Thoughts of Giving Thanks

            I hope that yesterday was a good day.  What is one thing that happened on Thanksgiving for which you are thankful?

            Happy Thanksgiving. 

            As you reflect today, as you perhaps pray before your meal, give thanks for our God, who nourishes and sustains us daily, and for however many other blessings you choose to celebrate on this day.

            God bless you.

           With tomorrow being Thanksgiving, what is one family tradition related to Thanksgiving that you are grateful for and which brings up fond memories?

            Who is a long-time friend for whom you give thanks?

           What is one place where you find a great sense of inner peace?

           What is one of your favorite books, for which you are thankful?

           What is your favorite food at this time of year?

           What is a favorite memory from your childhood?

            What did you see in nature today that you give thanks to God for experiencing?

            What is the first thing that comes to mind for you when you think of

thankfulness?  

Experiencing Works of Art

          It requires time, patience and discipline to engage with artistic expressions, three qualities that our hurry-and-get-it-done-now world neither appreciates nor encourages.  To walk past a painting and pretend that we have perceived it, is to deceive ourselves.  To watch a movie while talking with friends, unless we have seen the movie before, removes the depth of experience that the filmmaker is offering to us.  To look at pottery in a potter’s showroom, without carefully feeling the nuances of the form, is to miss the joy of the work and the connection with the act of creation.

            To receive the impact of a work of art, one must engage that work, and then integrate the response into one’s thoughts and meditations.  This is nothing less than the careful discipline that any other form of spiritual nourishment requires, in order to fully receive the gift that is offered in that moment.

(Test link to Advent Story 2020    Read the previous parts of the story here  )