It's a Holiday Cornucopia Thing

Dear America,

"Be completely humble and gentle; 

be patient, 

bearing with one another in love.  

Make every effort 

to keep the unity 

of the Spirit

 through the bond of peace."  

Ephesians 4:2-3

that's just a little sage advice from the Apostle Paul, as we merrily head into the festivities of family and friends, celebrating Thanksgiving.  

[And a cooking tip: 

fresh sage goes with everything. teehee]

Actually, to tell you the truth, this girl is kinda surprised that we get to keep Thanksgiving; how has The Left not destroyed this holiday already?  

Of course, it's getting there, with the tearing down of Columbus statues and all the rest, it may take only a few more years before these stunts turn into a force of capital punishment against the Thanksgiving tradition, and all that comes with the annual celebration.   The Pilgrims survived and lived to not only tell about it, but become the raw seedlings of a new nation....and now look at us.

Since we are not all stupid  -- as if born, like, yesterday  -- most of us are pretty well aware of what has  happened since the first Thanksgiving...at least in part.  It is in part because we are wholly reliant upon what history books tell us; and perhaps more so, we are reliant upon who tells the story, the chosen narrative and perspective.  Translation:  we, as a people, are subject to personal bias, downright lies, the perverse twisting of the truth, and not to be outdone, human error.

HUMAN ERROR describes so much of the errors of our ways -- whether we are talking in the macro or the micro.  

[Oh, cooking tip #2: 

 micro greens are so pretty! 

Make a bed of big greens,

 add a few micro greens, 

and then toss a handful of dainty, edible flowers on top

...boom. Is it a salad or a centerpiece? ]

BUT here's the thing; it doesn't matter how little or how much human error has come before us.

We are here...

I am here.

You are here.

If you are here in this moment -- if you are living within the boundaries of America's fifty states.... then you are reaping the rewards of every good, every bad, and every living breathing thing in between, in THIS here and THIS now. 

Yesterday is gone; tomorrow is not here yet; all we have is this day...and some of us may not even get all of that, right?  Which means, all we have is this moment right now, that which we universally recognize as the present.

Since the days of Plymouth Rock, the last four hundred years of America's history has been sordid, broken, violent....and that just describes yesterday.  Get it?

Some of us in America  -- right now, today, this very minute and especially last night -- are guilty of doing bad things to other people in America. 

Did you know that in the Bay Area alone, it is estimated that 100 children are sold for sex every single night...and Oakland Won't Quit on Trafficked Kids."  (And that has to be old news by now, given that post dates back to 2013.)

As a matter of fact -- today -- it is estimated that 4.5 million are enslaved through human trafficking around the globe!   Multiply the entire population of Rhode Island by 4 and that's how many people across the globe are sold into the sex slave economy around the world every single day.  [Not sure why I picked Rhode Island -- with all things considered, crime wise, the smallest state in the country ranks third, nationwide -- following Vermont #1 and Maine #2.  This little state that could...downright be one of the safest places on earth, deserves desert and a gold star.]

Speaking of Rhode Island and our history of giving thanks -- the U.S. News and World Report opening page, linked above, includes this:

Forced to flee religious persecution in Massachusetts, Roger Williams founded the first permanent settlement in 1636 in Providence on land purchased from the Narragansett Indians. Newport became a major trading and shipping port, and Rhode Island’s economy boomed. 

Rhode Island was the first of the original 13 colonies to renounce allegiance to Great Britain in 1776 and was the last to ratify the Constitution in 1790, insisting that the Bill of Rights be added.…

And I bet the whole town celebrated with a big feast...

Indeed.
Now desperately trying to segway away from human trafficking as the main dish...

In the words of Leo Buscaglia, and his book LOVE:

"An earthquake, flood, or bolt of lightening may destroy him or those he loves.  An accident may permanently cripple him.  But how he responds, reacts and lives with the handicap or through the earthquake or flood is another matter.  This he can regulate.... 

In order to change, then, man must trust that he is capable of change... 

Knowing that one is always capable of change, the second step lies in making the decision to change.  Change does not occur merely by willing it any more than behavior changes simply through insight.   One can know something is evil, painful or dangerous and still pursue it relentlessly. One can only move toward change when he willfully arrives at a proposal to do so... 

