A Thanksgiving Note AND A Bit of Thanksgiving History

A very Happy Thanksgiving to all of my readers in the United States! (And a late Happy Thanksgiving to readers in Canada:))

I’m off to scrub down my kitchen before getting it good and messy tomorrow with pie, potatoes, turkey, stuffing and so on. (I’m hoping that the turkey I have thawing cooperates better than my last attempt which needed FAR longer to roast than seems reasonable. Ah well.)

In 2019, I was invited to do a guest post over at A Bit About Britain, a fantastic blog dealing with all sorts of things British. Mike Biles, author and runner of the blog, asked me to do a write-up on the roots of our modern Thanksgiving holiday with a focus on the British roots (for obvious reasons.) It was a fun post to write, and for those of you who might not have seen it before, here’s the link where you can check it out and test your Thanksgiving knowledge.

While the world continues to be full of trouble and turmoil, I hope and pray that you have a chance to step back from whatever stresses you are coping with-

-to remember the blessings that shine through the troubles,

-and to give thanks.

When we pray as a family before our Thanksgiving meal, we always take time to say something that we’re personally thankful for. In spite of all of the crazy this last year has brought, I have a long list. A few of them are:

1. The messes around my house as they’re evidence I still have my three kids at home. The years are passing so quickly!
2. A year of (relatively) good health- nothing but the sniffles in the Clare household.
3. Being back in school full time- it’s a joy to see my students, and for my kids to see their friends. Missing those relationships was hard on everyone.
4. Another year of God’s grace.
5. The wonderful community of readers and writers that I’ve been blessed to be a part of.

What about you? What are you thankful for this year?

Whatever this weekend holds for you, I’m wishing you all the very best.

-Anne