August thanksgiving 9: school staff

Today I took my son over to school to meet his teacher and see his new classroom. She was very kind, and I think he will have another good year. I was happy to find he will have the same aide he's had the past two years. He has made great progress working with her.

I am thankful for the school district we live in, and for the staff at the building where our son attends, in particular. The principal, teachers, and aides have always made him feel welcome and are positive models for the children, in the way they relate to our son. They accept and affirm him, communicating his right to be part of the group. We are fortunate.

August thanksgiving 8: work of the Schaeffers, and an update

I've appreciated reading the books of both Francis and Edith Schaeffer for many years. They were a great encouragement to me during my last two years in college.

I was happy to find a small window into L'Abri as it is today. Stephen West, the attorney, writer, and owner of a record label who blogs at Outwalking, recently posted about his plan to develop The Tapestry Project, detailing the personal story of the Schaeffers and the history of their ministry at L'Abri.

Mr. West and his partner traveled to Switzerland this month to do on-site interviews for the Project. He shares impressions and photos from that journey in The Tapestry Project mini-blog. They interviewed John and Priscilla (Schaeffer) Sandri, Udo and Deborah (Schaeffer) Middelmann, and Edith Shaeffer, in Switerzerland. They traveled on to Cambridge, England, where they interviewed Ranald MacCauley, husband of the Schaeffer's daughter Susan. In Oxford, they were able to meet with Joe Martin, husband of the late Linette Martin (whose conversion story is told in L'Abri) and Deidre Ducker, one of the young school girls who visited the Schaeffers at their first chalet, in Champery.

Mr. West and his partner collaborated earlier on an audio biography of the life of Ruth Bell Graham. I get the impression this project is also slated for audio format, with sounds of life in the Swiss Alps serving as a backdrop for the Swiss interviews.

I've occasionally thought of Edith, since Francis passed away, and hoped she was doing well. Stephen lets us know that she is. I look forward to the completion of this project.

August thanksgiving 7

From the Spiritual Disciplines Handbook:

Thankfulness is a thread that can bind together all the patchwork squares of our lives. Difficult times, happy days, seasons of sickness, hours of bliss--all can be sewn together into something lovely with the thread of thankfulness . . . . We each have the power to interpret the facts of our lives. We make the choices that turn us into bitter or grateful people. Gratitude is rooted in the reality that "bidden or unbidden, God is present." Carl Jung discovered (and popularized) this statement among the Latin writings of Erasmus: vocatus atque non vocatus, deus aderit.

Thanksgiving is possible not because everything goes perfectly but because God is present. The Spirit of God is within us--nearer to us than our own breath. It is a discipline to choose to stitch our days together with the thread of gratitude. But the decision to do so is guaranteed to stitch us closer to God. Attend to the truth that "bidden or unbidden, God is present."
--Adele Ahlberg Calhoun

August thanksgiving 6

The last week or two has involved a little stress. At times like this, I become thankful for small things that don't necessarily make an exciting blog post:

--the next generation of physical therapists, energetic and eager to learn so they'll be better able to serve (we went down to the university three weeks in a row, to help demonstrate)
--a modern washer and dryer
--the motivation to undertake a major de-cluttering of the house (the stuff goes to a thrift store staffed by volunteers, that gives its profit to missions)
--real life friends
--the variety of fresh fruit in season this time of year (peaches, berries, melons)
--the humble zinnias outside my kitchen window, attracting a hummingbird and butterflies
--our son's new red (adaptive) tricycle!
--my husband, who goes to work every weekday to support his family

It's back-to-school time here already. Last week our son got new shoes and a haircut. This week, we'll pick up school supplies and a few clothes. It will be good to get back into a routine, but it's hard to bid the lazy days of summer goodby.

August thanksgiving 5: home-grown tomatoes

Home-grown tomatoes with cottage cheese. Yum.

August thanksgiving 3: something to give

A number of years ago, I had a roommate who made more money than I did. She was comfortable; I scraped. One day, I had a conversation with her about money--how much was enough? She said that her desire was to have enough to cover her needs, with some left over to give to others. (She was more sanctified than I was, which was probably why she had more money. :-)

Today my son and I went down to the local University to help educate the next generation of physical therapy students. I gave them a brief health, developmental, and therapy history. They interviewed me about his current skill levels, played with him, and tried to motivate him to do things that were on his "cutting edge." Their perception of him changed over the hour we spent together.

We did a little bit to help the next group of parents that comes along, as parents before us did, for our benefit. After many years of taking, it's good to have something left over to give.

August thanksgiving 2: indoor plumbing

I just read Rebecca's latest post, about outhouses being outlawed in Whitehorse, Yukon territory, in 1964. Both sets of my grandparents lived on farms, and had unused outhouses.

I spent two years at a mission in the Ontario bush. We had a rarely used outhouse. One year the plumbing in the building where the single female staff women lived froze up for several days; we had to use the outhouse in temperatures of 30F below zero. And I had the flu.

I am thankful for indoor plumbing.
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P.S. Last Sunday morning before the sermon, the minister prayed that those who were depressed, stress, or offended would be . . . . grateful.

August thanksgiving 1: air conditioning

All their lives, my parents have lived without air conditioning. Their house was built without it, and its windows would not accommodate the small add-in units. Earlier this year, they finally got new windows. However, they've asserted that they still do not need air conditioning; it would be too much of a hassle to put in, they've lived without it all these years, etc.

Finally, with this latest heat wave, my sister got worried, went to the local home improvement store, and showed up on their doorstep last week with an air conditioner masquerading as birthday gift. They gladly accepted it and immediately had my nephew mount it in a kitchen window.

The next day, they went back to the same store and got one for the bedroom. (Heat index of 104 today.)

P.S. Last November, Rebecca Writes declared a theme of thankfulness for the month and invited other readers to follow suit. I joined in, and it was the most memorable month I've had, blogging. I think she may do it again this year, and I'm doing a little warm-up in August, as a preview, to encourage more bloggers to join her this time around.