Tag: thanksgiving

Posted in Life

Gratitude and awareness: a wonderful pairing

Posted on by William Douthwaite

In a recent newsletter I read, “Noticing sparks gratitude; gratitude sharpens our noticing.” (It might have been Rob Walker’s “The Art of Noticing,” but I haven’t yet found it in my emails.)

I spend a lot of time noticing things on my daily dog walks. Sometimes I count how many houses have a Ring doorbell. Or interesting items at the curb on trash day. I like to whistle back and forth with the birds at dawn. I’m annoyed when I notice newspapers sitting in driveways for weeks.

I have many reasons to be thankful. I’m healthy and can take long walks with the dogs. I live in a safe neighborhood, know a lot of my neighbors, and live where it’s easy to be outside just about every day.

So the cycle of noticing and gratitude resonates with me. When I am tuned in to what’s going on around me, I find new reasons to be thankful. Once I start giving thanks, I begin noticing more things around me I’m thankful for. It’s a good upward spiral that develops both my gratitude and my awareness.

One morning, I notice beautiful colors in the eastern dawn sky. I whisper, “Thank you,” for an amazing sight, for the coolness, and the quiet of the morning. As I see the morning approach, tall pines escape the darkness, and I am thankful that there are still a few lots without houses.

Then I notice how many new houses there are in our neighborhood. I remember building our house decades ago, when these roads were lined with wooded lots. I’m so thankful we were able to build a house where we raised our children.

That’s how it works. Observation directs your mind towards the positive things in your life, spawning gratitude. As you ponder your blessings, you notice more good things around you. Again and again and again.

It’s such a cool concept. I try to initiate the cycle every time I’m out walking, starting with thanks or observation. Give it a try.

Posted in Life, running

Going out for a Thanksgiving run

Posted on by William Douthwaite

My wife, younger daughter and I decided to run a 5k race this morning. It’s the first race I’ve run in I know don’t how long. I looked through some old journals, but haven’t been able to pinpoint the last time I ran a road race.

I signed us all up online last week and paid our entry fee. While five-mile races cost an average of $5 in the 1980s, I had to cough up $35 each for this race. Of course, you get a t-shirt (this year’s was bright orange!), a medal, electronic timing, and some of the proceeds supported a local food bank, so I guess that’s not so bad.

The fairly mild fall Florida weather suddenly turned cooler last night, and I woke to a fifty degree morning. Now I have to decide what to wear. It’ll be cool while waiting for the start, but I’ll generate plenty of heat once the race starts. Shorts for sure. My rule of thumb was always a t-shirt down to fifty, and a long sleeve t-shirt if it was colder than that. I never wear anything on my legs unless the temps dip below freezing. It’s been a while since I ran, so I opted for a long sleeve t-shirt with a light short t sleeve on top. Once we got going, a t-shirt would have been enough, but this worked.

We arrived about twenty five minutes before the start time. Many runners were already there. And they were dressed in everything imaginable. The male high school cross country runners were in shorts with no shirt. The season had just ended and they were in top shape. Quite a few runners and walkers were in tights, shirts, coats, vests, hats, and gloves. I saw lots of turkey hats. One woman had her head poked through a large cardboard thanksgiving dinner table, set with plates, silverware and fake food. I saw a few runners wearing tutus, too.

When we noticed the crowd drifting towards the starting line, we followed. Suddenly, a siren sounded and we were on our way. Everyone had to funnel through a ten-foot wide inflatable starting gate, so we didn’t really begin running for about ninety seconds.

We settled into a comfortable thirteen-minute-per-mile pace as the sun appeared above the tree line. It turned out to be a nice day for a run. The course took us through live oak canopied streets, sidewalks, and trails along the intracoastal waterway and then back towards the starting area. Cups of water were available at the halfway point. I always take advantage of the water, even though it was only a three mile run. The course was well marked, and lots of sheriffs deputies were out to control traffic and keep an eye on the runners.

We only took a couple of short walking breaks. We passed many walkers who had started toward the front of the pack. We were passed by many serious runners who had gotten stuck in the crowd behind us. It always takes about a mile for the crowd to thin out and you find yourself among those running your pace.

Without any split designations, I could only guess how far we had run. Suddenly (at least for me), we rounded a corner and there was the finish line. We all finished together in the vicinity of forty minutes. Race results were online by the time we got home, letting us know we had all finished in the top half of all who came out today. The overall winner was a young man who finished in just under fifteen minutes. I believe he was one of the local high school cross country runners. The last person crossed the finish line just under the one hour mark.

This was my wife’s first official race. My daughter had run a few before. And I ran a lot of road races in my twenties. When you run with a crowd, you often do better than you would alone. Once you’ve finished, you start thinking about your next one, training more, and running faster next time. And of course, no matter how hard or easy the race was, it gives you an excuse to eat whatever you want for Thanksgiving!

Posted in Life

Thanksgiving: a path to joy?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Tucked away in a pile of ideas to write about someday I came across this quote: “If gratitude leads to joy, joy is never out of reach!” I searched and could not find the source or the author. While those aren’t my words, they seem like an appropriate place to start writing on the day before Thanksgiving.