The third step in change is perhaps the most difficult.  It involves the actual processes of the relearning." 

If we are the grown ups this year  (ergo, not sitting at the kid's table) --  then we have a duty to act like grown ups, every single day.  (I know, it sucks, doesn't it....Washington D.C. Hollywood, Clinton's old and new....;  but I digress, now swimming in mashed potatoes and gravy and chestnut stuffing and yams with marshmallows toasted on top, and pie -- lots of pie -- and not coming up for air until I pop.)

[Cooking tip #3: 

just be the one who brings the rolls and the wine!]

If we remain true to ourselves, to our children, to our country, to our God -- then we must admit to ourselves that we are not perfect.  We are only human...And this is simply just a good place to start.

And to that end, the humans who have come before us are only human, too. 

Framing America's history with the same allowances and generosity that we extend to our own family -- you know, all the characters who will be joining hands around the table, giving thanks in only a matter of a few days from now -- then we may give each other the best blessing of all. 

The chance to change, to accept our past and our transgressions, to applaud our gains and our lessons, to give thanks for the pure abundance that surrounds us in the every day, then we may actually begin to love each other unconditionally, systematically, and according to my world, in the way God intended -- wholly separate from every ill, sordid, broken, and violent thing that has not only come before us, but sadly, remain in the here and now, today.

Moving forward, we are free to write, or rewrite, our own life, beginning with wherever we may be in the present moment.

We can choose light over dark.

We can make things new.

We can give thanks for every thing and every season -- from the seed planted by our first settlers, to the seed who grew up to be the wheat that made the bread that we will break in a mere three days, to the seed that creates change to reverse horrendous conditions happening every day from sea to shining sea, in America and beyond...

It's what I like to call heirloom seeds.  Every single one of us carries the same genetic material to make the next generation better than the one who came before -- through knowledge, not ignorance; through education, not indoctrination; through love, not hate; through an INDIVIDUAL DUTY to uphold the things of good character and totally native to the foundations laid so very long ago.  Anything, or anyone, that robs us of this goodness, must be overcome, must be overcome.

This is what I pray.

[Cooking tip #4: 

always come with a toast:

'Live light, travel light, 

spread the light, BE the light. 

cheers']

you're welcome.

SO given the holiday -- consider me gone girl until next time.

May this Thanksgiving find you with the ones you love and be blessed in every way.

God's neat; Let's eat! xoxo

Make it a Good Day, G

It's Just One Child of God to Another, and another, and another, Thing

Dear America,

"Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles....They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator -- who is forever praised.  Amen."  Romans 1:22-23, 25

Living in a spirit of gratitude is the evidence that God is working inside us; and what God wants most of all (according to my imagination, anyway) is to be good people, reflecting the love of God in our daily lives, and to meet each day full of the Holy Spirit -- giving thanks, giving back, giving freely of our time and talent and wealth in the purpose of doing  every good in thought, word, and deed.

America began with this sense (and sensibility) of good self-government at the heart of all things, seen and unseen.

Our first thanksgiving was entirely, openly, lovingly grateful, and clear; it was all about giving great thanks to God, without exception.  The first settlers, Pilgrims -- the ones who survived, anyway -- spent three days glorifying God and giving thanks for being alive, alongside their newfound friends, the native Americans of the Wampanoag tribe.

Since little old Gthing essentially skipped over Thanksgiving without skipping a beat, here is a wonderful piece from one of my favorite places for inspiration -- Hillsdale College, Imprimis publication:  Thanksgiving and America, by Melanie Kirkpatrick.

Following our national holiday celebrating the bounty and glory of life, love, and family -- the nation is swept right into the Christmas, complete with Black Friday matters and Cyber-Monday.

It is immediately after that, America spins a weave of gift giving and charity, creating the first Tuesday after Cyber-Monday as Giving Tuesday, calling upon all of us to spend a moment giving back to a higher purpose under heaven.  It's these kinds of things -- the generosity of time and talent and abundance and grace -- that has always been a cornerstone of American life.  Birthed from our Judeo-Christian roots that conceivably date all the way back to 1621, for America's foundation was built upon a rock of faith.

