Encouraging others and enjoying turkey and time with family and friends

        A co-worker on my day job the other day called me an encourager. He said that was a gift that God gave me and that I used it to help him and others.
        That was really nice that he said that and it made me feel good.
       A lot of thanks goes to my late parents, who not only believed in me, but taught me the Good Book and used the board on my backside when I was in error.
      If I got in trouble in school, when I stepped in the front door at home, my mom was there with belt in hand to make sure I understood the error of my way.
      My folks didn’t have a lot, but they used what they had to make life the best they could for my brother, Tom, and I. I will always appreciate that they took me to church, taught me right from wrong and taught me to do more for others than I would for myself.
       With that in mind, Thanksgiving is this week and I hope everyone will have a chance to take a break from work and life and enjoy some good food with family and friends.
      No matter whether you go Black Friday shopping, go hunting, take a trip, watch football and basketball games or clean the garage or work on a craft project, enjoy the holiday.
       I was around age 7 when I asked my mom if she’d cook a turkey for Thanksgiving. She not only cooked me a turkey, she made mashed potatoes and a pan of dressing.
       She put a heaping spoonful of dressing on my plate. I took a bite and didn’t like it. No matter, my mom fixed it and she made me sit in the kitchen for what was probably two hours and eat it all.
        I nibbled on it and finally finished off what seemed like a mountain of dressing. It probably wasn’t much more than a cup full.
     Many Thanksgivings we spent with family on my mom’s side. My grandmother could put together a Thanksgiving feast in half of the time it took most. She had plenty of experience as she and my grandfather spent several years working on the river barges traveling up and down the Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee rivers where grandma worked in the kitchen.
       She also cooked in schools and nursing homes through the years. My grandparents raised a big garden, had a milk cow and a brood of chickens, which most likely ended up on the dinner table at some point.
       For a number of years in the 1970s, my grandparents lived in the country near Coweta, Okla., a small town about 30 miles southeast of Tulsa. Their small three-bedroom one-bath house was always full when the kids and grandkids came for the holiday.
       Grandma would be slaving away in the kitchen cooking a meal for 20 plus. Some helped in the kitchen while others sat around visiting. The old black and white television always had a game or some other show going while the volume was turned down. Some of us kids would run around outside for a time.
      When the meal was ready, everyone gathered around the table and took time to pray and give God thanks. We then dug in the dishes of food while my uncle or grandfather curved the turkey.
         I have lot of great memories of a blessed childhood.
         It is so easy in the world we live in to forget that holidays like Thanksgiving are not always about catching the best deal on Black Friday, but more importantly about taking time to spend with family and friends and taking a break from the businesses of life.
     I hope you enjoy a blessed Thanksgiving and holiday weekend. Take time to think of others and do something good for someone who maybe doesn’t have as much as you. Invite a neighbor or friend to dinner who doesn’t have family over to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal.
        When you do good unto others, you’ll never regret it.
​        Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day and always.