Search Results for: giving thanks

Everyone Needs a Little Help

November 17, 2014 by thiscookindad Leave a Comment

The charity that is a trifle to us can be precious to others.

–Homer

Last night, our family helped organize a shoebox packing party for Operation Christmas Child, a Christian ministry that sends shoeboxes filled with gifts to children all over the world.

I was really just overwhelmed by the spirits and hearts of the individuals who showed up to pack boxes for complete and utter strangers. We pack these boxes with little things that so many of us take for granted: toothpaste, toothbrushes, combs, soap, pencils, notebooks, and small toys. These trinkets have the potential to make a world of difference for the children who receive them. That pencil could mean that a child gets to go to school. A tiny flashlight could mean that another can get some extra work done at night.

These gifts are about more than just giving stuff to these kids. They are about helping them get a leg up. Most of all, they are about giving these kids hope for a better tomorrow. After all, that’s what charity is about. Some people have tried to transform the idea of charity into just giving out free stuff, but, in reality, it’s about showing a little love and giving a little hope to those who need it most. I’m thankful to be able to show a little love, even to someone I’ve never met.

Throughout November, I’ll be posting about those things for which I am most thankful this year. Look for more of my Giving Thanks series all month long.

What are you giving thanks for this year? Leave a comment and share your story!

A Little Learning…

November 16, 2014 by thiscookindad Leave a Comment

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.

–Aristotle

I’m a big proponent of education. That doesn’t necessarily mean college as college is not for everyone. What I do advocate is having options and education, both broad and deep, can give you that.

More than anything else, I believe that a good education can let you see things from multiple viewpoints. While you may or may not agree with someone else’s perspective, you become at least open to hearing it. Too often in this day and age, we wish to be friends with people who agree with us, politically, religiously, etc. As such, we form little groups or tribes and believe differently than other little groups or tribes. So we section ourselves off from each other, each knowing how right we are and how wrong the other is.

A good education allows us to speak with one another, to make our cases, find some common ground, and still walk away as friends. I think we could all use a little more of that.

Throughout November, I’ll be posting about those things for which I am most thankful this year. Look for more of my Giving Thanks series all month long.

What are you giving thanks for this year? Leave a comment and share your story!

Man’s Best Friend

November 15, 2014 by thiscookindad Leave a Comment

He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.

–Immanuel Kant

I love my pets. Over the years they have brought me great comfort and joy. Mostly, they have brought me relaxation, helping me to cool off when I feel myself losing control.

I have three pets…2 cats and a dog. I can always tell when I’m starting to lose my temper because Buddy, our dog, will run and hide in the bedroom. When I go to find him, he looks up at me, letting me know just how big an ass I’ve been. Smokey is a pretty happy cat on the whole and has a way of reminding me that his needs are much more important than anything else that I might have to think about.

Snickers is the oldest of our little pet family. She was the first addition to our life as a couple after I got back from Iraq. She has taken to hiding most of the time since the kids were born, but she still comes out after the kids are in bed or when they are away at school. I think she makes it her mission to claim me and force me to slow down a little and find some time just to take it easy.

Somehow or another, your pets always seem to know just what you need and when you need it. I, for one, am thankful for that.

Throughout November, I’ll be posting about those things for which I am most thankful this year. Look for more of my Giving Thanks series all month long.

What are you giving thanks for this year? Leave a comment and share your story!

Laughter is the Best Medicine

November 14, 2014 by thiscookindad Leave a Comment

Like a welcome summer rain, humor may suddenly cleanse and cool the earth, the air and you.

–Langston Hughes

A good sense of humor can help get you through some of the most trying times in your life. Sure, there are times when you are allowed to be angry, upset, and frustrated, but a sense of humor helps you to see the lighter side, put on a smile, and face your trials with dignity.

Moreover, a good sense of humor can help to keep your friends closer. When you start getting down on yourself and start taking yourself too seriously, people just don’t want to be around you. Frankly, without a good sense of humor, you can become depressing and no one wants to be around that!

