The Focus for This Day.................... 11/22/18

       Happy Thanks-giving everyone, a holiday we celebrate here in the U.S.  This day is fantastic. Its focus is the same as this inn.  Enjoying this day with fami-ly and friends appeals to our dearly held values: close-ness, community
with loved ones.  This day is an opportunity to snuggle in the blanket of warmth that happens when we are in the company of good friends.

      This is not Tur-key Day.  Calling it that misses the point.  Today is about heartfelt ap-preciation for His providence. Thank-fulness depends   not upon circum-stances. It relies  upon our re-sponse to them.  It doesn't matter if our plight is good or terrible.

       Hug loved ones.  Little in life is as important as family, friends, knowing joy.  Thankfulness is a skill.

      It is a developed discipline.  As one who suffered as a younger person, and into adulthood, I know seeds of gratitude can be planted.

       They are watered when we are mindful of what-ever is true, lovely, excel-lent and worthy of praise. Even while enduring tough times.

      Tending to seeds of grati-tude , being present, thinking more constructively about what negatively affects our emotions, provides tremendous benefits.

      We sprout a happier, more confident outlook. The hands of thankfulness weed out the negativity that lurks within.   If it is not removed, thorny thoughts of worry, fear, and depression choke the field of our feelings and thoughts.

       Despair easily follows.

     We are happier when we nurture an Attitude of Gratitude.  This positive, mature, not reactive mental state draws healthier people into our lives.  Our life flourishes beyond our wildest dreams, too.