In a few weeks we will be sitting down with family or friends to enjoy a Thanksgiving Feast.  Turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, cranberry relish, salads, pumpkin and pecan pie, etc. will be eaten by most of us. I love the smells that surround the kitchen as I prepare this meal. I love having my family come and enjoy it together and the varied conversations that ensue as we all overeat and enjoy this once a year feast.  We start the meal with a prayer of thanksgiving and sometimes invite anyone who wishes to say a prayer of thanks to join in.  It is a wonderful day and one I look forward to each year.  This year I have made a list of what I am most thankful for and spent some time with the Lord thanking him.  Some of the things on my list are:  Thank you Lord for choosing me to follow you. Thank you Lord for dying on the cross so that I may have life - life abundant. Thank you Lord for the beautiful, warm home you have provided for me. Thank you Lord that my daily necessities are provided and that I never have to go to bed hungry.  Thank you Lord for the very special family you have given me. Thank you for my parents who gave me life and for my dear wonderful siblings.  Thank you Lord for friends and the neighborhood you have placed me in.  Thank you Lord for the freedoms I enjoy and that I am able to express myself because of freedom of speech.  Thank you Lord for my country and city that I live in.  Thank you Lord that I was able to grow up on a farm and enjoy the good life that it provided, and also to learn how to work. Thank you Lord for the talents you have given me and that I enjoy expressing myself through them.  Thank you for a kind and loving husband! Thank you for my church and that I can receive you in the Eucharist every time I go to Mass.  Thank you for dwelling within me and for speaking to me with your still small voice in the silence of my heart.  Thank you Lord that I can get up each new day and praise you for another day and the beauty of it.  Thank you Lord that I can write this blog to allow others to see some of the many things that I am most thankful for.
 HAPPY THANKSGIVING!