Month / November 2024

by Karen Twinem

More Thanks, Less Stuffing

Thanksgiving is America’s greatest unique contribution to celebrations. Ideally we stop, reflect and give thanks for all the blessings we’ve received. More often, we stuff ourselves and watch football. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Long ago, I decided to turn Thanksgiving into a 10-day celebration of gratitude. More thanks, less stuffing. This brings a dose of mindfulness and generosity into the holiday. It’s an easy plan, and it’s made a big difference for me.

10 Days Before Thanksgiving: Thank the people at home, pointing out their best qualities.

9 Days Before: Send thank you cards to people who have been especially important in your life this year. Think of relatives, special friends, authors, ministers, doctors and service providers.

8 Days Before: Put up your Thanksgiving decorations. Start a gratitude pumpkin, as pictured above.

7 Days Before: List your blessings this year and thank God for them.

Saturday Before: Watch a movie about Thanksgiving or one that celebrates gratitude. We often watch Thanksgiving episodes of TV shows. Our favorites are “Turkeys Away'” from “WKRP in Cincinnati” and “Giblets for Murray” on “Mad About You.” (Both involve airborne turkeys.) For a list of 10 great episodes from USA Today, click here.

Sunday Before: Contribute to a food pantry or charity serving the hungry.

Monday Before: Spend 30 minutes thanking God for answered prayers.

Tuesday Before: Make a place card for each person coming to your dinner, stating why you are thankful for them.

Wednesday Before: Pray to God for things you haven’t received yet.

If you have the opportunity to attend a church service for Thanksgiving, put it on your calendar!

Gratitude is a key component to a happy life. And it’s essential to the Christian walk. I would love to hear any other traditions that you use to fill the Thanksgiving holidays with more thanks. I might even adopt some of them!

by Karen Twinem

Using Loved Ones as Mindfulness Bells

Your mindfulness bell can talk to you. And ask for things. And even be difficult at times. How? Just decide to use a loved one … your spouse, your child or even a pet … as a mindfulness bell.

A mindfulness bell is a sound that reminds you to stop and turn your attention to the present moment … to the person in front of you. Like many people, I’ve had apps to schedule mindfulness bells during the day. 10 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m. … like that.

Having your bell be the sound of a selected person is different. You never know when they will want your attention. So, when they speak to you, you practice Christian mindfulness:

  • Stop
  • Take a breath
  • Ask for God’s presence and help
  • Focus all your attention on loving the person

This idea came from reading “The Mindful Family Guidebook: Reconnect With Spirit, Nature, and the People You Love.” Its author, Dr. Renda Dionne Madrigal, is a Turtle Mountain Chippewa, a clinical psychologist and a certified mindfulness teacher. She sees mindfulness from an indigenous American viewpoint, which has many differences from my own.

Her idea of using your child as a mindfulness bell appealed deeply to me. Dr. Madrigal calls this “an informal stopping-and-noticing practice.” Just as many of us stop and pay attention when our phone app (or even the telephone) rings, Dr. Madrigal suggests we stop and pay full attention when our child wants us.

My children are grown. I’ve decided to use the practice with my husband and a very shy cat.

Don’t have the experience of stopping for a mindfulness bell? Dr. Madrigal suggests that you try an app for a few weeks to get used to it. A good one is the Insight Timer app.

It’s easy to pretend that you don’t hear the 14th call of the day. And it’s easy to feel that your tasks are more important than a mindful response to someone else’s need. But doing this will exercise your attentiveness muscle while building your ability to live in the moment.

by Karen Twinem

Feel God’s Love

Do you feel that God loves you? Really feel it?

I’ve struggled with that over the decades of my life. A way to make God’s love feel more real came in a booklet from Renovare. This Christian nonprofit provides resources to help people feel the fullness of life in God through spiritual practices.

The booklet, “Learning to Hear God: Two Listening Exercises” opens with wisdom from the nonprofit’s co-founder, Dallas Willard. You can obtain a PDF or a copy of the booklet by clicking here.

The first exercise, written by Trevor Hudson, guides us in creating a “beloved charter.” This is a statement composed of Scriptures about God’s love for us. In the exercise, Hudson has us slowly read Scriptures that remind us of how God loves us. You can use Hudson’s list or select your own, perhaps using a Bible promise book.

Some of the scriptures that Hudson included are:

  • 1 Samuel 16: 7
  • Psalm 139: 13-16
  • Matthew 6: 25-26
  • Luke 12: 6-7
  • Romans 5: 6-8
  • Romans 8: 28
  • Ephesians 2: 4-8
  • Titus 3: 4-7

Another list of verses is found here on biblestudy.com.

Look through the verses and see which ones speak to you. Then convert any general language to specific language that sounds like God speaking directly to you. Use the phrases in those verses to weave together a statement of how God feels about you.

This is mine: The Lord my God is with me, a mighty one who saves. He rejoices over me with gladness. He quiets me by his love. He exults over me with loud singing. He strengthens and helps me. Even the hairs of my head are all numbered.

I printed the statement and put it on my desk. So I see it when I sit down to work. It’s a good reminder that God loves each of us. Especially you. Especially me.