ABC’s of Gratitude

The ABC’s of Gratitude

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.

A~Always be Grateful!
B~Beliefs... Not only in my Faith buit in myself
C~Country Living
D~Dad - My Hero
E~Energy that comes from God
F~Family and Friends
G~God
H~Humility & Home - it’s a gift to be alive. Humility helps me remember — Do not waste this precious life. Home is the place that holds history, the place I feel safe.
I~Intuitive thoughts when I'm indecisive
J~Job - i am fortunate to have a job I like
K~Keys - regardless if it is to my home or my heart
L~Love... Was it in Bucket List where the narrator said, “We are not the things that love us; we are the things we love.”
M~Memories
N~Neighbors
O~Optimism – I tend to see the glass half-full. I am of the belief that setting positive intention creates cairns that guide through the tough times. Right or wrong, it helps me through sadness and grief and is the philosophy I live by.
P~Prayer & Push {Pray Until Something Happens}
Q~Questions
R~Religion
S~Sobriety, mine and yours
T~Teachers, mentors who are wiser than I am. If only I would remember to keep listening.
U~Unity
V~Vision
W~Water
X~X-Treme Living – life goes on with or without us. It can be an extreme act of grace to make it through another day
Y~Yesterdays pain and todays joys
And last but not least
Z~Zwilling Family , my family namesake

There is not a more pleasing exercise of the mind than gratitude. It is accompanied with such an *inward satisfaction that the duty is sufficiently rewarded by the performance. ~Joseph Addison

*Inward Satisfaction- The inner satisfaction we all feel when helping another human being is why we go for it every day

ThanksGiving Movies

 Charting the top movies to watch this Thanksgiving with your family.

1- A Home of our Own (1993) IMDb

Director: Tony Bill
Stars: Kathy Bates, Edward Furlong, Clarissa Lassig

The story begins in Los Angeles when Frances Lacey (Kathy Bates) takes her six children and drives north to find a home of their own away from the bad influences of the big city.

................................................. 2-The New World (2005)

Director: Terrence Malick
Stars: Colin Farrell, Q'orianka Kilcher, Christopher Plummer, Christian Bale

................................................. 3-Scent of a Woman (1992)

Director: Martin Brest
Stars: Al Pacino, Chris O'Donnell, James Rebhorn, Gabrielle Anwar

................................................. 4-Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)

Director: John Hughes
Stars: Steve Martin, John Candy, Laila Robins, Michael McKean

................................................. 5-Four Brothers (2005)

Director: John Singleton
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, Garrett Hedlund, André Benjamin>/p>

.................................................... 6-Avalon (1990)

Director: Barry Levinson
Stars: Aidan Quinn, Elizabeth Perkins, Leo Fuchs, Eve Gordon

................................................. 7- Pieces of April (2003)

Director: Peter Hedges
Stars: Katie Holmes, Oliver Platt, Patricia Clarkson, Derek Luke

................................................. 8-Friends (1994 TV Series)

Stars: Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc

................................................. 9-A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973)

Director: Bill Melendez, Phil Roman
Stars: Todd Barbee, Robin Kohn, Stephen Shea, Hilary Momberger

................................................. 10-Addams Family Values (1993)

Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Stars: Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, Joan Cusack

................................................. 11-Rescue Dawn (2006)

Director: Werner Herzog
Stars: Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, Jeremy Davies, Zach Grenier

................................................. 12-Nobody's Fool (1994)

Director: Robert Benton
Stars: Paul Newman, Bruce Willis, Jessica Tandy, Melanie Griffith

................................................. 13-The Ice Storm (1997)

Director: Ang Lee
Stars: Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Henry Czerny

................................................. 14-Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

Director: Woody Allen
Stars: Mia Farrow, Dianne Wiest, Michael Caine, Barbara Hershey

................................................. 15-The Last Waltz (1978)

Director: Martin Scorsese
Stars: Robbie Robertson, Muddy Waters, Neil Young, Van Morrison

........................................................................................................................................ 16- The House of Yes (1997)

Director: Mark Waters
Stars: Parker Posey, Josh Hamilton, Tori Spelling, Freddie Prinze Jr.

