Thanksgiving but no turkey

I have always thought Thanksgiving a great holiday. During my year in Chicago I was able to experience a full on Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings, and it was my first tasting of pumpkin pie. I had heard about it, but the idea of a vegetable/dessert combo was puzzling to me.... well, let me tell you that I was a convert after that year!

Food aside, I am attracted to Thanks Giving.. dedicating time to be thankful. Cicero said that gratitude is the parent of all virtues. I get that.... When I am truly grateful for what I have, I am less likely to be selfish, greedy and proud.
"Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy -- because we will always want to have something else or something more" Brother David Steindl-Rast

Thanksgiving shouldn't be an annual event, but a daily event. I'm a nicer person when I am truly grateful, but it's a state of mind, a habit and needs regular exercise.

"To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude means to take nothing for granted, but to always seek out and value the kind that will stand behind the action. Nothing that is done for you is a matter of course. Everything originates in a will for the good, which is directed at you. Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of gratitude." - Albert Schweitzer

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity.... It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow."
- Melodie Beattie

Today I am grateful for:
A hometeacher who, although he is continents away and hasn't been our hometeacher for 6 years, still prays daily for the wellbeing of my family and who took the time to check up on me because I hadn't written for a long time.

A hometeacher whose love of gardening means I am reminded of him every time I tend to my vegetable garden. He shared of his bounty every season, and each visit he would bring us vegetables or homemade jam. He had bumper crops because he made a deal with God to always give away more than he kept.

A hometeacher who performed the blessing/naming of my youngest two children, and who drove out late in the evening to give a blessing to my sick infant who had been admitted to hospital.

A hometeacher who didn't miss a single month for 2 years, and who always made us feel that he truly loved us and wasn't just there in order to cross us off a list.

A hometeacher who is the kind of person who makes me feel that through knowing him I am getting to know the Saviour because of the way he lives his life.