All of our founding documents were inspired and made manifest through the Holy Spirit, through the tireless works of a whole bunch of enlightened men, who consciously glorified Divine Providence itself, both in word and deed, while in the governance of creating America's political system.  Entire townships centered around faith, family and the fellowship of countrymen, as we set our sights upon a new way to live and prosper.   While the origins of all of the Ivy League colleges grew from the pulpit, literally and figuratively,  each new generation that flowed -- whether from distant shores or from within --  continued in the safe keeping of a certain reverence towards heaven and the things of God.

Sunday's message from a local preacher, Dr. David Jeremiah, noted that a gift is not a gift until it is accepted.   Going on to remind us of what the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8 --

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

So one thing is for certain -- to be saved, we must ACCEPT the gift of God in pure faith and be on the side of God, and be counted as one of the believers (not a denier...teehee); and second, it is not about what we do or what we give at all -- because THAT is just what is expected of you, being  a child of God and all.  Isn't that beautiful.

Indeed, and can I get an hallelujah!


Boasting -- the prideful self indulgence of gloating of the good works we sometimes do -- is a big fat no no.  Which is why, traditionally, churches and organizations centered around a certain faith do the work quietly, unseen, from one soul to another, nearly in secret.  These kind of things go on every day in America, with or without an official declaration by name, like "Giving Tuesday."   That's child's play, right?  Although, come to think of it, Sunday's round of football games, calling attention to the players cleats, did make my heart skip across about ten yards to a first down.  Well done, NFL, well done.

Dr. David Jeremiah also told the story of Lew Wallace, author of Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ.  As it has become widely known, Lew set out to write the story coming from a place of "indifference" towards religion, and God.  And yet, after his research and the incredible devotion of time and toil, his faith in God moved from an awkward indifference to a downright conviction -- as he writes in the preface of another book, The First Christmas:From "Ben-Hur"!

[Dear Santa:  that would be a lovely thing to find under the tree]

The thing is, this girl feels that our nation's foundation needs some work.

We've essentially lost that loving feeling towards the Almighty; and me thinks it has much to do with the conscious extinguishing of so much of our religious heritage, the traditions of faith we once lived by, and made learned, and certain, and just part of our daily life with a conviction to the likes of Lew. Hence, the life-lessons of the truth and consequences of a higher dimension upon us, that which we are learning on the fly as the days go by.  Only Divine Providence knows which way this story ends (well, unless you count the little birdie of a thing called Revelations).

But for certain, this is something that everyone must tackle on an individual basis -- and besides, who am I to call attention to it, but another soul who struggles with keeping in relationship with God all on her own.  Just a girl is imperfectly pretty and pink, though lives each day simply striving to be a better girl then the day before, that's it, that's all.

Now speaking of girls -- mine is coming home for Christmas soon.  It's been a long wait, these six months while she has gallivanted and schooled herself through South America.  One thing is for sure, these days ahead are full for me -- overfloweth, really; just never know when this thing called G will show up again...

That, and the knowing that this girl is purposefully planning on placing politics asunder until the new year....oh joy to the world!

So until we meet again, in spirit, and in everlasting peace....

Make it a Good Day, G

It's a Thanksgiving Toast to America Thing

Dear America,

"Bread and Water 

can so easily be 

Toast and Tea"

anonymous

although enlivened fully by this little morsel,
discovered just yesterday on the world wide web,
the G that falls to tears so easily is immediately overwhelmed with how far society has crumbled.

We are like 300 million crumbs trying to hold ourselves together.

Clearly, the things America has inherently relied upon to do the work of the binding and  the blending -- for the sole purpose of uniting and  assimilating into One -- has been lost somewhere in the mix.

One culture  ----  prospering and glorifying in the freedoms and liberties for all, in equal portion.... under the Constitution, under Natural Law, under a Limited Government, and under God....and framed with individual duties and responsibilities working alongside the rights, like magical mystery beaters working in tandem ----- has tragically fallen prey to a method and ingredient re-do, supportive of a multiculturalism that will neither rise to the occasion or it's historical significance, let alone a future protective of our founder's best intentions set forth. 

