Thanks In All Things - November 26 - Thanksgiving Day

This practice is about identifying 10 things each day for which I am grateful without repeating as I Give Thanks In All Things:

1. The hardy souls who showed up on our Thanksgiving Morning Zoom.
2. Watching Ashley navigate her way to cooking the first turkey on her own.
3. Paper towel cardboard tubes in the charcoal starter chimney hack I learned this summer.
4. My siblings on our first family Zoom call which was organized by Alicia for Thanksgiving.
5. Smoking the turkey on my Weber Kettle grill.
   
6. Resolving the issue Ashley and I had to text each other since I upgraded to a new phone this week.
7. Finally figuring out how to remove L2 - one of the living room lamps from the Home app.
8. An overall beautiful albeit different Thanksgiving Day.
9. Not needing to rush to get to someone else's house on time.
10. A wonderful Thanksgiving Meal!
11. Leftovers in the fridge!
    

Day 6 - I Give Thanks For ...

My current gratitude practice is to share at least 10 things for which I am grateful for each day without repetition.

Today, I Give Thanks For ...

1. Kirkland coffee, black and hot.
2. Convio traveling coffee "cup" which keeps hot for hours and with no spills.
3. The increasing number of ways that our congregation takes responsibility for our building and more important to me, caring for each other.
4. The gathering of 30+ people to Deck The Halls of Unity of Royal Oak for the Christmas Season.
5. Picking a better place for pizza and salad than last year. Green Lantern you rock!
6. Waking up early on the day after Thanksgiving.
7. Not shopping on "Black Friday" because I am mindful that there is little I need at this time.
8. Finding the missing dimmers for some LED lighting that had been misplaced.
9. We didn't need to go out and buy more Christmas stuff.
10. Porkchop (MinPin) who chose me after my brother Matt died by jumping up into my arms when I opened Matt'sd front door. He spends a lot of time alone and never seems to hold a grudge about it. Pure love.

Happy Friday!

Love, Ric

Day 5 - I Give Thanks For ...

My current gratitude practice is to share at least 10 things for which I am grateful for each day without repetition.

Today, I Give Thanks For ...

1. Owen sitting in my office, pointing at everything as if he was asking, "What is that?" His inquisitive nature reminds me to approach life with "wide-eyed wonder."
2. Text messages about Thanksgiving, allowing an instant connection.
3. Receiving a warm message from someone I had not expected which made my heart happy and humble.
4. Being able to pick John up and bring him to his friend's house for the holiday.
5. Having everything I was bringing to our family Thanksgiving celebration yesterday which allowed this day to be easy and stress-free.
6. Arriving at my sister's on time.
7.  Jeremy getting the splinter out of my palm that has been annoying me for several days.
8. Getting the laundry done
9. Finding a sock I have been missing for a month.
10. How blessed I am with family and friends.
11. Catching up with Darrin & Steph
12. Dion's gravy success!

Thankfully,

Ric

Day 3 - I Give Thanks For ...

My current gratitude practice is to share at least 10 things I am grateful for each day.

Yours Truly with a car full of turkey dinner.

Today, I give thanks for ...

1. The Outreach Team at Unity of Royal Oak whop are making Love real and felt.
2. The sixteen families we were able to provide a Complete Thanksgiving Meal.
3. The joy of delivering some of those meals.
4. The Life that fills our center several days a week through the volunteers and staff members. When I started in 2015, many weeks, I was the only person in the building during the weekdays.
5. My recently purchased Ford Escape which I have used several times to transport items that would not have fit in my previous car.
6. The opportunity to connect with the Unity Of Royal Oak Music Makers at their rehearsal for Christmas Eve. 
7. A 52° day on November 26, Wow!
8. Our church elf (Nick) hauling all of the Christmas decorations up out of the basement.
9. Being able to sleep in this morning because I was tired and I knew that URO was open and humming along.
10. Harvey's big heart for driving a coworker home to Algonac because his tie rod broke. Love in action.

Always in Love,

Ric

Thanks As A Way Of Living - Day 23

1. I am grateful for this electric snow thrower that arrived as promised yesterday. My cardiologist and primary care physician tell me I must not shovel snow. Now I can be fully compliant.
2. I am grateful that I assembled the snow thrower and charged its battery in advance. Sometimes I procrastinate until the last possible moment, not this time.
3. I am grateful for time to think. I am a lucky man and pastor so time to ponder, wander, reflect and contemplate are essential and allowed for me. No more, "Richard - stop day dreaming."
4. I'm grateful that my cousin Jolene and my sister stopped by for a minute. The connection with family has grown more important for me as my generation of our family finds itself to be the elders.
5. I am grateful that I persisted with the clerk at Kmart who told me that if I hadn't received an email or a text then the item I had ordered for in store pickup wasn't ready. I told her that their system had told me the item would be available the prior day. She seemed doubtful but physically went to check and there was my sweater. Saved a trip back to Lake Orion.

Always in Love,

Ric

#LivingThanks

Thanks as a Way of Living - my gratitude practice till the end of the year (at least). A minimum, of five things each day that I am grateful for and why without repeats.