From my experience, gratitude always leads to a good place. It melts my heart to hear a little two-year old voice say, “Thank you.” I’ve yet to meet someone who didn’t appreciate receiving a thank you note. Gratitude makes you feel noticed. Gratitude leads to generosity for it usually reminds us that we have more than we need. And the gratitude of one healed leper led him to the feet of Jesus.

So what about joy? Would you agree that joy is different than happiness? I think so. I think happiness is a moment, while joy persists. Happiness comes and goes, depending on the circumstances, while joy is independent of what is going on around you. Happiness is an emotion, while joy is independent of your feelings.

Perhaps joy is a gift. We know it’s a fruit of the Spirit. We know Jesus left it behind for his disciples. We’re filled with it in God’s presence. There is joy in heaven. Nature expresses joy. John the Baptist leaps for joy in utero.

And that brings us back to thanksgiving. Or Thanksgiving. Why do we do this? Why do we feast like no other time of the year? Why do we travel to gather with family? Why do children dress up like pilgrims and native Americans for school programs? Why are front yards in my neighborhood lit up with inflatable turkeys or a wiener dog wearing a pilgrim hat?

Somewhere deep down, we know we need Thanksgiving. We need to express our gratitude, because it leads us to an elusive joy. A joy we can only find when we give thanks to the Lord whose steadfast love endures forever.

Posted in family, grandparenting, Life

The Thanksgiving scavenger hunt

Posted on by William Douthwaite

It wasn’t a game for these two. My five-year-old grandson and nearly five-year-old granddaughter took my Thanksgiving scavenger hunt seriously. With the picture list in hand, they were focused on the quest. No item would be left unfound.

This year’s scavenger hunt pictures

I started the scavenger hunt a few family gatherings ago to keep the kids busy while the grownups talked and ate appetizers before supper. (We celebrated our Thanksgiving the Sunday before this year, so that all the families could be with their other families.) These two grandchildren are still “pre-readers,” with a few sight words in their quiver. So I make a page of pictures of things to find in our home.

I originally set up the scavenger hunt for all four grandchildren who would be present, but the two-year-old and the eight-year-old weren’t interested. I collected four of everything on the page and “hid” them at preschool eye-level in our living room. I painted the yellow happy face rocks and folded the paper boats. Everything else was off the shelf in our home. A few things were in drawers, but the rest were in plain sight. I warned my wife ahead of time: “If you see anything unusual lying around the house, it’s for the scavenger hunt.”

Interestingly, they began by opening side table drawers and various cabinets. They quickly found a few that way. I had to give them some hints for the others. “Look by the television.” “Check by the front door.” “Did you look up high and down low?” “Oh, look, over there by the window – what’s that?”

The hunt kept them busy for a full fifteen minutes, which is a lot of time for a preschooler. They worked like a team on a mission. And were they ever proud when the found the twelfth item! They put many of their finds in the nine-ounce plastic cup, gathering up the extra quarters no one else wanted, and planned to take them home.

I also put together a clue-driven treasure hunt the eight-year-old. Each clue sent him in search of the next, hidden in a different place in the house. I thought I my clues were clever, but he reported, “It was easy.” Okay. Next time, we level up.

I think I have more fun preparing the scavenger hunt than the grandkids who take on the challenge! It’s a classic win-win. Keeps us all busy for a while.

Posted in memories

More thanksgiving memories

Posted on by William Douthwaite

A few years ago I jotted down a few memories, too You can read them here.

In the wake of yet another Thanksgiving, I’ll pause to remember Thanksgiving celebrations from my past. My most vivid ones are from my high school years.

Those were high school marching band days, and we played our inter-league rival Interboro High School on Thanksgiving day. Kick off was typically at 10 am on a cold fall day in suburban Philadelphia in a packed stadium. It was the last game of the season, so it was a big deal whether we were playing home or away.

By the time I got home, it was two or three in the afternoon. We had time to play some football in the street in the afternoon. My mom usually prepared a traditional thanksgiving meal of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn or green beans, dinner rolls, and pumpkin pie. It was dark when we sat down to eat, so we must not have sat down for supper until about 5 or 6 in the evening.

I rarely remember family coming to be with us or us going to visit family. In retrospect, I’m puzzled by this, since both of my grandmothers and other family lived within an hours drive of our house. But in my recollection, we celebrated the holiday as an immediate family. I am pretty sure my dad only got Thursday off, so it was just a one day event. We three kids took turns washing dishes; God help you if thanksgiving was your turn!

I can’t remember every going shopping on Friday. If Black Friday was a thing, it wasn’t a thing for my family. I do remember that on Friday, my mom would set out the turkey carcass out in the center of the table, and we would pick leftover meat for our meal. After that, my mom would use whatever was left for turkey soup over the weekend. I remember that soup fondly for she would often throw in leftover hot dogs and buns.

Thanksgiving was different back then. Now we deal with travel plans, sweet potato casserole (we never had sweet potatoes!), gluten-free pie crust, macaroni and cheese, and having the right beer and wine on hand. I still like to eat, so it’s all good!