........................................................................................................................................ 17-Holiday Engagement (2011 )

Director: Jim Fall
Stars: Bonnie Somerville, Shelley Long, Jordan Bridges, Sam McMurray

........................................................................................................................................ 18-Squanto: A Warrior's Tale (1994)

Director: Xavier Koller
Stars: Adam Beach, Mandy Patinkin, Sheldon Peters Wolfchild, Irene Bedard

........................................................................................................................................ 19-The Sopranos (1999 )

Stars: James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco, Edie Falco, Michael Imperioli

........................................................................................................................................ 20-Holiday Inn (1942)

Director: Mark Sandrich
Stars: Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds, Virginia Dale

........................................................................................................................................ 21-What's Cooking? (2000)

Director: Gurinder Chadha
Stars: Joan Chen, Julianna Margulies, Mercedes Ruehl, Victor Rivers

........................................................................................................................................ 22-Pocahontas (1995) alt version Pocahontas I, The Princess of American Indians: An Animated Classic

Director: Mike Gabriel, Eric Goldberg
Stars: Mel Gibson, Linda Hunt, Christian Bale, Irene Bedard

........................................................................................................................................ 23-Alice's Restaurant (1969) IMDb

Director: Arthur Penn
Stars: Arlo Guthrie, Patricia Quinn, James Broderick, Pete Seeger

........................................................................................................................................ 24-A Time to Remember (2003 ) IMDb

Director: John Putch
Stars: Dana Delany, Doris Roberts, Megan Gallagher, Louise Fletcher

........................................................................................................................................ 25-Grumpy Old Men (1993) IMDb

Director: Donald Petrie
Stars: Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret, Burgess Meredith

........................................................................................................................................ 26-Home for the Holidays (1995) 

Director: Jodie Foster
Stars: Holly Hunter, Anne Bancroft, Robert Downey Jr., Charles Durning

........................................................................................................................................

29-Miracle On 34th Street (1947)
Director: George Seaton
Stars: Natalie Wood, Maureen O'Hara, Edmund Gwenn

More commonly associated with a different holiday, most people forget this Christmas classic actually kicks off on Thanksgiving. And to be fair, once Thanksgiving is in the books, it’s usually a mad dash to the Christmas finish line, so it’s never too early to get in a jolly frame of mind. (And this one involves lawyers, so we’re all in on Miracle on 34th Street.)

30-Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving (1999)
Director: Jun Falkenstein, Karl Geurs, Harry Arends
Stars: Jim Cummings, John Fiedler

31-Alvin and the Chipmunks: Alvin's Thanksgiving Celebration (2008)
Director: Tim Hill
Stars: Jason Lee David Cross Cameron Richardson Justin Long

37- Mouse on the Mayflower( 1968 )
Director: Arthur Rankin, Jr., Jules Bass
Stars:Tennessee Ernie Ford, Eddie Albert, June Foray

38- Garfield's Thanksgiving( 1989 )
Director: Phil Roman, John Sparey
Stars:Lorenzo Music, Gregg Berger

There aren’t a ton of Kids Thanksgiving Cartoons/Movies, but here are a few more suggestions on watching this Seasons Movies with your children!

- A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
- Care Bears – Give Thanks
- Alvin and the Chipmunks Thanksgiving Special
- Winnie the Pooh – Season of Giving
- Pocahontas 1 and - Pocahontas 2
- Garfield – Holiday Celebration
- Avalon
........................................................................................................................................

Thanksgiving Jokes 2018

Thanksgiving Jokes are really funny and makes for the great entertainment on the dinner table. This will enhance the festive mood. 

Thanksgiving Turkey Jokes

Q: Why do turkeys always go, "gobble, gobble"?

A: Because they never learned good table manners!

Q: What's the best way to stuff a turkey?

A: Serve him lots of pizza and ice cream!

Q: What sound does a space turkey make?

A: Hubble, Hubble, Hubble.

Q: Who is not hungry at Thanksgiving?