(c) 2016 by Richard L. Beattie, All Rights Reserved

Gratitude Days of 2015, Day # 19

My Sister Dion and Sister-in-Law Stephanie
Thanksgiving Day 2015

2015 Thanksgiving Gratitude Practice, Day 19 - Post ten things (at least) each day w/o duplicating.

1. Grateful for a quiet morning at home.
2. Grateful for the smell of butternut squash baking.
3. Grateful for a lovely phone call from Maryann.
4. Grateful for the texts, phone calls and FB posts aharing Happy Thanksgiving wishes.
5. Grateful for a pleasant driver to Lapeer.
6. I am grateful for the good news my brother Darrin shared.
7. Grateful to share some ideas that see,ed to bring another perspective with Doug.
8. Grateful for an easy Thanksgiving Afternoon with my brother and sister and part of the family.
9. Grateful to heart the Lions won on Thanksgiving Day.
10. Grateful to hear that the 42nd Thanksgiving Dinner went well at Renaissance Unity.
11. Grateful for a wonderful telephone conversation with Karen Boland.
12. I am grateful for a fabulous collaborative family Thanksgiving Dinner

Gratitude Days of 2015, Day # 18

2015 Thanksgiving Gratitude Practice, Day 18 - Post ten things (at least) each day w/o duplicating.

1. I am grateful for this Thanksgiving Song by Mary Chapin Carpenter that we used during service last Sunday.
2. Grateful for getting the Mailing about our Annual Meeting mailed out.
3. Grateful for CJ and her willingness to stand in her faith.
4. Grateful for the copier being repaired finally.
5. Grateful for time with Steve and Katy at Beaumont.
6. Grateful for Cathie's successful procedure.
7. Grateful for the gift of ladies shoes for homeless folks from Patti.
8. Grateful for my sister's silly phone call.
9. Grateful for finding everything I needed at Aldi.
10. Grateful for the unseasonably warm weather.

Gratitude Days of 2015, Day # 17

40th Annual Thanksgiving Dinner at Renaissance Unity
November 28, 2013

2015 Thanksgiving Gratitude Practice, Day 17 - Post ten things (at least) each day w/o duplicating.

1. I am grateful that Porkchop slept well after his oral surgery yesterday and is up, frisky and hungry.
2. I am grateful for having flexibility with my work hours when needed.
3. I am grateful I was able to figure out what was wrong with the vacuum.
4. I am grateful that all of the printers are once again online and  shared.
5. I am grateful that we now have WiFi throughout our Spiritual Center.
6. I am grateful for my my first legitimate, I asked for it "senior discount" at Tim Horton's.
7.  I am grateful for the opportunity to meet with the team who have stepped up to carry on Renaissance Unity's tradition of Thanksgiving Dinners.
8. I am grateful for Rev. Karen Boland who was the start of those dinners. In 1972, she ate dinner alone in a restaurant (she was not yet married to Jack Boland) on Thanksgiving. She noticed the number of other people sitting around at tables by themselves, eating on the holiday and the idea for a dinner was born. She asked Jack if the following year the church , then Unity of the Infinite Presence, could have a dinner and he told her okay if she organized it. The first dinner was in 1973.
9. I am grateful for the passing of this baton to a new team. 
10. I am grateful for the understanding that every step in my life, every things I have learned and done, every experience has led me to this moment.

Twenty Days of Gratitude Consciousness

Rochester Municipal Park, 11/25/11

Gratitude flows from my heart for these reasons today ...

1. Going to dinner and the theater (All Night Strut Holiday Show) with friends tonight in celebration of my birthday
2. Mini Pumpkin Cream Cheese Creme Cake
3. Taking a nap in the morning (may be a duplication)
4. Embracing the flow of this journey in gratitude for twenty days.
5. A clean kitchen
6. The "Rudolph" van in my neighborhood that has antlers sticking out off the side windows and a red "nose" on the grille.
7. The giant pine tree outside my office window that is home to so many birds and squirrels
8. Getting a hair cut.
9. a two days in a row break from the recent frenzy of activities.
10. This amazing  Rochester/Rochester Hills area I call home.
11. I need to purchase new underpants because they are so big that are falling off, yeah!!!

Copyright (c) 2011 by Richard L. Beattie, all rights are reserved

Happy Thanksgiving Day

On this day we dedicate to giving thanks, I am grateful for:

1. Getting to the church to open it on time today.
2. Wonderful mixture of seasoned volunteers and brand new folks created an amazing energy and excited.
3. My dear friend Rev. Karen Boland who started this Community Thanksgiving Feast 37 years ago.
4. The great honor of continuing in her footsteps (although not in her shoes ☺)
5.  Being able to step back from the kitchen and attend to the big picture of the event this year.
6. The way that this established event shifts slightly to accommodate new ideas and energy while retaining its essence.
7. The generous outpouring of support, turkeys and mashed potatoes that our Renaissance Community delivered in waves of plenty and abundance.
8. The idea that we all cooked our turkeys, mashed potatoes and stuffing at home individually and brought the dishes to church where a dedicated group of volunteers mixed everything together with love. What a modeling for sharing our resources for the good of all.
9. The 325 people from every age group, family & marital status, sexual orientation and gender identity came together in celebration and as family for a few hours top share a meal and their presence. Wow!
10. Being joined by Jim Lee, daughter Tracy and two of her kids for dinner. So very sweet!
11. The most amazing slice of homemade apple pie, little sugar allowing the natural apple flavor through and such a flaky crust.
12. A dear lady who came up to me as she was leaving to express her gratitude. She said she had resigned herself to not having a "Thanksgiving Dinner" this year because she couldn't afford it. One of her friends had told her about the church and she really enjoyed to food and companionship.
13. The movie Wally which so many stayed to watch.
14. Cindy staying to the very end to help make sure what needed to get done was done.
15. I give thanks for you who are reading these ramblings,
16. A sense of happy exhaustion as I locked the doors and drove home with unused food to take the Great Grace Center of hope tomorrow for one more day of Thanks Giving on this journey of Thanksliving. 

Copyright (c) 2011 by Richard L. Beattie, all rights reserved