A Thanksgiving Prayer

Almighty and gracious Father, we give you thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them. Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

From the Book of Common Prayer, p. 246.

A Thanksgiving Hymn

For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies;

Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.

For the beauty of each hour
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower,
Sun and moon, and stars of light;

Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of ear and eye,
For the heart and mind's delight,
For the mystic harmony
Linking sense to sound and sight;

Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth and friends above,
For all gentle thoughts and mild;

Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.

For thy church, that evermore
Lifteth holy hands above,
Offering up on every shore
Her pure sacrifice of love;

Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.

For thyself, best Gift Divine,
To the world so freely given,
For that great, great love of thine,
Peace on earth, and joy in heaven:

Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.



These beautiful, prayerful words were penned by Folliot S. Pierpoint in 1864, and the tune we know was written by Conrad Kocher in 1838.

I'm thankful for...

• The sound of an Oldsmobile Cutless Supreme going down a gravel road
• Indiana Route 46 between Spencer and Nashville
• Tick Ridge
• Raccoon Lake
• Trail 3 at Turkey Run
• The Purdue Pete grain bin on Indiana 55
• The T where the Fountain County road that extends off IN 55 meets IN 341
• The view of Purdue from McCormick Road
• The pipe organ at First Baptist Church Pasadena
• Mom’s apple pie
• The Notre Dame Victory March, On Wisconsin, and most of all, Hail Purdue!
• The Engineering Fountain at Purdue (especially on a hot summer night)
• The Loeb Fountain at Purdue
• Nana’s French Toast
• Rosedale
• The Firemen’s Breakfast
• Green Lake, Wisconsin
• Hymnals
• Learning foreign languages
• Runs at the Rose Bowl
• North 7th street in Terre Haute
• The Harry Evans Bridge
• Living nativities
• Freshly stoked wood-burning stoves on a frigid winter morning
• Gas fireplaces that don’t have to be stoked
• Moonlit snow crunching beneath my feet
• Trips to In-n-Out with my roommates
• Talks with Dad after everyone else has gone to bed
• Drinking instant iced tea (sweetened with Equal) on the porch with Mama Wylma
• Direct flights on Northwest Airlines from LAX to IND
• The Fuller Faculty
• American Baptists
• Purdue Bones
• The West Road
• Unexpected calls from Robin
• Betsy’s “quirkiness”
• Farm Bureau milk shakes
• Whole-hog sausage sandwiches
• Cruellers
• Midnight Mass
• Easter Sunrise services
• Parliamentary Procedure
• Putting up Christmas lights with Birch
• Betsy’s willingness to get stuck behind the Christmas tree when we put lights on
• Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians (and all those other Christmas records)
• Dailey Chapel VBS
• The flagpole Pa Wayne made for me
• All my teachers
• The ISU homecoming parade
• Southmont Junior High School
• Window air conditioners
• Robin and Betsy calling me George
• Endless talking with Ellen at the Red Fence
• Humanities with Mr. Lunsford
• Gilly’s Ice Cream
• Deep theological discussions
• Hearing Mom play “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” on the piano
• The Middle Room
• College football Saturdays
• March Madness
• Sweet Tea
• Grammar
• The Today Show
• Early morning prayer with a friend
• Surprise snowfalls
• So very much more…

Four Things

Taking a page from Hanna's book...

Four jobs I have had in my life:
Wal-Mart cashier (!), Peer Counselor at Purdue Financial Aid, Quest staff (x3), Office assistant

Four Movies I could watch over and over:
Hoosiers, A Christmas Story, Rudy, Aladdin

Four places I have lived:
Rosedale, IN; West Lafayette, IN; Green Lake, WI; Pasadena, CA

Four TV Shows I love (or like) to watch:
Today, Studio 60, American Idol, Jeopardy

Four [random] places I have been on holiday and visited:
China; Washington, D.C.; Faribault, MN; Boston, MA

Four of my favorite foods:
Pizza, In 'n Out burger, lasagna, homemade applesauce

Four places I would rather be right now:
Rosedale, Green Lake, Purdue, most anywhere east of the Mississippi

Four favorite songs:
Hail Purdue, Abide with Me, Back Home Again in Indiana, That's Amore