(Disclaimer, I didn’t make this plate, it is store bought ceramic, but I love it anyway!)
Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100:3-5 (NIV)
Thank you for your kind comments and wishes for some rest after last week’s tortuous History Fair experience. I usually ignore the obvious definition of resting which for me conjures up the image of sleep or squandering a portion of the day to nap. Rarely do I indulge in that practice, mostly because I often suffer from insomnia. Mid day naps only make it worse. For me, rest is the absence of work, also something I have trouble doing. There are always dishes to dry, floors to mop, laundry to fold and beds to be made. So, how did I take your advice to rest? When the dog woke me up to go out at 6:30, I could not go back to sleep so got up to enjoy the peace and quiet before everyone else arose. Then, I put some glass into the kiln. I have several pieces made on Veteran’s Day that have been waiting firing for over a week. One for fall with autumn leaves needed to be fired or it would be too late to use it for Thanksgiving. By the time it was finished in the kiln, husband and son were finally stirring. Youngest went to meet his girlfriend for church, but I felt that a morning invested in my marriage might be better spent. We cooked and ate a leisurely breakfast together. While sitting at the dining table, instead of seeing the horses grazing in the yard, I focused on the cobwebs on the windowsill and dust on the blinds. I cleaned one window and when husband mused about pressure washing the house before we put up Christmas lights next week, I decided we needed to go somewhere or we’d be up and scrubbing before we knew it. We jumped on the motorcycle and went to the neighboring big city for an arts and crafts festival. I was satisfied to see other fused glass artists displaying their craft which was not any better than mine. Comparing prices, I am no longer so fretful about the amounts I set for my work. I purchased this little wren which you may have seen on another blog. http://amarkonmywall.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/wordless-wrensday/ Its creator called me dumb for buying something she would have given me, but it was worth it to smugly claim ownership over all the other bloggers who coveted it. After the art show, I came home to go horseback riding which my hectic schedule has prevented me from doing for several weeks. Probably not the smartest thing for someone with a bum toe and knee to do, but the pleasure of being on top my horse again outweighed the pain. It was a great day to be outside and to spend every moment doing exactly all the things I love so much, crafting, spending time with my husband and horseback riding. So, what does that have to do with George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation written 220 years ago? Like Washington, I find my freedom and tranquility sweeter after the difficult time they follow.
George Washington’s 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation
Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to “recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”
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 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 enable 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 has been pleased to confer upon us.
And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.
That sounds like a wonderful day! I'm so glad you and hubby to spend a day together doing something fun. Much better than cleaning windows LOL