A Thanksgiving Letter to A Grieving Friend

As I reflect on the song, "Its So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" by the group Boyz II Men, I still find it difficult to cope with the transition of a dear loved one. I met my friend J.B. through his wife who I worked with in an industry that enhanced the physical beauty of women. She was truly the epitome of beauty glowing from within and she knew how to encourage spiritual beauty through those she met and touched. I feel sadness for his pain since he just laid her body to rest a few days before Thanksgiving. For a moment, I think about the empty chair she will never sit in again or the plate that she will not eat from again. I cry because of the agony he is facing this first major holiday without her. I also think about the emptiness he must have felt that first moment he found out she passed on to her eternal life. I can't imagine that first day in which the sensitivity of loneliness finally penetrated his numbness that she, as he once knew her as wife, lover, friend and biggest supporter was suddenly and unexpectedly absent from her body. Such a realization is hard to imagine and fathom.

While I do not profess the gift of prophecy, which is not included in my personal realm of spiritual gifts, I am encouraged that J.B. will begin to elevate to an altitude of greatness that he teaches others to strive for. I'm sure however, he wanted to achieve that greatness with his wife by his side. He did achieve that greatness to a certain, but now his mission is one of greater dedication and urgency. Recently, I was reading a phrase I noted on a piece of paper years ago that said, "Some people come into your life for a reason, season or a lifetime." When we choose our life partners, it is not disclosed whose "lifetime" will be affected longer than the other. While we wish to grow old together, sometimes the predestined plan is to flourish and grow effectively with the time you've been given, and with purpose. After our loved one transitions, where does that leave us and what do we do? Quite frankly, the logical answers are not always comfortable, easy or reassuring.

My friend J.B. and his wife touched so many people's lives. They ministered and gave a lot to others. They showed others what it was like to love, using what you have, wherever you are, regardless of the type of day you are having or how much money you possess. This is the agape love we strive to lift up and spread to others that emits from the Light glowing from within us every day. I realize that the silence in the walls of his home are going to be deafening and agonizing for a while, but in turn will be the ultimate healing agent J.B. may need to show others that you can't put off love; because like an empty well when the water runs dry, the love of your life can leave this world in a matter of a heartbeat.

This morning 3 Carolina Wrens frolicked and sang outside my window on the rail of our deck. I sat for a moment listening to their sounds, watching the quick movements of their short, chunky bodies that amassed any hint of distractions for the present. I thought about J.B.'s wife and how she captured the attention and hearts of so many people who were touched by her singing. She was a songbird who didn't need a huge stage to command the attention of an endearing audience. Thousands were definitely touched and inspired by her singing alone. When I volunteered to visit a local women's facility, she was there to sing for the residents and encouraged them to overcome their adversity, simply through the heart of the words she sang.

Every day is Thanksgiving and the gifts God gives us physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually are great blessings indeed. To my friend J.B., the road ahead is full of uncertainties, but they are also filled with the assurance that God has and always had your back. The strength you garner from your bruised and wounded spirit will be one that will give you the momentum to mount up your wings as a eagle and soar. Your greatest moments have not been unveiled yet.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving Day every day, we will be able to achieve a level of greatness that no one could imagine or even understand. Give thanks and reach for the great things ahead. What does not kill us will only make us stronger, even with the absence of someone we love and miss dearly. I may not understand the magnitude of your pain, but I am sympathetic of your heartache. Happy Thanksgiving J.B.

Today is National Thank You Day

In every language there is a word for "Thank You." It means so much, yet we sometimes use it so little. All too often, we run into people who feel they are entitled to gifts or certain acts of kindness, and fail to show their appreciation and gratitude.

I wrote an article 3 years ago entitled, "What Happened to the Meaning of Thank You?" I am reposting the link to it, as a reminder of how important it is to extend this common courtesy, when someone does something nice or special for you. I appreciate you stopping by my blog today and thank you for reading it.

http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Happened-to-the-Meaning-of-Thank-You?&id=6327467

Attitude, Gratitude and Overall Thanksgiving

Although we will celebrate the national holiday of Thanksgiving Day on Thursday November 22, 2012 may we always be reminded of giving thanks every day of the year. Many people expressed their beliefs about not celebrating Thanksgiving Day, because this particular day is not in the Holy Bible. If they were to read their Bibles however, and ask God for revelation and understanding, then they would know that “thanksgiving” is clearly defined in The Word.

