Today I am thankful for so very many things.  But most of all, I am thankful for the overabundance of food that I have available to me.  I woke up this morning wondering what I am going to eat, not if I am going to eat.  Most of the world does not have this same privilege.  We have so many choices and opportunities here in the western world.  Most of us don't have to wonder where our next meal is coming from.  When I checked my e-mail this morning, I had an e-mail with this link in it.  I was really touched by the pictures of children who truly are thankful this Thanksgiving.  They know what it is like to not have enough to eat, and because of the work of World Vision, they now know what it is like to be given food and love.  This Thanksgiving, my challenge is to remember those who don't have enough, both here and around the world.  My challenge is to remember the true reason to be Thankful.

This entry is part of Kelli's Thanksgiving Celebration.  Go here to join in the fun.

Once again I join Kelli at No Place Like Home to share some Thanksgiving decorations.  I always travel home for the holidays, so I don't usually do much in the way of decorating.  This year, I simply added a few things around the house.  A harvest tablecloth, a potpourri filled candle holder, a cute harvest doll, and a fall dishtowel.  Not much but it is nice looking at my dinning room table and seeing it spruced up. (I am including multiple pictures of the tablecloth - so you can see what it looks like)

Thought that I would share this Thanksgiving Poem for Kelli's Giving Thanks.  I found it today and was reminded of why we, as Christians, celebrate Thanksgiving.


Harvesttime back home!                                   Roast goose, turkey and dressing,
Sweet mem'ries those words recall                    Cranberries, biscuits, sweet corn
of the warm and hearty welcome                       Mincemeat pie! Oh, what blessing,
At the old town meeting hall,                             Feasting together Thanksgiving morn!
When good folk, from far and near,
When we gladly sat down to dine,                   Hearts rejoiced in His great love,
Giving thanks to God in prayer ---                  Worshipping God in song and prayer.

Wow, I can hardly believe it's been a week since last Friday's Show and Tell.  Well, here I am to participate once again.  This time, I wanted to share a wondrous find from last years Annual Exceptional Children's Conference.  One of the things I love about this conference are the fifty or so vendors that are there trying to get you to buy their products.  I enjoy looking over the educational materials I can't afford and occasionally finding something I can take back to the classroom. There are always a few "personal" vendors as well: selling things like educational T-shirts, Teacher bags, etc.  I always pick up a few teacher gifts for Christmas and then look for something new for myself.  Sometimes I find something, sometimes I don't.  Last year, I made this beautiful find.  It is a necklace with a hand that says "I love you" in Sign Language.  Now, one of the reasons I like this necklace is that it was made by a woman who is deaf-blind.  The ladies who help her place all of the materials for the necklace in a bag and then she puts the necklace together.  Each bead is a different size and/or feel so that she knows which beads are the same.  All of the necklaces she was selling were very beautiful.  The other reason that I love this necklace is because I know some sign language.  Now, I don't really know enough to carry on a conversation with someone, but I do know enough that I could make myself understood if need be.  And the truth is, I probably know more than I think I do.  Anyway, I love this necklace and thought I would share it with you.

It's Show and Tell once again and this week I would like to share a recent acquisition.  This past weekend my mother came to visit and we went to Old Salem, NC.  It is an old Moravian town.  The town existed in the 1700's and early part of the 1800's as a working Moravian community (one of two in the US).  There is still a large Moravian church fellowship that meets there and the town has been preserved as a historical site.  They have many different buildings on display and a lot of the history is told.

I was particularly impressed with the simple lifestyle of the Moravians, as well as, some of their beliefs about a person's spiritual walk with the Lord.  One of the things that I found was a blessing that the Moravians said at the supper table.  I really liked what it said and what it meant to your life.  I found a beautiful copy of the prayer and came home, matted it, and hung it in the kitchen.  It is a reminder that Christ should be invited to every part of my life and that he gives us daily gifts, if we choose to look for them.  During this time of Thanksgiving, I have been particularly impressed upon to look for and find my "1000 gifts".  This prayer came at just the right time.  I hope that it will bless you as it has blessed me.