Over the River and Through the Woods To Grandmother’s House We Go

by Sharon O | Nov 23, 2012 | Uncategorized

As a little girl our tradition at thanksgiving was to go to our grandparents house.
Grandma made the entire dinner by herself and it was a wonderful tradition I sometimes miss.
I remember the table set with china and crystal and other beautiful dishes one would have to hand wash later.
The lighting in the dining room reflected a multitude of colors onto the white ceiling and walls.
It’s beauty just accented the already beautiful table. As a little girl I remember being in awe of the kaleidoscope of colors.
There were candles lit and coffee poured.
The women were often in the kitchen chatting and grandpa and our uncle would stay in the living room watching a game or something. As children we could stay in the kitchen and listen to the women chatter or sit quietly in the room with our grandpa being careful to not be loud and disturb them.
The table when dinner was ready seated everyone. The children were seated between the adults so we wouldn’t create an ‘issue’ while eating.
It was often our grandfathers birthday too as his day was so close to thanksgiving.
The table would always have roasted turkey, potatoes mashed, brown gravy, green beans with bacon inside, cranberries, dressing, pickles and olives, rolls and veggie tray and always pumpkin pie with real whipping cream.
It was our tradition for many years.
When we were little our mom and us three girls would anxiously watch the Macy’s day parade before we left for the special dinner.
I so remember our hair fixed in curlers and pressing our clothes to wear for the special day.
We were never allowed to wear jeans or tee shirts. We had been taught that it was a special day to dress up and so we always did.
Later as we married and continued the tradition with our children they learned to arrive dressed up the same way we did.
I am not going to say it was always a warm fuzzy hallmark moment but we did have tradition and it taught me to enjoy the finer ‘table settings’ and to this day I try to recreate that with our children and grand children.
Holidays are full of tradition.
Can you remember some of  yours?
I pray that today was a good day for you.
A day of remembering times in the present or in the past spent with loved ones.
We always always have a reason to be thankful.

Give Thanks

by Sharon O | Nov 22, 2012 | Uncategorized

“Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other.
None of this going off and doing your own thing.
And cultivate thankfulness.
Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house.
Give it plenty of room in your lives.
Instruct and direct one another using good common sense.
And sing, sing your hearts out to God!
Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.”
Colossians 3:15 Msg version 

Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other… Isn’t that a wonderful beginning?
In step with each other… that means you are not walking alone you are alongside each other going in the same direction.
And cultivate …
dictionary.com says it means to prepare and work on. to promote or improve growth. to develop. to tend and harvest. to break up
(as one would do with hard clumps of dirt) with the intention of good results.
to give special attention to. thankfulness. 
I see it as an attitude change~ an intentional desire for a better outcome.
Let the word of Christ… permeate your household.
(pass into every part of).
Give it room in your lives just as you would give room for television, radio or cell phones.
Instruct as in teaching and encouraging each other.
And sing. Nothing really touches a heart more deeply than words put into song.
Let EVERY detail… in every detail… of your lives remember to thank God
for everything.
 Always be joyful. Pray continually, and give thanks whatever happens.
That is what God wants for you in Christ Jesus.
1st Thessalonians 5:16,17,18 
May we on this day of Thanksgiving… evaluate all that we are thankful for and sing a song of praise to the one who gives us life, breath and hope.
 

Stay

by Sharon O | Nov 16, 2012 | Uncategorized

There is a five minute blog challenge every Friday and today’s word is Stay.
The rule is to write for five minutes without editing the word or topic.
Let the prompt begin.

Stay:
When I bring my dog Emma in I tell her to sit and Stay. She listens to me and obeys and quietly goes back to her blanket and lays down. She doesn’t argue with me nor does she disobey. She stays simply because I am her boss and I tell her to do it.
When someone tells me to do something I bristle. That is the difference between her attitude and mine.
She wants to obey and please me. I perhaps want to please myself.
When I think of God and his faithfulness to us the word stay is a constant.
He will stay with us as long as we want him to.
He walks with us and stays closer than a brother. I have never had a brother so that concept for me is empty but I have had friends and I have had some go and some stay.
Stay is a powerful word.
Stay… don’t leave. Don’t abandon. Don’t walk away.
Stay.
In marriage it is for better or worse.
In friendships it is a heart choice.
For my Emma Rose dog… it is a pleasing attitude to make me happy.
How does the word stay form in your mind?
Is it strong or not so strong?
I will stay with you forever so long as I live and so long as I can…
when I began counselling that was one of the first questions I asked my counselor,
how long are you going to stay around?
It is a logical question. 

participating in Lisa Jo’s five minute friday. word challenge.