Thanksgiving Day is just two days away and I must admit my kitchen is clean and there isn’t a turkey or a fixin’ in sight.
BTW – “Fixin” is a southern slang most often used in the phrase “fixin’ to” meaning: about to, getting ready to. I didn’t do “fixins” until moving to the southern part of the USA 11 years ago. The Urban Dictionary (yes, surprise, we have such a thing) says:
A Southern (USA) word for the supplemental food, dishes, ingredients, and accompaniments to whatever you are eating, cooking, or serving.
A hamburger can have fixins (tomatoes, pickles, ketchup), barbecued meat can have fixins (baked beans, cole slaw, potato salad), and even fixins can have fixins (baked beans made with added bacon, toppings for a baked potato).
Okay, that is quite enough about fixins. Long story short my traveling husband, sous-chef dish-washing mom and I drove a few miles south of Tennessee to Callaway Gardens to spend the week. We are reading, writing, hiking and …. eating. I’m not cooking this week, but we surely are eating. We came to see the spectacular Fantasy In Lights set up throughout the garden and to do a bit of hiking.
I was fumbling fast to get my camera and sadly this is the fumbled result!
Habakkuk Rejoices in the Lord
Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
Habakkuk 3:17-18
The Book of Habakkuk is the eighth book of the 12 minor prophets of the Hebrew Bible. It is attributed to the prophet Habakkuk and was probably composed in the late 7th century BC. The words of the prophet Habakkuk ring very true for us today. He was saying it doesn’t matter if the crops fail, the food is scarce, and the animals gone he will still praise the Lord. This is the truth of giving thanks to God.
I am a very visual person. When I read or hear words spoken they immediately take hold in picture form in my mind’s eye. This week from Sarah Young wrote this in Jesus Calling.
“A THANKFUL ATTITUDE opens windows of heaven. Spiritual blessings fall freely onto you through those openings into eternity. Moreover, as you look up with a grateful heart, you get glimpses of Glory through those windows. You cannot yet live in heaven, but you can experience foretastes of your ultimate home.”
Later she writes as if Jesus is speaking directly to us.
“A thankful mind-set does not entail a denial of reality with its plethora of problems. Instead, it rejoices in Me, your Savior, in the midst of trials and tribulations. I am your refuge and strength, an ever-present and well-proved help in trouble.”
Exodus 15:2
The LORD is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
150 Scriptures to Praise God (Click or click picture)
From the Jones United Methodist Memorial Church internet website, I found this compilation of praise scriptures. It is a PDF and you can print it and read often to help you turn your eyes to Jesus in praise and prayer, even when … I dare say especially when you don’t feel like it. The thankfulness you give to God will take the pain and sting out of the trials and adversity you may find yourself going through.
No matter what your Thanksgiving Day activities this year, it is my prayer that all will take the time to GIVE THANKS to our Lord and Provider, Creator and one true God, Yahweh.
With a grateful heart, Happy Thanksgiving!
~Catherine
Blasts from the past some of my favorite holiday dishes. (Click on the picture and it will take you to the recipe link.)
Happy Thanksgiving!