So take a look at your life. If you find something funny, laugh at yourself. If you find something that’s not funny, try to find a way to make it funny. Your family and friends will thank you!

Throughout November, I’ll be posting about those things for which I am most thankful this year. Look for more of my Giving Thanks series all month long.

What are you giving thanks for this year? Leave a comment and share your story!

Friends Forever

November 13, 2014 by thiscookindad Leave a Comment

Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art…. It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.

–C. S. Lewis

Throughout my life, I have been blessed with a small number of friends with whom I am very close. As I have moved around, that circle of friends has changed, but the circle has still remained pretty small. While I may have acquaintances at every corner, the number of people whom I count among my true friends has never been very large.

To know true friendship is to know one who would put your needs above his own, knowing that you would put their needs above yours in return. If you would like a model for that type of friendship, just look to the military. My friends from my service over a decade ago are still among my closest.

One thing that I have learned over the years is that, to have friends, you must be a friend. I have seen too many would be friends who are never around when the going gets tough. It’s the special few who step up during those times of trial that I truly wish to spend time with. I’m thankful to have maintained those close friendships over the years and I know that they have made a huge difference in who I am.

Throughout November, I’ll be posting about those things for which I am most thankful this year. Look for more of my Giving Thanks series all month long.

What are you giving thanks for this year? Leave a comment and share your story!

Putting Technology in Perspective

November 12, 2014 by thiscookindad 1 Comment

The major advances in speed of communication and ability to interact took place more than a century ago. The shift from sailing ships to telegraph was far more radical than that from telephone to email.

–Noam Chomsky

I am so thankful for the technology that we have available to us these days. We recently upgraded from our iPhone 4s to the iPhone 6 Plus. The phone has so much processing power, that it is hard to believe how far we have come in such a short amount of time. It is simply incredible how quickly we can communicate and how far our ideas can reach. If it were not for this technology, I wouldn’t really be able to do what I do.

Still, I think many of us take today’s innovations for granted. It was just over 150 years ago when the first transatlantic cables were laid, reducing communication times from 10 days to just a couple of minutes. How many of us complain today when a text message goes more than 2 minutes without a response? I cannot imagine that we’ll ever make quite so drastic a reduction in worldwide communication.

I know too many people who vilify modern day communication devices as the source for so many of today’s woes. I often remind them that the machine itself is only a tool. The changes have come so quickly that, in my opinion, people have begun to think of these tools as an extension of themselves, but, at the end of the day, it’s just a tool. With a little perspective, I think we can appreciate how powerful these tools are, but maybe hold on to our patience when they aren’t quite as powerful as we’d like.

Throughout November, I’ll be posting about those things for which I am most thankful this year. Look for more of my Giving Thanks series all month long.

What are you giving thanks for this year? Leave a comment and share your story!

Honor and Respect

November 11, 2014 by thiscookindad Leave a Comment

In America, any boy may become President and I supposed that’s just one of the risks he takes!

–Adlai Stevenson

On Veteran’s Day, I’d like to take a moment to remember and to thank all those who have served in the armed forces at home and abroad. Whether serving at peacetime or during conflict, these individuals have been our front line in the ongoing fight for freedom.

Every year, for Memorial Day and for Veteran’s Day, we take the kids out to place flags on the military markers at our church’s cemetery. It’s one way for us to remember and to show our kids how to continue respecting these individuals during their final rest. As a combat veteran myself, I know how much I appreciate when people respect my desire for a quiet space.

I also understand the hardships that exist during service and those that come about during the transition to civilian life. All of the sacrifice is worth it, though, to see people exercising their rights. What fills me with the most pride is to see people speaking freely, disagreeing vehemently with one another, but respecting each other’s right to hold a countering opinion. What frustrates me most is to see people shouted down for holding an unpopular opinion. When a person’s freedom of expression is limited and disrespected, I feel like my sacrifice to secure freedom has been for naught.

