We Have a Lot to be Grateful for Every Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving, get rid of envy and it will bring great gain...

Envy is the great enemy of thankfulness. We cannot at the same time be jealous of what someone else has and be thankful for what we have. That's why it's so necessary to discipline ourselves to be focused on all the good that is our's, rather than all our unfilled wants.

As you look at your life this Thanksgiving, consider the things that are
truly your's. The warm memories of parents who loved you and raised you.

The sweet experiences of friendships that saw you through difficult
transitions in life. The years of growing deeper in love with your mate.
The decades of love, mercy and grace from our Savior and Lord.

Would you trade any of these for control of a bank, a seat at a cabinet
table, or a good year on the stock exchange? A recent survey done by a
Massachusetts life insurance company revealed that the average person
would rather spend Thanksgiving with his family than be give $1,000 in
cash.

It is a sign of the age that such a question would even be posed. This
Thanksgiving we are grateful. We are grateful for many things. One of
them is that when our daughter Melissa, was seven years old, she was
involved in a serious bicycle accident that left her unconscious. Bob
was with her when it happened and he thought for several minutes while
waiting for help to arrive that she might be dead.

The most wonderful words Bob has ever heard in his life occurred when
she opened her eyes, groggy and dazed, and simply said, "daddy."

We don't care that we're not wealthy.

We don't seem to mind that we drive older used cars.

We're not disturbed that our clothes don't come from Michigan Avenue
in Chicago.

Our daughter, Melissa, is alive. And every time she smiles at us with
her beautiful twenty-four year old grin, we realize we are the richest
people on earth. Not only that, but we have five other beautiful children
and each other as well.

We hope you realize that you have all you need, this very day, to make
you happy. If you're not happy, it's probably because the virus of envy
is at work in your soul. There's a simple antidote for that disease. It's
a Biblical Proverb the early pilgrims lived by, "But godliness with
contentment is great gain (I Timothy 6:6)." This Thanksgiving, take the cure.

by Cheryl and Bob Moeller

Ten Fantastic Frugal Homemade Fall, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas Gifts

1. Christmas Candy Crunch Ice Cream Topping


Chocolate Candy Crunch Ice Cream Topping
1 stick butter
1/4 c. cocoa
1/2 c. milk (use regular milk)
2 c. sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla
1/2 c. peanut butter
3 c. oats
Boil butter, cocoa, milk, sugar, vanilla and peanut butter for 1 ½ minutes. Add oats and mix well. Spoon out onto wax paper. Let sit out over night on your counter. Crumble slightly and place in jars. Include a little card that says, “Cocoa Candy Crunch Ice Cream Topping” Best kept in refrigerator.

Or you can make:

Peanut Butter Christmas Candy Ice Cream Topping
2 cup sugar
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk (use regular milk)
3 cup quick oatmeal
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 Tbsps. vanilla
Boil butter, milk, sugar, vanilla and peanut butter for 1 ½ minutes. Add oats and mix well. Spoon out onto wax paper. Let sit out over night on your counter. Crumble slightly and place in jars. Include a little card that says, “Peanut Butter Candy Crunch Ice Cream Topping” Best kept in refrigerator

2. “Lemon Pie” Ice Cream Topping

6 Tbsps. Butter
1 cup sugar
4 Tbsps. lemon juice
2 beaten eggs
Melt butter. Take off heat; add sugar, lemon juice and beaten eggs. (The eggs must be beaten very well or they may curdle). Then put back on heat, cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Cool. Pour sauce over ice cream. Include this on a tag: “Lemon Pie” Ice Cream Topping
Do not heat in this jar. Keep this jar in the refrigerator. Will keep fresh for one week in the refrigerator.
3. German Chocolate Ice Cream Topping

1 c. evaporated milk
1 c. sugar
3 egg yolks
½ c. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/3 c. coconut
1 c. pecans
Combine evaporated milk, sugar, egg yolks, butter and vanilla in small saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until thick, about 12 minutes. Cool slightly. Stir in coconut and pecans.
Include Tag that says: “German Chocolate” Ice Cream Topping. Serve Hot or Cold on Ice Cream. Do not heat in this jar. Keep this jar in the refrigerator. Will keep fresh for one week in the refrigerator.

