Posts Tagged ‘gratitude’
Thanksgiving Every Day
October is upon us. Days are getting shorter. Pumpkin spice is in the air (and in our morning coffee). Soon, we will gather with loved ones to celebrate another Thanksgiving. In my house, it is a tradition to go around the dinner table and invite each person to name the things they are grateful for.…
Read MoreSimple Gifts
Some years ago, my wife’s great uncle and his wife were visiting from Germany and my family travelled to my in-law’s home to see them. Our kids were quite young at the time, and prone to wake up very early. Luckily, so was my mother-in-law, who often spent the wee hours with her grandchildren. Despite…
Read More“No Problem”: A New Level of Generosity
It was a cold morning. Sleet, slush, grey – you get it. Yet, my husband and I have a standing Saturday ‘date’. We walk the short distance from our house into town. Once there, we divide the list of errands, then meet back at Starbucks for coffee. And well the weather wasn’t encouraging, we decided…
Read MoreBeyond the Thanksgiving Table
This time of year was always special to me when I was a kid. Thanksgiving meant a big turkey dinner at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, complete with stuffing and all the fixings. Grandma would cook the food, and Grandpa’s job was to carve the turkey with the electric knife. And oh, the desserts! There was…
Read MoreFrom Hosting to Hospitality
Learn from a simpler time Growing up, hospitality was very important to Abundance Canada client Gordon Baergen’s family. His father was a Mennonite minister, so they often had missionaries on furlough stay with them and people from the congregation stop by unannounced. “Our home was always open to whoever wanted to come,” remembers Gordon. “Back…
Read MoreUnexpected Truth: Lessons from a Thai Refugee Camp
Back in 1988, my wife and I chaperoned 17 high school students on a trip to visit refugee camps in Thailand. We thought the students would learn about missions and life outside of Canada. We had no idea the experience would change us forever. Our first stop in Thailand was the remote Ban Vinai Refugee…
Read MoreA Simple Thank You!
Time, Talent, and Treasure It seems Canadians are busier now then they ever have been, and finding balance is proving the holy grail quest of our age. Despite the competing demands of modern life, many continue to hold fast to the age-old exhortation to give freely of our “time, talent, and treasure”. This comprehensive approach…
Read MoreGrateful Today
Festive decorations are out and the blank spaces on my calendar have filled up fast. Checkouts are lined with people with their lists of gifts for family and friends. That’s where we all get asked the perfunctory, “How are you today?” Most customers will respond with the innocuous ‘Fine’ or ‘Okay,’ and some will be…
Read MoreThe Gratitude Perspective
As we close out the month of Thanksgiving, all of us have battled through difficult circumstances at one time or another. These events are different for all of us: the loss of a job, health concerns, financial insecurity, family struggles, grief. In the midst of these times, we feel anything but grateful. However, gratitude is…
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