[and yes, without hesitation and sticking a thumb in it --  it's directly linked to the current  anti-sugar, anti-bake-sale, anti-bacon, anti-butter, anti-extra-large-coca-cola, anti-anything-good stuff dictated by the little Mrs -- Michelle O. and the likes of a Mr. B (bloomberg-doomberg) -- but this very well could be just a wee bit of leftover post-election bitterness showing.]

But to put this into a perspective we might all understand this morning - - just imagine the iconic Thanksgiving side dish, the Green Bean Casserole, without the Campbell's Creamy Mushroom Soup holding it all together?
oh, you get it now?

What we have here is a situation.

Some liken it to a family feud between the have's and the have-not's -- the upper crust vs. the overworked ooey-gooey middle and the poor pasted to the bottom of the proverbial pan.

Oh, but we can't talk about it.
Nope.
What happens around the dining room table, stays at the dining room table. 

Case in point, Romney, who was recently flavor-blasted from all sides for uttering just a few words of tough love, a scosh of reality meeting up with a good hard dose of the truth and served with a mound of grace and compassion....because he truly cares a deep fried rat's ass about the family -- about AMERICA!

So, what we have here is a situation.

We are all essential ingredients; but it would seem we have the same people showing up for dinner that haven't contributed a thing...ever.   (While this demographic keeps growing, and is widely recognized to be on a trajectory that exponentially exceeds the revenues coming through the door.)

[AND NO -- just to be clear -- we are NOT saying those feeling ENTITLED to receive in WELFARE are the same as those fully deserving to receive through the entitlement programs truly worked for and fully paid into....okay.  These two groups are polar opposites]

Oh my.

So, what we have here is a situation.

"Bread and Water 

can so easily be 

Toast and Tea"

Indeed.

And perhaps, now compounding upon my vulnerabilities (effervescent and ever present that they are)  and letting  my Pollyanna-pilgram imagination have her way with me  --  allow me to be so bold as to add,  it's this kind of sentiment that has carried us in America, for richer or poorer, all this time.

Think about it.

America created the opportunity for all walks of life to come to the table and make something -- be it a life, a purpose, a career, a wealth, a family --  and all in the pursuit of happiness.  But it was this kind of attitude -- making lip-smackin' lemonade out of our lemons and looking on the bright side of things -- that this nation has not only survived, but thrived!

Sadly, we are no longer breaking bread together or sharing the wine. 

We have taken perfectly cooked loaves and drowned them with false-truths -- masterminding division ripe with name calling, racial epithets that take us back centuries, promoting incivility between our brothers and sisters simply because we disagree on our politics and religion -- and thereby, in the end, producing the homegrown masses ignorant of our true principles and forever feeling separated more than ever before.

No.  It's possibly not more than 'ever before'.  We probably felt much the same way back in the days leading up to our Revolution; we probably felt much the same way back in the days leading up to the Civil War; we probably felt much the same way back in the days leading up to the RETURN of civil rights, rightly fought for and unconscionably taken away at the hands of bad government and poor policy and racial discrimination.

We may have a situation but we've been here before.

As a family, we get through it, together.

Words from Grandpa George [as in Washington]:

"Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be-- That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks--for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation--for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war--for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed--for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted--for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us"

That was a day in the life of October 3, 1789.

Flash in the pan to today:

"Many Thanksgivings have offered opportunities to celebrate community during times of hardship. When the Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony gave thanks for a bountiful harvest nearly four centuries ago, they enjoyed the fruits of their labor with the Wampanoag tribe -- a people who had shared vital knowledge of the land in the difficult months before. When President George Washington marked our democracy's first Thanksgiving, he prayed to our Creator for peace, union, and plenty through the trials that would surely come. And when our Nation was torn by bitterness and civil war, President Abraham Lincoln reminded us that we were, at heart, one Nation, sharing a bond as Americans that could bend but would not break. Those expressions of unity still echo today, whether in the contributions that generations of Native Americans have made to our country, the Union our forebears fought so hard to preserve, or the providence that draws our families together this season....

On Thanksgiving Day, individuals from all walks of life come together to celebrate this most American tradition, grateful for the blessings of family, community, and country. Let us spend this day by lifting up those we love, mindful of the grace bestowed upon us by God and by all who have made our lives richer with their presence.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 22, 2012, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage the people of the United States to join together -- whether in our homes, places of worship, community centers, or any place of fellowship for friends and neighbors -- and give thanks for all we have received in the past year, express appreciation to those whose lives enrich our own, and share our bounty with others...."

