Showing posts with label thanksgiving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thanksgiving. Show all posts
Because most of the U.S. is in the Holiday mood with Thanksgiving and Christmas just days away, the cooks in our midst are planning out menus. This salad is an absolute "go with" for a meal that includes a roasted turkey. It's quite simple to make but must be the day before and in stages.

Ingredients:
1 large packages of orange Jell-o
2 cups of boiling water
1 can of WHOLE cranberry sauce
1 11 oz. can of mandarin oranges - drain the liquid in a 1 cup measure - add water to make = 1 cup
1 cup of rough cut walnuts
1 cup of red seedless grapes

Method:  Empty the contents of jell-o packet into a large bowl. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Pour over jell-o. Stir well, until the jell-o crystals are all dissolved. Pour in the 1 cup of reserved mandarin orange liquid plus water and stir well. At this point, add the whole cranberry sauce while jell-o is warm so that the cranberry jell breaks down and the cranberries are released in to the jell-o. Whisk this melange together, incorporating the cranberry sauce and jell-o. Put this in the fridge to jell just until it thickens enough to suspend the fruit additions.

When it is thickened enough, add the drained mandarins, walnuts and grapes. (if grapes are large, cut in half).
At this point, if you want to use a special serving bowl, pour the entire mixture into it and return to the fridge to completely jell. When it is jelled, cover the bowl with a plate.





This dish is my absolute favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal. I am so happy when the meal is at my house, because I get to keep the leftovers. There's never enough of this salad for me.

By Rita of sammysgrammy
Brought to you by Julie Blanck of Collar Topia and Sew Twisted in Stitches

Psalm 95:2-3
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. 3 For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.

Susan Windsor Fine Art

1 Timothy 4:4-5
4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 

Ada Jane Accessories for the Christian Heart and Home

Ephesians 1:15-16
15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.


Prayer Notes


1 Chronicles 16:34
34 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.


Colossians 3:17
17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Julians Attic




Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 
I Thessalonians 5:16

Beautiful Flower Pendant by ZudaGay

The verse above is not just something nice to do.  It's a command.

In the United States we set aside this day to give thanks, but for many it also heralds in a season of sadness and pain. For those who are suffering sadness, hurt, heartaches, burdens and grief, remember that God wants better for you.  He commands better for you and of you.  The Creator of the Universe, the Great Healer, can change your grief to joy. He has given you permission to rejoice ALWAYS.

Unleash Joy Word Block by CROSSyourHEARTau

 by Sue of SueRunyonDesigns
by Phyllis Ducey
pfdoriginalartworks


In the United States we celebrate Thanksgiving this week. I like this holiday because it is not weeks of preparation and if you take the time, it is a wonderful time to reflect on all that you have. I like the idea of having a day to stimulate thought, though quite honestly in the U.S. I think most of us dwell on the menu and less on what we have to be thankful for. God commands us many times to be thankful or to have a sense of thanksgiving in everything... good or bad. He tells us that we will receive peace when we are thankful!
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:6-7
This verse comforts me because it reminds me that God commands us not to be anxious. He is big enough to handle it all! But the reality is that I am a control freak and want to have it handled my way so instead of trusting God, I hold tight telling Him how it should be resolved. When I do this I begin stressing and becoming overwhelmed with life. Is that sin? I don't know but I do know it is not how God wants us to live.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Col 3:15
Trusting God, letting His peace rule within and letting go is what I am constantly striving to do. I found that at night as I start to fall asleep I can visualize in my mind taking the issue and handing it over to Christ. I state what it is and lay it as a package for Him to deliver the results. When I am done, I fall asleep... more and more I drift off prior to finishing my prayer list because I know He can handle it better than I can. And I know He knows what is weighing on my heart and those I pray for.

In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. Psalm 5:3
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Col 4:2
I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. Psalm 40:1
Waiting expectantly. I find that when I choose to do that - to be patient and watch and wait - the Lord answers my prayer in ways I could never imagine. So much better than what I would have told Him to do. This is always a work in progress for me. I still find myself explaining a situation (like He did not know all its details?) and stating what I think may work the best... then oops, I realize that is not what I should do so I quickly add "but Your will be done." Like that last tag along line is me giving it all over to Him?

It is the times when I am in prayer and dwell on who and how great our God really is rather than how big my problems really are that I truly am permeated with that peace. It is such a sweet peace... it truly is the peace that surpasses all understanding.
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe Heb 12:28

If you have not felt that peace or if you haven't felt it recently, I challenge you to minimize your requests and maximize your God. Take your prayer time and spend a minimum of the first half of it dwelling on the greatness of your God and thanking Him for everything in your life and the world He created for us. Then wrap the rest of the requests in a package and lay it at His feet... trust... wait and watch. God is faithful and answers prayer!