A: The turkey because he's already stuffed!

Q: What sound does a turkey's phone make?

A: Wing! Wing!

Q:What kind of tan did pilgrims get at the beach?

A: Puritan.

Q: What's the smallest unit of measurement in the pilgrim cookbook?

A: Pilgram.

Q: Why do pilgrims pants keep falling down?

A: Because their belt buckles are on their hats!

Q: What's a pilgrim's mother called?

A: Pilgranny.

Q: Why did the turkey cross the road?

A: To get to the other side.

Q: Why don't you let a turkey get near corn?

A: Because they will gobble, gobble, gobble it.

Q: What kind of face does a pilgrim make when he's in pain?

A: Pil-grimace.

Q: What's a turkey's favorite song?

A: "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas"

Q: What do you call it when you drop a turkey from a helicopter?

A: Dead weight.

Q: In what country is Thanksgiving ironically not celebrated?

A: Turkey.

Q: If you call a large turkey a gobbler what do you call a small one?

A: Goblet.

Q: What was the turkey suspected of?

A: Fowl play.

Q: What's the best way to stuff a turkey?

A: Serve him lots of pizza and ice cream!

Q: Hear about the turkey that evaded the Indian?

A: It had an arrow escape.

Q: What did the turkey say to the turkey hunter?

A: "Quack! Quack! Quack!"

Q: Which side of the turkey has the most feathers?

A: The outside!

Q:Why did the turkey sit on the tomahawk?

A: To hatchet.

Q: What did the mama turkey say to her naughty son?

A: If your papa could see you now, he'd turn over in his gravy!

Q: What's the best thing to put into a pumpkin pie?

A: Your teeth

Q: What are unhappy cranberries called?

A: Blueberries!

Q: What's the key to a great Thanksgiving dinner?

A: The turkey.

Q: If pilgrims were alive today, what would they say?

A: Do not resuscitate.

Q: What do you call the age of a pilgrim?

A: Pilgrimage.

Q: What smells the best at a Thanksgiving dinner?

A: Your nose.

Q: What do you wear to Thanksgiving dinner?

A: A Har- VEST.

Q: After Thanksgiving dinner, where did the pilgrims put their trash?

A: In the Mayflower Compact-Tor.

Q: What do monsters have on their Thanksgiving table?

A: Knives, Forks and Goons.

Q: What always comes at the end of Thangsgiving?

A: The letter G!

Q: What do you get if you cross a pointy black hat and some leftover turkey?

A: A Witch-bone

Jokes4Us

Gratitude Day 1

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”

William Arthur Ward

 November is the #MonthofGratitude #30daygratitudechallenge. . . for tips go to LivingLoveLee for daily inspiration.

Today’s Scripture - Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thess 5:18)Today’s Prayer - Father, I give you thanks and praise in this moment because I know you are present in it even when I don’t feel you. My eyes are open to your grace and your provision. Thank you, Lord. May your will be done.

My other November Gratitude posts can be found here.

2017 EXAMPLE

With Gratitude

Table Of Contents

A Month of Gratitude - Day 1

My First Born - Day 2

My Daughter - Day 3

My Youngest Son - Day 4

My Grandchildren - Day 5

My Sisters - Day 6

My Brothers - Day 7

My Mother - Day 8

My Home - Day 9

My Dad - Day 10

My [Previous] Job - Day 11

The Medical Professionals - Day 12

Furbabies - Day 13

Little Moments - Day 14

My Health - Day 15

My Bed - Day 16

Music - Day 17

Friendship - Day 18-Video

My Faith - Day 19

Conveniences - Day 20

Our Military - Day 21

My Heritage - Day 22

My Computer - Day 23

Leftovers - Day 24

Technology - Day 25

Day of Rest - Day 26

Reading - Day 27

Dreams Come True - Day 28

Books - Day 29

Blogs - Day 30

More Prompts:12 Days Of Gratitude [re: in the spirit of Christmas]
janetilko

Quotes for Thanksgiving

I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land.
-Jon Stewart

Thou that hast giv'n so much to me, Give one thing more, a gratefull heart.
-George Herbert