Unfortunately, the comprehension of what thanksgiving means has been overshadowed by much commercialism. We have our meals with our families, but by the time we finish with our deserts, then we are off to other activities where those heartfelt moments of thanksgiving are lost before the day is done!

I was listening to a Thanksgiving message this morning, “Overflowing with Gratitude” by Dr. Charles Stanley, that put into perspective the reason why we should be thankful and give thanks every single day we breathe! Being thankful is being grateful. He outlined the characteristics and evidence of a grateful heart, which made me do a self-examination of my gratitude. I would like to share those points with you.

1. Positive attitude
2. Aware of God’s presence
3. Have a humble spirit
4. Have a sense of peacefulness even in the midst of a storm
5. Be thoughtful of others
6. Have a generous spirit
7. Be unselfish
8. Be expressive about your gratitude and feel free to share your story
9. Be friendly
10. You will be contagious. Your heart will connect to the heart of others.
11. Be motivated to give, serve and share.
12. Have a servant’s spirit
13. Have a high level of faith
14. Have the spirit of fruitfulness
15. Be joyful

Last year, I made a commitment to keep a Gratitude Journal for an entire year and posted it: "What Keeps You Grounded." This made me stop and avoid sweating the small stuff. When I did this, I found the beauty of the things that were right, instead of harping on the things that were wrong. When I found things that were wrong, I tried to find a solution to making it right, instead of making a big deal about how wrong and crazy it was. If it was not in my power to make it right, then I had to walk away and not allow it to take away my joy and gratitude.

So yep, I will be celebrating Thanksgiving Day this year as I always do, because I do it naturally every day of the year anyway. There was a song we used to sing in church when I was growing up that was called “Count Your Blessings, See What God Has Done!” There were far too many for me to name and far too many for me to count one by one. I will never be able to keep up with them, because the blessings are happening even when I am not aware that they are. The blessings are infinite and until it’s time for me to depart this life as I know it here on earth, I will continue to keep an attitude of gratitude and truly know from where my help comes from. This keeps me grounded, humble and gives me peace! 

This Thanksgiving Day, it’s not all about the food, the Native Americans or the Pilgrims, but about how sincerely grateful I am! Have an awesome Thanksgiving Day everyone!

“We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.”

- 2 Thessalonians 1:3 (NIV)

Happy World Gratitude Day!

Today is World Gratitude Day. Today is an opportunity for everyone to stop, celebrate and show your gratitude and expressions of Thanksgiving. Today reminds me of a special project I did last year, What Keeps You Grounded? that made me stop and focus on things regardless of how great or small, that I had to take the time to be grateful for. Even with something as simple as breathing, I am eternally grateful for the chance to get up and make a contribution for the good of man and womankind!

Make this a great and awesome day everyone!

What Keeps You Grounded?

At the beginning of this year, I made a commitment to do something each day to remind myself that I must stay grounded as much as possible, if not at all times. My goal was to make a gratitude journal that only included the things I am grateful for each day. That’s it, plain and simple. Nothing complex.

My main challenge was to be committed each day to write an entry of gratitude, regardless of how my day went. God used this task to remind me of how humble and grateful I must remain. On some days, I was simply grateful that God’s wrath did not rain down on me due to an un-Godly thought, un-Godly speech or my behavior. On days like that, I have to thank God that I recognized my shortcomings and asked His forgiveness. As of this day, I have to say that since January 1, 2011, I made an entry into my Gratitude Journal every single day. Sometimes I am reminded to do it before I go to bed and on other days, I make an entry earlier in the day. This daily task was a little difficult at times, but more often than not, it was the one thing that helped me to be reminded of how awesome God is.

With the help of The Lord, I try to not become entrapped with me, myself and I, which could lead to the hazards of making unwise decisions that will catapult into mass destruction. I think when you recognize and acknowledge your spiritual groundedness, your spiritual senses are awakened with a renewed sense of purpose, awareness and direction. When I rest in assurance that God is in control, then I will find contentment in His perpetual love, peace, joy and blessings.

So in the midst of things going right or awry, what keeps you grounded every single day?

Thanksgiving Day Wishes!

“Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.”
- Psalm 95:2 NIV

Up all night preparing your Thanksgiving Day feast? Well, before you take a bite out of any of those delectables, be sure to really reflect on the true essence of what the word thanksgiving means. There are so many people in our communities and around the world hurting and hungry right now trying to find a soup kitchen in order to get a meal today or any other day through the week.

Let us not take for granted the things that so many would consider a luxury, which includes overcoming hunger and homelessness. Stop and look at your holiday spread, look at your loved ones who you are surrounded by, examine your surroundings and remember that this day and any other day is not about your selfish pride, but about how you can be the servant and contributor to society that God needs for you to be. Thanksgiving is not about one day of the year, but about every day throughout the year.

Have a Safe, Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.”
- Psalm 100:4 NIV

My Spiritual Moment in 3-D!

This morning as I walked outside to breathe in the crisp autumn air, I looked up and thanked God for allowing me to witness a new day that I will never see again. I am so grateful for this moment of tranquility to worship, rejoice and be grateful.

As I gazed at the beautiful morning sky, I had a spiritual “a-ha” moment. The cool breeze was gently blowing as the sun began to rise. The rays from the sun cast a creamy beige hue over billows of clouds drifting overhead. Simply breathtaking! What was so striking to me was at that moment I could look beyond these drifting fluffy clouds and the sky was a beautiful marine blue with milk white brush strokes of clouds that accented the heavens.

In this moment, I felt like I was watching a movie in 3-D, but this view was not generated through cinematography effects. I felt I could reach up and touch each layer of this panoramic presentation. I was literally mesmerized by this ethereal 3-Dimensional snapshot of the heavens that made me stand in silence and simply say “Wow!”

Celebrating the Month of March

The mere sense of living is joy enough. ~ Emily Dickinson

As we look forward to things slowly beginning to turn green and the softness of spring embarks on the barrenness that winter left behind, we are invigorated with the idea of celebrating a new awakening during the month of March. This month, daylight savings time springs ahead and the first day of spring announces its arrival on March 20th.

Don’t have a reason to celebrate? Well you should, because life in itself gives us every reason to celebrate every single day! We are so blessed to be in a country where things may not always go as we wish and the cost of living continues to soar more than our paychecks, but we don’t have to walk out of our doors and face a civil war like many countries are facing right now. Life may not always be a bed of roses and we should not expect it to be, because that would be looking at life unrealistically. But when you wake up every morning and watch the innocence of the morning unfold, we have to stand in awe of its beauty as we look up and thank God for an awesome gift.

If you want a few more reasons to celebrate this month, check out these events in your area:

Women’s History Month

National Nutrition Month

National Poison Prevention Month

Youth Art Month

American Red Cross Month

Irish American Heritage Month

National Craft Month

National Frozen Food Month

National Noodle Month

The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate. ~ Oprah Winfrey

Retrospect, Gratitude and a Happy New Year

Alas, we have arrived at that pivotal time when we review the various events that took place this year and evaluate how they affected us. We cannot brood over how tough our storms were, but celebrate just how miraculous we navigated through them. When you think about those times you felt like you were in the eye of a tornado, remember how God turned the situation into a gentle breeze. When you think about the torrential rains and dark clouds that filled many of your days, remember how you watched as the sun broke through those clouds and the rain turned into a soothing shower. When you think about your life being shaken up like a violent earthquake reaching the highest range on the Richter scale, remember that you weren’t crushed to death by falling through the cracks.

Last year, I challenged readers to create a “Gratitude or Thankful Journal” for each day of the year. The objective of a Gratitude Journal is to keep thankfulness in perspective. You must write at least one entry in your journal every day, no matter how you feel. That’s at least 365 reasons why you are grateful each year. You could be thankful for good health, an unexpected gift someone gave you, a raise on your job, grateful that you didn’t get into an accident while driving to and from your destination, or that God kept you and your family safe and sound. You could also be thankful for the opportunity to get another step closer towards your goals.

In retrospect, we think about the past and adopt new ways to make things better. In gratitude, we live passionately, with purpose and continue dancing to the music even when no music is playing. For a happy new year, we adjust our attitudes to be an asset, instead of a liability, to humanity.

With continued peace and abundant prosperity, always celebrate life with your head held high, love in your heart and a song to continue dancing to. Happy New Year everyone!

http://www.kymgmoore.com/