Posted in Life, seminary

Thanksgiving memories

Posted on by William Douthwaite

alison-marras-323022
Photo by Alison Marras on Unsplash

I’m surprised that I really don’t have a lot of Thanksgiving memories. I really like the holiday, especially preparing and consuming the food. I had to really work to come up with memorable moments from the past.

In high school, the last football game of the season was played on Thanksgiving morning, also marking the end of marching band season. We always played a non-league game against Interboro, a tough opponent from a few towns away. After graduating, that was the game you attended to catch up with all your friends who were home for break.

The only time in my life I remember going out for supper on Thanksgiving was when we went to visit my wife’s Aunt Dot who lived in King of Prussia, just outside of Philadelphia. I’m pretty sure we drove down from Connecticut that year and met my in-laws there. My daughter Katie found it hysterical that her name was “dot.” We went to the mall, the largest in the area at that time, the next day to people watch more than shop.

My Thanksgivings while I was attending seminary were spent at my in-laws home in Columbus, IN. The first time I had just finished Greek and went with my classmate, dorm-mate and future brother-in-law Jeff, who, if I remember correctly, had a pretty nice looking sister who was in her last year at Indiana University. A year later I got to return, now dating his sister but not yet engaged. I think that is when I wrote my first poem for her. (I am sure she has it somewhere.) I don’t remember going there when I was in my final year, but I’m sure we did. Lisa would have been about six months pregnant with Adam that year.

Last year was supposed to be Thanksgiving at our house, but we had a change of plans. With Isaac (grandchild #3) only six weeks old, we decided to take a drive to Dallas to spend thanksgiving with him and his family. The year before I had decided to have our Thanksgiving worship the Sunday before, freeing up the week for travel, and it paid off. After worship on Sunday, we hit the road, spent the night in Pensacola, and arrived in Dallas on Monday night. Three solid days in Dallas, got to hear my son preach and did lots of grandparent stuff.

I do remember that Thanksgiving worship was on Thanksgiving Day when we were in Urbandale, Iowa. Ugh. Never did that before. It was always the night before in Ridley Park, Connecticut and Florida. But I wasn’t the boss, so it was what it was.

I remember all my trumpet descants for the Thanksgiving hymns, too. I may not be playing them, but I sing ’em on the last verse. Still got that tenor range.

OK, I guess I did have a few memories. One of these days, I’ll look at my journals — I’ve got decades of them. That ought to stimulate my memory.

Posted in Life

It’s over…for now

Posted on by William Douthwaite

The party is over, kind of. My two oldest children have gone back to school and our home is suddenly a little emptier and much quieter. The last few days have been a blast with the five of us home. Twice as much conversation, food, games, mess, and laughter.

I know that everyone will be back again in just a few weeks, for Christmas, but when you all don’t get together too often, you take in and enjoy every minute you can.
Here are my favorite memories of this Thanksgiving:

  • Adam leading worship with me on Sunday and Wednesday.
  • Adam’s turkey made of olives and pickles, Katie’s pumpkin bread and green bean casserole, Lisa’s pumpkin pie, and Olivia’s mashed potatoes.Little ones hanging on the altar rail trying to see Pastor Bill.
  • Bike rides on two beautiful days.
  • Two posters filled with sticky “thank-you” notes.
  • The image of Jesus giving thanks right along side us.

As we head full steam ahead into Advent, these memories will quickly fade, so I’m glad I jotted them down here to remember.

Posted in Ministry, Rant

We gather together…

Posted on by William Douthwaite

We had our usual Thanksgiving Eve worship at church today. Actually two times today, once at noon for those who don’t drive at night, and then again in the evening. Each year, the attendance goes down. In the evening, half of those who came were the choir. A quarter were small children (pre-schoolers), which made me think maybe we could try something different.

I like having some kind of Thanksgiving worship, but wonder what we could do that was a little more interactive, a little more family-oriented, a little less formal, and perhaps a little more attractive. I think it’s important to have something, a time to give thanks together, but I’m not sure what it should look like.

I’m going to research some alternative types of worship, activities, gatherings, something different than the usual I grew up with. Maybe wii-thanksgiving.  Some interactive thing we make to take home with us. Something we can share with each other. I’m certain I can find something.

Posted in Ministry

How do we learn thankfulness?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I meet with our preschool’s students each Wednesday morning. I love the chance to interact with a room full of three, four and five year olds who have such a great way of seeing the world and who teach me a lot about God and faith.

Each November, in preparation for Thanksgiving, we sing a song about how much we have to be thankful for, including Jesus. Now even though most preschoolers know how to say thank you, how do you teach them what gratitude is? How do we learn to be thankful?

I start out by having them share things they have that they like a lot. This would include everything from toys and pets to friends and families. We’ve already talked about how everything we have is from God, who made everything. So then we connect the two. You say, “Thank you, God, for my toys.” Or parents. Or bugs. Or whatever. At some level, I think they get it, perhaps even better than we do.

In time we also learn to take things for granted. Until Thanksgiving comes along and stimulates our gratitude glands and we humbly remember our dependence on God and his grace. At least that’s what happens with me. But I get an earlier nudge since I teach the kids about Thanksgiving and they help me see the God who deserves our thanks and praise.