Happy Thanksgiving!

There are lots of things to be thankful for and a lot of those things we probably overlook most of the time. One thing I am glad I'm not a turkey around this time of year. According to eatturkey.com about 46 million turkeys are consumed in the United States on Thanksgiving.

I'm thankful that I am blessed with healthy children. Raising children is not easy, but I can't fathom how difficult it would be if they were not healthy. However, some parents due raise children that have health issues. To those I am thankful for your children and I am thankful somehow you find a way.

I'm thankful for my blog. I'm thankful I can write about anything I want. Of course I am thankful for my readers, my audience. It is nice to see they have visited and it is fun to read their comments.

I'm thankful for my day job. It is much better than being unemployed. I have plenty of vacation and sick leave. I have so many benefits to be thankful for.

I'm thankful I have a roof over my head. I'm thankful I have internet and smartphones. I am thankful I am not hungry or thirsty. I am thankful Hurricane Michael moved a few miles further east. While I am thankful we dodged it I know many were struck with destruction. I am thankful for the volunteers who fed, housed, cleaned up and repair. I know there is still so much to do but I am glad there are more volunteers.

I'm thankful I have been able to help the homeless in three different states. I am thankful there are people willing to help and provide food and shelter.

Yes there is so much to do, but I am thankful for what is happening. I am thankful for my blessings and I hope you have some too!

Thanksgiving!

I wish all my readers the best for Thanksgiving! I hope everyone was able to find something to be thankful for as I know sometimes in a world full of troubles that can be hard to find.

The news before thanksgiving was not pleasant. Children getting shot by police, granted the children were playing with toy guns that looked like the real things. The riots in the aftermath of the decision in Ferguson. I wanted to blog about it. However, nothing I could write could change the situation.
I almost fell through the trap door and started blogging about it.

I pray for healing in those communities. I pray for the riots to end and peace to prevail. I hope it wasn't a racial issue. I know the incident has widened the division between races in this melting pot we call America.

I truly hope those racial divides end. I am not a fan of dividing people up in politics the left and the right either. Then there is the religious divide. We are all different. We should celebrate these differences and enjoy living together in harmony.

I am thankful I have friends of different religions, races, and.backgrounds. I am thankful for the ones who have shared their traditions, their food, their culture and truly enriched my life.

That is why my thoughts are on peace and love! No, I am not trying to sound like an old hippy. However peace, love and together is a much greater alternative than what I see in the news. No more riots, no more injustice, no more big divides, lets come together and become something greater.

Maybe give the homeless shelter, maybe feed the hungry without being arrested, maybe lifting up instead of tearing down. If we all work towards that wouldn't we all be more thankful?

Flood Damage:Pensacola Manna Food Pantries

As you may have heard the Pensacola area has been hit with some flooding lately.

Many have insurance, many will be able to rebuild and replace. However, the Manna Food Pantry in Pensacola was wiped out. You can see a video here.

Luckily with help from Gulf Winds Federal Credit Union and the community of Pensacola the raised over 135,000 for repairs.

However, they still need help. They feed the hungry in our community and need our help so Pensacola doesn't have flood victims later when the hungry can't be fed.

Here is a link to their website!
.

At the shelter

This winter/spring I have volunteered at the cold weather shelter quite frequently. I am spending the holiday weekend helping out. I just started my second night in a row.

Today has been a bit rough. Left the shelter in the morning..home..church
.visit relatives in town go home get ready return to the shelter. A blur best describes the day.

But these folks need the shelter. 13 nights spent awake and away from home is really the least I can do.

The economy  is not good. I struggle yet these folks struggle too. Homelessness is real. I don't normally see them on the streets like in the big cities. However I know they exist I see them here.

I wonder where will they go.  There will be cold days..stormy days..hot days...and I wonder how they will find shelter. How will they eat?

I wonder about next year. Where will the shelter be? Who will survive?

Hagerstown Cold Weather Shelter

I wrote about the problem of homelessness in a November blog. Today I published an article about an organization doing something about it in Hagerstown, Maryland. The word needs to get out about these kind of organizations.

You can read the article here.

I think I left these facts out of the article so I will through them in here.

The shelter provides the homeless an address to use and a place to get messages and phone calls. This is a big deal because it allows potential employers a place to reach them, or family, or somebody who could potentially help them.

It gives them a place to do their laundry.

It gives them a place to shower.

The cold weather shelter is more than a warm meal or a cot to sleep in. If you want to learn more read my article and follow the links. If you want to do more volunteer at a shelter, I am sure you can find one that can use your help.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on what you are thankful for and sometimes it is easier to find than others.

I am thankful for the opportunity to help with Hope Alive. I am glad we are able to help all of the woman and children which we do help. I am thankful for the positive people I have met through Hope Alive.

I am thankful I am not homeless. I am humble enough to know I don't have much. I am thankful for all the blessings in my life. I am aware I am only a few steps away from being homeless.

I am thankful I have food to eat and so does my family. I am thankful I am able to help people through SHARE. I am thankful for the people I have met through SHARE.

I am thankful for my daughter. I am thankful she is healthy and beautiful. I am thankful for her mother, who helped create this beautiful child with me. I am thankful for the blessing to have such a beautiful child.

I am thankful for my stepson. I am thankful he is bright. I am thankful he is healthy (for the most part). I hope I have helped him, I have tried. I wish it was easier. I am thankful he likes to read. I am thankful he was able to win a writing award for being a gifted writer. I am thankful for the positive things we have heard about him. I am thankful that we have the future. We have a chance to unlock horns and improve are relationship. I am thankful he has a dad. I am glad he able to do things with his dad, just like I am thankful for the times I have been able to do things with him. I am thankful he was able to have a great birthday. I am thankful for his mom, since she is my wife as well. I am thankful he likes music. I am thankful he gets to travel. I am glad he is having a better school year so far. I am thankful he is able to take the gifted classes he takes.

I am thankful for the people who have helped us. I am thankful for the people I have helped. I am thankful for the little words of advice which mean a whole lot. I am thankful for the things I take for granted everyday. I am thankful for the things I never have said thanks for, or at least not to the right person.

Busy Thursday

Tuesday was busy with work and two meetings to follow. Thursday will be the same kind of day. Work, followed by a board meeting, followed by a meeting.

Oh, well it will be one day closer to the weekend. The second meeting is about helping to solve homelessness in Frederick, Maryland. I'm aware of the problem and am trying to be part of the solution. Volunteering for Hope Alive is part of the solution. Going to see a wonderful concert by the California Guitar Trio for another organization is part of it. However, there is so much more to be done.

In the past I have also volunteered for the REACH Cold Weather Shelter in Hagerstown, Maryland. Homelessness is everywhere. We all need to work for solution.