All holidays feel like moveable feasts. I\u2019m ready for Christmas in July and think Easter is worth celebrating every Sunday, which I sort of do anyway (church puts me in a Resurrection mood).<\/p>\n
I\u2019d like to propose a mini Thanksgiving right now. Don\u2019t bother with a turkey and stuffing. A celebration of thankfulness will do. Here\u2019s a smorgasbord of what I\u2019m thankful for right now. Got any of your own mid-winter prayers of thanksgiving to add?<\/p>\n
All Those Christmas Cards<\/strong> Good Health<\/strong> The Weather<\/strong> My Family<\/strong> The New Year<\/strong> All holidays feel like moveable feasts. I\u2019m ready for Christmas in July and think Easter is worth celebrating every Sunday, which I sort of do anyway (church puts me in a Resurrection mood). I\u2019d like to propose a mini Thanksgiving right now. Don\u2019t bother with a turkey and stuffing. A celebration of thankfulness will do. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":29051,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[246],"tags":[72],"ppma_author":[476],"class_list":["post-20764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healing","tag-stories-of-faith"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nIf grace is a word to describe undeserved love and favor, our pile of Christmas cards is certainly a sign of grace. Carol and I haven\u2019t sent a Christmas card since before the millennium. Just can\u2019t get organized to do it. But year after year, we receive them by the dozens. I love the family shots and seeing how the kids have grown (spitting images of their parents). I also adore pictures of pets. Not to mention gorgeous full-color images of the Nativity. How thankful I am for all those friends and their blessings.<\/p>\n
\nFour years ago in January I was recovering from open-heart surgery. Couldn\u2019t walk up a few stairs without feeling winded. Couldn\u2019t even sing a Christmas carol. Guess what? I feel terrific now. Maybe my recovery was not as quick as my surgeon would have led me to believe, but recovery came. Here\u2019s my word of advice on recovering from a health crisis: Don\u2019t rush it. Not for nothing are patients called patients (even when we\u2019re not<\/em> patient). Give the Great Physician time. Nothing makes you appreciate the gift of health like a temporary setback. But call it just that.<\/p>\n
\nRemember those hot sweltering summer days when you yearned for air-conditioned splendor? They\u2019re here and you don\u2019t have to flick a switch or worry about BTUs\u2014just go outside. When I first started at Guideposts<\/em>, there was an elderly secretary who insisted this cold weather is excellent for your health. \u201cThe freezing weather kills off all the germs,\u201d she said. Don\u2019t know if that\u2019s true, but her attitude is worth embracing. Glory in the seasons. Go for a brisk walk. At least when the sweltering days come, you\u2019ll be able to remember how you wished for some heat.<\/p>\n
\nPrayers of praise for them. They are an endless delight. Last year we had our share of sorrow. I lost my dad in February and my brother-in-law was in a plane crash that killed the five other passengers and nearly killed him. I grieve for those losses and am grateful for Mike\u2019s recovery. He is one tough cookie, a walking miracle. But I couldn\u2019t have made it through those trials without a loving, laughing family. Yes, there was always something to laugh about. Even at Dad\u2019s funeral. Laughing with your loved ones is prayer on helium. What a lift.<\/p>\n
\nThank God for a clean slate, a chance to start over. Got your New Year\u2019s resolutions? I believe in little ones, not those big ones that overwhelm you by January 3rd. Faced with the failing brain power of an aging Boomer, I\u2019ve decided to take up memorizing Scripture on my morning runs. Not a lot. A few psalms will do. But it\u2019s something new for me. Got something new you want to try? A recipe, a book, a prayer practice? The calendar is clean, waiting for you. Happy New Year!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"