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord,continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Col 2:6-8

Have a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving!

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Here are some ways to express your thankfulness to others. Please take some time to check out these shops and how about making it an Etsy Christmas giving time?




Thank you cards by eyeletsagestudio












Season of love small ornament
by elenaseasel















Family tree pendant by SissyPretties

















"Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well." Luke 17:11-19

My daughter asked me to write on this verse last week. She is working on having an "attitude of gratitude" and filling her heart with thanksgiving. She deeply feels that we take so much that God has given us for granted.

Leprosy is an ugly, deforming disease caused by a bacterium which affects primarily the peripheral nerves, eyes and face. It still exists today under the name Hansen’s disease and it is estimated that in 1995 two to three million people had been deformed by it. In 2008 there were over 212,000 reported cases of the disease. The good news is that they now have successful treatment for it.

I looked at pictures of people who have it and it is truly devastating. Back in the time of Christ those who had leprosy were isolated and not allowed any physical contact with others, not even family for fear of spreading it. (They now know it is spread through respiratory means, coughing and sneezing but back then they had no idea.)

The pictures touched me and I tried to imagine being one of those lepers who encountered Christ…
My name does not matter. No one uses it anymore, to them I am nothing. I am a mere “leper” relegated to the outside of town and I know that I am considered unclean and to be avoided. Not only avoided but shunned because this ravaging disease is considered an outward sign of my inner sin. As if in a horrible nightmare each day I am becoming more and more hideous looking as this curse continues to deform me physically.

I wallow in hopelessness as the feeling of isolation overwhelms me. If I walk near a person I am required by law to shout: “unclean, unclean”. I am tormented searching my soul to know what sin was so grievous that I am inflicted with this punishment. Depression sinks in knowing this is a death sentence… a lonely, slow death sentence with no one to comfort me.


There are rumors that a Jewish teacher actually touched a leper and cured him. He touched a leper! No one touches us. No one even comes near us.
While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy." When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him.
Luke 5:12-13

If it is true, maybe, just maybe He would cure me. A group of us lepers got word of this. Jews and Samaritans alike (the disease does not play favorites). To go to where the Jewish teacher called Jesus would be is not allowed because many people gather wherever He is. But what do we have to lose? If someone kills us for being there, it would be a welcome end to this never ending misery. Besides they fear us too much to come close.
After much labored walking, we saw Him on the road and hollered: “Jesus, Master. Have pity on us!” He did! Can you imagine the joy (after years of being spit at, isolation and depression, never being touched) of a restored body? Of my skin feeling soft again, my eyes regaining their sight, my oozing sores healed and the damage that the disease inflicted upon me being reversed! Oh my goodness, what an incredible miracle!

My first thought was to run back to my family and show them I had been restored. I could hug my loved ones and eat at their table! The other lepers must have felt the same way because they were celebrating (some were leaping) and running in different directions. Then it hit me if the disease was a sign of my sin did that mean I am healed of my sins too? I now felt cleaner than I ever had, even before this scourge came into my life. Who was that Jesus who healed me?

I swiftly changed directions and began running to Him. I started yelling out loud “praise be to God” and when I reached the Teacher, the healer, the forgiver of my sins…I collapsed at His feet. I was overwhelmed by His grace crying “thank you, thank you, praise be to God!”

Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."
Luke 17:19

It seems obvious to us that the leper should return in thanksgiving after having such a great miracle in his life. But if you think about it, don't we all have so much to be daily thankful for? Life at times gets overwhelming and we loose that sense of thanksgiving that the leper must have felt. As with so much in our relationship with Jesus, thankfulness is a choice. We can allow ourselves to take for granted that we have a roof over our head, food on our tables, a bed to sleep on or we can choose to be thankful for the gifts in our lives... tiny or big.

My new prayer is that I may have the heart of that leper, that I will run to my God, fall on His feet in thanksgiving and praise!

I am in pain and distress;
may your salvation, O God, protect me.
I will praise God's name in song
and glorify him with thanksgiving.
This will please the LORD more than an ox,
more than a bull with its horns and hoofs.
Psalm 69:29-31

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Below are some wonderful CAST Team items that give us great choices in expressing our thanks. Please click and heart them!











Gourd of plenty by ASenseofPlacePhotography












Lilac & Amethyst necklace by JewelsbyTrish














Happy Thanksgiving boy by kaleighbugkards