and shot a woman in the leg before another shopper displayed a gun and the assailants fled, the station said, citing Myrtle Beach Police Capt. Kevin Heins. The woman was taken to a hospital for treatment, he said.
Sheriff's deputies in Fayetteville, North Carolina, were looking for two men after shots were fired about 2 a.m. at a shopping mall.
And in Kinston, North Carolina, an off-duty officer working security at a Walmart sprayed shoppers with pepper spray in an effort to stop a disturbance there, WITN reported, citing police Sgt. Roland Davis.
Customer Angel Bunting told the station it happened while people were waiting to buy discount cell phones and a man fell into a display. She said she thought security believed there was a fight, according to WITN.
Police arrested a man in a Kissimmee, Florida, Walmart on a resisting arrest charge after an early morning altercation at the jewelry counter, according to the police department.
In Rome, New York, a brawl broke out in the electronics department at a Walmart moments after midnight, CNN affiliate WSTM reported, citing the Oneida County Sheriff's Office. Two people were taken to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries, the station reported.
Police in Florence, Alabama, said they had to use a stun gun -- twice -- on a Walmart customer, CNN affiliate WAFF reported. The 22-year-old man was charged with public intoxication, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest around 11 p.m. Thursday, an hour after the store opened its doors for Black Friday, WAFF reported, citing police.
A picture of the incident distributed on Twitter shows the man lying face down in an aisle, the officer atop him with a knee on his back.
And in Southington, Connecticut, iReporter Ryan Casale said he witnessed police using a stun gun on a man at the Walmart store where he was shopping. He said he wasn't sure what was happening or why, but said the event left an impression on him.
"This was my first Black Friday shopping experience, and I'll never forget what I saw," he said. "You see sides of people that they, themselves didn't even know existed."
CNN's Vivian Kuo, Michael Saba, Sandra Endo, Michael Cary and Michael Martinez contributed to this report"
"No seriously, he did . A day after Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue led prayers for rain, there were huge storms in Northern Georgia that dumped an inch of rain. Perdue declared: "We're thankful for the rain and hopefully it's the beginning of more. ... Frankly, it's great affirmation of what we asked for."
*see Prayer
"Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done..."-1 Chronicles 16:8-9
"http://tomorrowsworld.org/index.shtml
On Thanksgiving weekend millions gather with their families and friends. They enjoy good food and fellowship and the blessings of living in a prosperous nation. They enjoy the blessings of freedom and opportunity. But do they thank God for their blessings? Are you thankful for your blessings? Do we in the english-speaking nations really understand why our nations have been blessed? Do we understand our nation's purpose?
A presentation of the truth by Richard F. Ames and the Living Church of God.
As seen throughout the entire world on Tomorrow's World Program. "
*see GoodnewsEverybody.com Issues: Greed, Greedy, Rich, Wealthy, etc... & GoodnewsEverybody.com Ministry: End Times, Prophecy, Prophetic, Rapture, Tribulation, etc...
"God brings beautiful days and good things into our life so we will be filled with gratitude and be thankful to Him, and love Him."
*see Hope2CuSunday
(see original pics)
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