Quotations Weblog

With all of the preparations for Thanksgiving, it’s always a good practice to remember why we are celebrating this holiday. Just like the pilgrims were overwhelmed with gratitude at being saved by the Indians at the start of the harsh winter, we should take a moment to reflect on what we are thankful for and why the act of gratitude is so important.

See all the quotations on Gratitude here:

• Gratitude Quotes – The Quotations Page

Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching. Here is some advice from the greats on how to deal with the holiday in a healthy manner:

Especially if it’s pie crust…

I took a crisp walk outside yesterday. Even though it was autumn, I found blooming flowers. I usually look upon this time of year with dread. This is the calm before the storm: the storm of the holidays, and the storm of weather that freezes.

This is the time of year before Advent. Some of us are waiting for the holidays. This is the preparation time. Last Sunday’s sermon was titled “What Are We Waiting For?” My minister suggested making a list of everything we are waiting for. Are they things that we are expecting to happen to us? Are they things that we need to make an important action to complete? What are you waiting for? What do you need to do to make your dreams come true? Do you need to rest patiently? Do you need a call to action? Take a look at everything you are waiting for this season and make the waiting less about dread and more about joy.

To read the sermon’s and thoughts of my minister, please visit him at ministrare:

• ministrare

I was raised by a certain group of devout Christians who believe Halloween is a Pagan holiday. It does have its basis in Pagan traditions, but to any child of this century, Halloween is all about costumes and candy. For some, it’s just about the candy and the costume is the means. I wasn’t allowed to go trick-or-treating until after the divorce in sixth grade. That means I went a total of two times, once in the sixth grade and once in seventh grade.

I kept that Halloween candy until well into December. It wasn’t until a couple of weeks before Christmas that I finished off the Smarties at the bottom of the orange plastic pumpkin. I still feel a happy glow at the thought of so much candy that I can survive until Christmas. My mother never denied me candy, but I had already gained the hoarding and bingeing habits from the summers with my grandma. I remember feeling so glad that I had enough; enough to last more than a month.

As an adult, I can eat candy whenever I want. Halloween candy has no allure for me beyond the small serving sizes. For once in my life, I finally feel like I have enough all the time. I have enough candy to last me for the rest of my life.

Today the US celebrates the end of the Labor Day weekend. I’d like to pretend that I have something wise and insightful to say about the state of labor in today’s world, both as a political movement and as an essential and timeless part of the human condition, but I’m actually rather looking forward to a day off, so I’m going to post a few quotations with the word “labor” in them instead.

Have a good holiday, and don’t forget to do what you can for those affected by last week’s hurricane.