Quotes on Thanksgiving…

Our harvest being gotten in, our Governor sent four men on fowling so that we might, after a special manner, rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as… served the company almost a week… Many of the Indians came amongst us and… their greatest King, Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted; and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought… And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God we are…far from want. ~ Edward Winslow of Plymouth Colony

I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.

~ G.K. Chesterton

A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all other virtues

~ Cicero

O Lord, that lends me life, lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.

~ William Shakespeare

We ought to give thanks for all fortune: if it is “good,” because it is good, if “bad” because it works in us patience, humility, the contempt of this world, and the hope of our eternal country.

~ C. S. Lewis

No people on earth have more cause to be thankful than ours, and this is said reverently, in no spirit of boastfulness in our own strength, but with the gratitude to the Giver of good who has blessed us.

~ Theodore Roosevelt

You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and the pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.

~ G.K. Chesterton

A Winter's Repast

Sunday afternoon. Quiet. Sleepy. The house is clean from Saturday's work, the Christmas decorations are newly birthed, and Christmas music plays softly through the atmosphere.

It is the perfect winter afternoon, and a surprise visit from an old friend creates the perfect occasion for some seasonal cooking. Pumpkin raisin cookies and hot wassail. Yum.

Pumpkin Raisin Cookies

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup raw sugar

1 cup 100% pure maple syrup

1 tsp. vanilla

1 egg, beaten

2 cups flour, sifted

2 cups uncooked oatmeal

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 cup raisins (or more, if desired)

Preheat oven to 350˚F. In large mixing bowl cream together butter, sugar, and maple syrup until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and egg. In separate bowl combine dry ingredients. Mix into wet ingredients alternately with pumpkin, beating well after each addition. Add raisins. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Decorate cookies with extra raisins. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool on cookie rack, or eat hot with wassail.

Secretariat

Do you give the horse his strength, or clothe his neck with a flowing mane? Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting? He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength, and charges into the fray. He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; he does not shy away from the sword. The quiver rattles against his side, along with the flashing spear and lance. In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground; he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.… Job 39:19-25

So begins the movie 'Secretariat'. It is a beautiful, bold movie, covering the story of the race-horse Secretariat, who was born with a heart two-and-a-half times larger than the average horse––literally primed by God for a career utterly phenomenal. In 1973, he became the first U.S. Triple Crown winner in twenty-five years, and his record speed has not been approached by any other race-horse.

Also weaving throughout the horse's narrative is the account of Penny Tweedy, Secretariat's owner, and how, through her conviction and perseverance, she transforms her family and the lives of the attendants and friends who help her through the journey.

This triumphant movie is a must-see. Coming from some of the same makers as 'Blind Side', the film is a beautiful testimony of the wonders of God's creation and the healing power of Jesus.