Day 289, November 28

Today is Thanksgiving.  Soon, our son Steven and his wife Melinda will be here.  Other members of the clan will follow.  We'll all eat too much food, tell too many stories that have been heard too many times, and then try to clean up a mess that is too much for this old tired woman.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

Thanksgiving is one of those rare holidays that doesn't revolve around gifts.  For that, I am grateful.  Don't get me wrong.  I love giving and receiving gifts.  At Christmas, I am as excited as the grandkids.  But I enjoy the no-gift holiday of Thanksgiving, where we concentrate on togetherness rather than things.

So, for today, I am grateful for togetherness.  (Later, I will probably be grateful for less togetherness!)

Day 288, November 27

"There will be times when you will be frightened and discouraged.  You may feel that you are defeated.  The odds of obtaining victory may appear overwhelming.  At times you may feel like David trying to fight Goliath.  But remember--David did win!

"Courage is required to make an initial thrust toward one's coveted goal, but even greater courage is called for when one stumbles and must make a second effort to achieve.

"Have the determiatnion to make the effort, the single mindedness to work toward a worthy goal, and the courage not only to face the challenges that inevitably come but also to make a second effort, should such be required.  Sometimes, courage is the quite voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again."--President Thomas S. Monson, President and Prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

I have been frightened and discouraged many times.  I have felt defeated.  I have thought the odds of obtaining victory not only overwhelming but impossible to beat.

Somehow I decide to try one more time.  To write one more page.  To send out one more story.  To offer up one more prayer for a wayward child.    Two things give me the courage to try again:  faith in the Lord and the righteous examples of others.

So, for today, I am grateful for courage, wherever I may find it..

Day 287, November 26

Last week in church, a man spoke about the service given during the two months following the horrendous flooding that struck our town and others.  As he spoke, I was touched by the pictures he painted of people working together to help others, often people they didn't know.

One story concerned a group of young adults, ages 18 - 30, who helped a widow muck out her mud-filled house and barn.  He desccribed in poignant detail these young people showing up night after night to rip out ruined carpet, pull out linoleum in the house and move hay, bale by bale, from the barn.

There was no monetary reward for this group of valiant servants, only the satisfaction of helping someone in need.

So, for today, I am grateful for this example of service and compassion.

Day 286, November 25

We live in a society of shifting values and morals.  Some, even a few pastors and churches, say that's a good thing.  Guess what?  They're wrong.

Fashions change.  Hairstyles change.  Car styles change.  Lots of things do and should change.  But true values and morals remain the same.  When people say, "It's a time of moral flux," I wonder if they are trying to excuse letting go of important values and to make sin seem right.

So, for today, I am grateful for those who hold fast to their values.

Day 285, November 24

A couple of weeks ago Larry and I bought tile for our kitchen remodeling.  When we got home, Larry discovered that the cashier had charged us for only 30 tiles rather than the 32 which we had bought.  There was no question that Larry would take the receipt back to the store and explain that we owed another $20.00.

It was a small amount, perhaps not important to the store (one of a large chain), but it was important for us to know that we were honest.  We've had similar experiences in the past, returning to a store to "make things right."  Occasionally clerks or cashiers will give us odd looks; occasionally, one will say, "Good karma," as this one said to Larry.

So, for today, I am grateful for an honorable husband.

Day 284, November 23

For the Christian, every tragedy is ultimately a blessing, or God is a liar.

R.C. Sproul

Do you remember the book that was out a number of years ago, WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE?  The title always intrigued me.  Why DO bad things happen to good people? Why don't bad things happen to bad people, I complained to my long-suffering spouse on  more than one occasion.

"The Lord will make everything right in the end," he told me.  

"I don't want it to be right in the end.  I want it to be right right now.  Why do good people have to suffer?"

"Because the Lord knows the end from the beginning."

We've repeated variations of this conversation many times as I still grapple with the "whys" of life.  

So, for today, I am grateful the Lord who turns every tragedy into a blessing.

Day 283, November 22

We are finished up a long-awaited and much-needed kitchen remodel.   It looks fabulous.  (Or so I tell everyone to tell me when they see it.)

I joked to my sister that I needed a remodel as well.  A face-lift, chemical peel, tummy tuck, and a bunch of other things come to mind.  As I smiled (a bit wryly) over the list, I thought of a more important remodel that I should have done, this one on the inside.

Here's a partial list:

- Soften my heart toward those who have hurt me
- Still my tongue when it is tempted to gossip
- Blur my vision to other's faults

I could go on, but you get the idea.

So, for today, I am grateful for remodels.