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday, the twenty- sixth of November next, to be devoted to the service of that great and glorious Being . . . for the kind care and protection of the people of this country, previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, in the course and conclusion of the late war . . . for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish Constitutions of Government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted.
-George Washington

Gluttony and surfeiting are no proper occasions for thanksgiving.
-Charles Lamb

We should love our native land were it a sterile rock; but we love it better when to our cultivation it yields an ample increase; and the farmer, instead of sighing for foreign dainties, looks up to heaven, and depends on his own labours; and when they are crowned with a blessing, he thanks God, as tens of thousands throughout our State are doing this day. Let us join our voices with theirs.
-Sarah Josepha Hale

Our Thanksgiving Day, becoming the focus, as it were, of the private life and virtues of the people, should be hallowed and exalted, and made the day of generous deeds and innocent enjoyments, of noble aspirations and heavenly hopes.
-Sarah Josepha Hale

I awoke this morning with a devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new. Shall I not call God the Beautiful, who daily showeth himself to me in his gifts?
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ah! on Thanksgiving day, when from East and from West, From North and from South come the pilgrim and guest, When the gray-haired New Englander sees round his board The old broken links of affection restored, When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more, And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before, What moistens the lip and what brightens the eye? What calls back the past, like the rich Pumpkin pie?
-John Greenleaf Whittier

I . . . invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.
-Abraham Lincoln

Our honest Puritan festival is spreading, not as formerly, as a kind of opposition Christmas, but as a welcome prelude and adjunct, a brief interval of good cheer and social rejoicing, heralding the longer season of feasting and rest from labor in the month that follows.
-Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Thanksgiving Day. Let us all give humble, hearty, and sincere thanks, now, but the turkeys. In the island of Fiji they do not use turkeys; they use plumbers. It does not become you and me to sneer at Fiji.
-Mark Twain

[Thanksgiving] as founded by th' Puritans to give thanks f 'r bein' presarved fr'm th' Indyans, an' we keep it to give thanks we are presarved fr'm th' Puritans.
-Philip Dunne

Folks is go'gin' me wid goodies, an' dey's treatin' me wid caih, An' I's fat in spite of all dat I kin do. I's mistrus'ful of de kin'ness dat's erroun' me evahwhaih, Fu' it's jest' too good, an' frequent, to be true.
-Paul Laurence Dunbar

From pestilence, fire, flood, and sword We have been spared by thy decree, And now with humble hearts, O Lord, We come to pay our thanks to thee.
-Paul Laurence Dunbar

Thanksgiving Day! In the days of our founders, they were willing to give thanks for mighty little, for mighty little was all they expected. . . . Those old boys in the Fall of the year, if they could gather a few pumpkins, potatoes and some corn for the Winter, they was in a thanking mood. But if we can't gather in a new car, a new radio, a new tuxedo and some Government relief, we feel like the world is agin us.
-Will Rogers

When the gales of coming winter outside your window howl, When the air is sharp and cheery so it drives away your scowl, When one's appetite craves turkey and will have no other fowl, It's Thanksgiving time!
-Langston Hughes

What we're really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving?
-Erma Bombeck

Thanksgiving, if there is to be any at all, must begin and end with God. Once we have been able to liberate Thanksgiving from the clutches of the Pilgrim mystique as well as from the countercultural clutches of the protesters, and once we have been liberated from the "count-your-many-blessings-name-them-one-by-one" routine, we will have made a significant step in that process of redeeming the familiar.
-Peter J. Gomes

On Thanksgiving at our house we like variety, so we don't have turkey every year. Last year we had a swan. It was nice; everyone got some neck.
-George Carlin

I happen to be on record with an explanation of why we can't have our Thanksgiving Day that much earlier: Americans all begin their Christmas shopping on the day after Thanksgiving, and if they started their Christmas shopping in the middle of October they'd run out of money sometime in November. The people who are hard to shop for wouldn't get any presents at all.
-Calvin Trillin