If we all respected each other’s opinions a little more and took the time to actually listen to one another, we might find that we have more common ground than we think. Personally, I think that’d be the greatest way to honor the sacrifice made by those veterans still living and those who have already left us.

Throughout November, I’ll be posting about those things for which I am most thankful this year. Look for more of my Giving Thanks series all month long.

What are you giving thanks for this year? Leave a comment and share your story!

A Sunny Outlook for the Future

November 10, 2014 by thiscookindad 1 Comment

For I dipped into the future,
far as the human eye could see.
Saw the vision of the world,
and all the wonder that would be.

–Alfred, Lord Tennyson

At one time, my career path was steadily directed towards that of a history teacher. I still love history because we can use it to learn from the past, however, I have always been one to look more towards the future. The future holds an endless number of possibilities that, while shaped by history, are not necessarily beholden to it.

When times are good, people like to look to it as a golden age and we forget about all of the problems of the past. When times are down, though, we like to look to all of the good times that are behind us and dwell on the fact that things will never be that good again.

I am of the opinion that I have a choice as to how to react to bad times. I can either dwell on how awful things are and take the position of defending myself against that awfulness or I can be hopeful that the future holds better days and I can get myself ready to embrace those days. As a father, the only choice that I can accept is that things get better. I cannot accept a future in which my kids will have to constantly be in fear of the next awful thing to come along. I can, however, teach them to look to the past for guidance, to look past a gloomy near future, and to maintain a sunny outlook for a future that’s not here yet. The future is going to be great and I’m beyond thankful for that!

Throughout November, I’ll be posting about those things for which I am most thankful this year. Look for more of my Giving Thanks series all month long.

What are you giving thanks for this year? Leave a comment and share your story!

Food Exploration

November 9, 2014 by thiscookindad Leave a Comment

The discovery of a new dish does more for the happiness of mankind that the discovery of a new star.

–Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

As a food and travel photographer, I get to see all sorts of food and food cultures. I am always amazed at how different flavors and ingredients are from place to place, but at how similar the cooking mentality can be. Mostly, I love introducing people to these different ways of approaching food and seeing their eyes light up. You can almost see their food world change in an instant.

I am, by no means, an expert in food. I have neither the creativity of the best chefs nor the encyclopedic knowledge of stars like Alton Brown. What I do have is a love and a passion for food and for learning. So I soak up knowledge as I go, attempting to recreate and share what I am learning, often to the benefit of my family and friends, who eat well when they get too close.

I love pushing things, changing them up, and simplifying them to make them accessible for anyone to do in their own home. If we can each discover a “new to us” dish and share with others, we can all spread just a little more happiness in this world and that’s worth giving thanks for.

Throughout November, I’ll be posting about those things for which I am most thankful this year. Look for more of my Giving Thanks series all month long.

What are you giving thanks for this year? Leave a comment and share your story!

A History of Us

November 8, 2014 by thiscookindad Leave a Comment

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

–George Santayana

Recently, I was talking with a couple of guys about the popularity of shows like Duck Dynasty, Breaking Amish, Alaska: The Last Frontier, etc. Part of the conversation centered around the exploitative nature of some of these shows and how these networks have taken advantage of these families and pushed them upon the rest of us. I contend that much of our nation’s population is far removed from the places where these shows take place.

As such, I think these stories are compelling for many of us. They connect us with a place and a past that, while we may not have experienced ourselves, may have been experienced by our parents or grandparents. Shows like this bring history to life and they do exactly what any history should do. They show us another side of ourselves and expand our personal experience by teaching us through the experience of others.

As a history teacher, I could not be more excited that water cooler conversations are shifting from the mundane of prime time sitcoms to more substantive issues, however exploitative they may be.

Throughout November, I’ll be posting about those things for which I am most thankful this year. Look for more of my Giving Thanks series all month long.

What are you giving thanks for this year? Leave a comment and share your story!

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