(Carolyn Tomlin)

We all have the same amount of time. Twenty-four hours in a day, 1,440 minutes
and 86,400 seconds. How do you used this time to give thanks for your blessings?

During this Thanksgiving season, we are reminded to stop and reflect on those
things for which we’re grateful. Not rattling off someone else’s list, but our
own…one that requires deep reflection.

This Thanksgiving, I’m particularly thankful for:

• A loving family and one that enjoys being together.
• Grandchildren and greats who are growing into responsible, compassionate
  people.
• The love of friends who share their time and homes.
• America and the freedoms we enjoy.
• My shelter dog, Hemingway, and his unconditional love of all people… and
  most neighborhood dogs.
• A loving church family who practices what it means to be a Christian.
• A phone call, email or letter that says, “I read your article this week.”
• Those serving in the Armed Forces now, and our veterans, who have kept
  our nation safe and preserved our freedoms.
• The joy of gardening and planting seeds, cultivating plants and partaking of
  the harvest.
• The fragrance of the first drops of rain on a hot summer day.
• A good-night’s sleep on crisp, fresh linens dried in the sun.
• Memories of good parents that I knew loved me and supported me through
  their hard work and unselfish devotion to being a wonderful mom and dad.
• Former teachers who encouraged, supported, and inspired me to reach
  higher and to believe in myself.
• Growing up in a rural area and appreciating the value of a country life.
• A father who said, “I thought I’d taught you to think for yourself. Now you
  do, what ‘you’ think, you should do!”
• A mother, whose advice was “Be able to take care of yourself!”
• The smell of fresh turned earth on a warm spring day.
• Christmas decorations from the good earth…including fragrant pine,
  magnolia, and holly.
• A warm house in winter.
• Colored glass bottles with the late afternoon sun peeping through.
• The annual doctor’s visit that ends with “If all my patient were as healthy as you, I’d have to close my practice.”
• The simple things in life, such as a good book, sunshine on a cold day, warm
  mittens, fur-lined boots.
• Chocolate…dark chocolate, milk chocolate—anytime, anyplace.
• Having an “Aunt Jessie” who taught me about the natural world of plants
  and animals.
• Afternoon tea in an antique China cup.
• The smell of pot-roast cooking in my mother-in-law’s old iron skillet.
• The speed of the Internet when researching a writing assignment.
• Editors who publish my work.
• A loving and forgiving God.

As you gather together this Thanksgiving, take time to reflect on how God has
blessed you. How are you using those hours, minutes, and seconds in your day?

Carolyn Tomlin is a Jackson, Tennessee-based author that has been writing and publishing since 1988. She has authored 19 books and more than 4,000 articles in magazines such as Entrepreneur, Kansas City Star, American Profile, Tennessee Home & Farm, Home Life, Mature Living, ParentLife and many others.  You can purchase her full-length works here.