Let us give thanks and praise; let us reward the day with believing such sweet sentiments of God and Country from the soul of an American president is as true today as it will be tomorrow, both inside and out {for full text).

"On Thanksgiving Day, individuals from all walks of life come together to celebrate this most American tradition, grateful for the blessings of family, community, and country. Let us spend this day by lifting up those we love, mindful of the grace bestowed upon us by God and by all who have made our lives richer with their presence."

For...

"...Those expressions of unity still echo today, whether in the contributions that generations of Native Americans have made to our country, the Union our forebears fought so hard to preserve, or the providence that draws our families together this season...."

Um.  That would be Divine Providence, Mr. President. 

Bread and water can so easily be toast and tea, which can so easily sustain us, being the Bread of Life and  Creator of all things good in America, and all.

Happy Thanksgiving to One and to all.  Cheers.

Make it a Good Day, G

Dear America,

Happy Thursday.
My favorite day of the year is here.

FOR AS MUCH as it is the indispensable Duty of all Men to adore the superintending Providence of Almighty God; to acknowledge with Gratitude their Obligation to him for Benefits received, and to implore such farther Blessings as they stand in Need of: And it having pleased him in his abundant Mercy, not only to continue to us the innumerable Bounties of his common Providence; but also to smile upon us in the Prosecution of a just and necessary War, for the Defense and Establishment of our unalienable Rights and Liberties; particularly in that he hath been pleased, in so great a Measure, to prosper the Means used for the Support of our Troops, and to crown our Arms with most signal success:

It is therefore recommended to the legislative or executive Powers of these UNITED STATES to set apart THURSDAY, the eighteenth Day of December next, for SOLEMN THANKSGIVING and PRAISE: That at one Time and with one Voice, the good People may express the grateful Feelings of their Hearts, and consecrate themselves to the Service of their Divine Benefactor; and that, together with their sincere Acknowledgments and Offerings, they may join the penitent Confession of their manifold Sins, whereby they had forfeited every Favor; and their humble and earnest Supplication that it may please GOD through the Merits of JESUS CHRIST, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of Remembrance; That it may please him graciously to afford his Blessing on the Governments of these States respectively, and prosper the public Council of the whole: To inspire our Commanders, both by Land and Sea, and all under them, with that Wisdom and Fortitude which may render them fit Instruments, under the Providence of Almighty GOD, to secure for these United States, the greatest of all human Blessings, INDEPENDENCE and PEACE: That it may please him, to prosper the Trade and Manufactures of the People, and the Labor of the Husbandman, that our Land may yield its Increase: To take Schools and Seminaries of Education, so necessary for cultivating the Principles of true Liberty, Virtue and Piety, under his nurturing Hand; and to prosper the Means of Religion, for the promotion and enlargement of that Kingdom, which consisteth "in Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost.

And it is further recommended, That servile Labor, and such Recreation, as, though at other Times innocent, may be unbecoming the Purpose of this Appointment, be omitted on so solemn an Occasion.

From the first G. Dubbya, as in George WASHINGTON, 1777; he proclaimed the first NATIONAL Day of Thanksgiving, celebrating the victory of the American Revolutionary War on this day.

How the times have changed in matters of our humility, and grace, respective of the blessings "under the Providence of Almighty GOD....so necessary for cultivating the Principles of true Liberty, Virtue and Piety, under his nurturing Hand..."  It was an utter joy to be of this nature, of this "promotion and enlargement of that Kingdom."  We, as a people, were living a life connected to the Holy Spirit in our livelihoods and family and government, from the inside out.  

It might help for us to pray for more of that today -- Lord knows, it wouldn't hurt, right.

Make it a yummy good day with family, friends and a grateful heart for all that we have, for we have so much;  let us give thanks and praise for who we are, for a faith that knows no bounds, for a history that teaches us everything we need to know... in order to build a future and sustain a nation... firm in our principles and values... for generations to come. 

My very best to America today, and always, G

A special Johnny Cash is playing  a click away on "Dear America" theater today...watch it.