4. M & M’s Hot Cocoa

Hanukkah Theme Craft
“Single Hot Chocolate Gift Bags”
Supplies:
See-through Hanukkah decorated party bag
or see-through plain party bag, Hanukkah stickers to decorate
Box of packets of hot chocolate mix
Royal blue (color of the Israeli flag) M&M’s
White M&M’s

Using one see through party bag, open and pour in six dry hot chocolate packets.
Add twenty white M&M’s and twenty royal blue M&M’s
Tie bag closed with a silver twist tie and arrange a small driedel in the closed twist tie as the package décor. Write on a gift tag: Happy Hanukkah! Mix with boiling hot water. Serves three!

5. Caramel Apple Hot Cider

Combine dry Apple Hot Cider Mix and wrapped Kraft Caramels (unwrapped). Place this mixture (dry cider mix and unwrapped caramels) in a cute see-through jar with a cute lid or cover with ribbon. Wrapped up with a cute mug, this makes a great fall gift.

6. Christmas Bread in a jar

Zuc – coconut quick bread dough with a few maraschino cherries mixed in.
Spray a wide mouth Ball jar with non-stick cooking spray. Then, fill it half full, but no more than half full. Now, you must place all the jars you have
filled on a cookie sheet (the jars should not be touching). Don’t put more than 6 – 8 on one cookie sheet. The jars must be placed on a cooking sheet or they will crack up in the oven. Bake for 20 – 30 minutes, depending on the size of the jar. Then seal with the lid while the jars are still hot and put the whole top on. Decorate with a cute piece of material. Add a tag: Christmas Bread in a jar. Keep refrigerated. Use within one week.


Recipe for Zuc – Coconut Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsps. Vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup shredded coconut or shredded flaked coconut
2 cups raw unpeeled grated zucchini
1 cup of maraschino cherries, drained and cut (optional)


Mix together the first nine ingredients. Then fold in the coconut and zucchini.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes to 30 to 40, depending on the size of Ball jar that you use. Whether it’s a big or small Bar jar, just make sure it’s wide mouth.


7. Children’s Handprints

As a cute grandma or mom gift you can buy some fabric, and cut with patterned scissors. Then have each of your kids put their handprint and write their own name (if they can) and then date it - all in fabric paint. You can do it any size - and any fabric. So you can do it as a tablecloth, table runner, doilies size, or as a wall hanging. It's especially clever as a grandma gift if you get all the grandkids in on it - not just your
own.

8. Placemats for grandparents

“Leaf Placemats”
These are placements Grandpa and Grandma will love. This is a good craft project to do when the leaves are changing in the fall with your children. Find and collect some colorful fresh leaves on the ground around your neighborhood. Take a picture of your preschooler near a tree. Write on a small index card the Bible verse - Hebrews 13:5b - God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Cut four pieces of wax paper about 16 inches long. Lay two pieces of wax paper, wax side up, on your work table. Situate several colorful leaves on the paper right side up, leaving at least a one inch border around every side of the wax paper. Situate the Bible Verse card and the photograph of the preschooler near the tree right side up, also. Lay the other piece of wax paper upside down so the wax is touching the leaves. Make sure the two pieces of paper are the same size and match up or cut accordingly. (You need an adult to help with this part.) With a hot iron but a light touch, quickly iron the two pieces of wax paper together.)


9. Penguins on Ice (as an appetizer or a gift). Arrive at your holiday party with a tray of these cute little Penguins for the guests or the hostess gift. For the tray, use a mirror to pretend like it's a skating rink for the penguins.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cream-Cheese-Penguins/Detail.aspx

10. Buttons, Buttons, Buttons The big thing for Christmas gifts this year is buttons, buttons, buttons. Hot glue gun buttons to barrettes, flip-flops, magnets and cardboard (frame in a cute picture frame).