For Thanksgiving last year I made a seventeen-pound turkey … pot pie.
-Wendy Liebman

adapted from:quotationsbook.com

hangman-tday

THANKSGIVING WORD PUZZLE
TURNS LEFT:					TIME REMAINING:

How to Play Try this Thanksgiving Word Puzzle Game....it's fast and fun!   You have 60 seconds and 12 tries to uncover a word or phrase related to Thanksgiving..   The words and phrases used in the puzzle are listed below.   Click on a vowel or a consonant. and if it's correct, the letter will appear in its proper place.   When you're done you can click "Play Again" to start a new game.  Have Fun!

Words in the puzzle: APPLE PIE - AUTUMN - BLESSINGS - BREAD - CARVE - CELEBRATE - CIDER - COLONY - COOK - CORN - CORNUCOPIA - CRANBERRIESL - DINNER - DRESSING - DRUMSTICK - EAT - FALL - FAMILY - FEAST - FREEDOM - GIBLETS - GOBBLE - GRAVY - HARVEST - HOLIDAY - INDIANS - LEFTOVERS - NOVEMBER - PARADE - PECAN PIE - PILGRIMS - PLYMOUTH - POTATOES - PUMPKIN PIE - STUFFING - THANKSGIVING - THANKFUL - TURKEY - YAMS - WISHBONE

Thanksgiving in Minnesota

by George Cuff 

We would wake up early Thanksgiving morn to special kitchen sounds.
Mom was preparing to roast the stuffed turkey until it was golden brown.
The kitchen looked like a surgical suite with knives and utensils galore.
There were potatoes to peel, pies to be cut and cranberries from the store.

"It's cereal for you my boys," she said, "and then you can play outdoors.
But first get dressed and help your dad finish the morning chores.
Gather the eggs and feed the chickens; dress warm; its cold out today.
After breakfast there will be time to go outside and play."

We had a big barn with hay stored up top to feed our livestock cattle.
We played war in hay-bale mountains winning many a battle.
After the hay was cleared on one end, we created a basketball court.
Minnesota boys playing in the barn enjoying a winter sport.

The weather may be chilling outside but the livestock kept the barn warm.
Inside the lighted basketball hoop; outside a white winter storm.
Grandpa and Grandma arrived before noon to join the celebration.
Aunts and uncles and cousins would come to stay for the day's duration.

Uncle Jack would play basketball with the older girls and boys.
The basketball court up in the barn was filled with joyful noise.
Dad and Grandpa and Uncle Bob would watch the Macy's parade,
While Mom and Lois, Eldora and Grandma prepared a feast homemade.

Pretty soon we would hear the call that it was time to enjoy the feast.
Grandpa would pray thanking the Lord for blessings that had increased.
Then we would eat an incredible meal of turkey, potatoes and gravy,
Yams, green beans and cranberry sauce with flavor tart and savory.

The parents would talk about the pies and decide to serve it later.
All the cousins would go outside to show their skill as skaters.
Home-made ice rinks are easy to make in a cold Minnesota clime.
Ice skates and hockey are a great way to enjoy the winter time.

After some skating the tables were cleared and games set out to play.
Many a fierce Monopoly game took place on Thanksgiving Day.
Some played dominos, the girls played Rummy, and some would read a book,
But my favorite game (and it's not for dummies) is a game called Rook.

Somewhere in the middle of all this wonderful family activity
The moms would serve the various pies, which only enhanced the festivity.
Pie and turkey and left over feast were laid out for the taking.
We would eat and indulge ourselves until our stomach was aching.

Grandpa and Grandma, Mom and Dad, Aunt Lois and Uncle Jack,
Bob and Eldora, Cherrie and Bobbie and Sheila coming last,
Brian and Greg and Bradley Todd, my infant baby brother,
What a blessing to have a family that loves and enjoys each other!

The years have passed and were far apart but our memories are alive.
Each year we recall them affectionately when the holidays arrive.
So here's a greeting to all my kin with love from the depths of my heart.
I remember you warmly with love today even though we're miles apart.