As we approach this Holiday of Thanksgiving, it’s a good time to remind ourselves of the things we are truly thankful for. Family, friends, health, new beginnings, and much more. These are the things that should be springing towards the forefront of your mind when you think of what really matters in life.
But what about the strange things? For instance, I’m extremely thankful for cigars. Now, before some of you get all “What Would Jesus Do” on me…knock it off. It’s very annoying when you say that.
I’m thankful for the last couple of years that I’ve really began to KNOW about cigars.
I’m thankful for a new challenge in figuring out what makes a good cigar.
I’m thankful for the hunt that comes with finding different types of cigars from all over the place.
I’m thankful for friends and readers who share this hobby (a reader actually sent me 20 cigars once!)
I’m thankful for a new collection to replace my Hot Wheels, Yo-Yos, and Comic Books.
I’m thankful for the times I can sit down with friends for a smoke and a great conversation.
I’m thankful for a Cigar’s ability to slow down my fast-paced life so that I can sit and think.
I’m thankful for the prayer and study times I’ve been given as a cigar burns slowly.
It may sound strange, but cigars have a spiritually-helpful presence in my life.
What is something that you’re thankful for that might seem a little strange?
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I’m thankful for Google Reader. It’s connected me with inspiring writers and photographers in the blogosphere, thus pushing me to get back in the creative saddle. It provides a laugh, a time-kill, and perspective, all in one handy little list.
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I’m thankful for all my flat screen friends… most of whom I will never meet, but all of who have made me feel normal in some way and blessed in so many ways. Yourself included. Thanks Pastor Ryan… though we have never and probably won’t meet, you have touched my life.
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I am thankful for yarn. With I can keep myself busy for hours, I can make beautiful things for those that I love, and I have made some wonderful friends because of it.
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Great post. Cigars are great. Personally, I’m more thankful for pipes.
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I am thankful for discovering cooking and photography blogs in the last year. Reading real people’s accounts of figuring out their camera or how to weild a cast iron skillet has really awakened a passion for both in me. So in short, I’m thankful for people like you!
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PS - that wide photo you have at the bottom of this post would make a very cool print for your etsy shop. Think about it.
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This may not be totally strange but it has been on my mind lately…I am thankful for my woodstove. I used to live in Kazakhstan where they have centralized heat (the city controls the heat to the buildings). It is pretty cold there right now and some of my friends live in areas where the city hasn’t turned the heat on yet. Brrrr! I am thankful for my woodstove!
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Ryan–I have decided that I am thankful for repeats on TV. I wrote why on my blog:
http://acalledlife.blogspot.com/2009/11/thanksgiving-thankfulness-part-2.html
Thanks for a fun idea!
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I am thankful for the smell of my horses. Poop, not as much as just them. Their skin, their noses, their hair. In times of struggle, frustration, anger, trying to understand God. I go to my horses and smell them. They bring peace, joy, understanding, fulfillment and relaxation all in one big sniff.
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I am thankful that God broke my heart for the orphan. Until 2005, I’d never even considered adoption before. Now 4 (almost 5) special needs kiddos from China call me mama.
I have MUCH to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, including a broken heart.
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I am thankful for my German Shepherd, she is petite, quirky, intelligent, fun-loving, always on high alert, gloriously furry, committed to being my companion, and always makes me smile. And similarly to what Buffy said about the scent of horses, my girl will sit next to me in the two seater patio chair while I read and as the sun warms her fur, she does smell good.
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I’m thankful for quiet, a pen, and tons of blank journal pages to slow down and write my heart out. And either a mug of tea or a beer to accompany that.
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I’m thankful for all the pictures my 3 year old likes to draw and paint for me because it means she’s thinking of me too.
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I am thankful for having been sick because it makes me appreciate being healthy.
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Even stranger, I am secretly thankful for Scooby Doo because it is mindless, joyful entertainment that helps me let go of the stress from my day.
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Really strange but I am thankful for the almost impossible struggle that my marriage has been. If it weren’t for that, I would not be where I am with God - AMAZING. I would not be healing the screwed up brain I have. I would not have learned to ACTUALLY hear God’s Voice - yes ACTUALLY - and as a result be able to see how much he really does love me and want something amazing for my life.
The struggle is not over, but my Father was also gracious enough to give me a vision for what he has for our life as a result of his healing us.
Praise Him forever and ever.
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I’ve come to your blog a few times based on cooking posts over at PW’s site. I always love what you write, and this is the first time I’ve felt compelled to comment. (I’m making your roasted carrots this weekend!)
I am thankful for the sound of my kitties meowing at me when they want my attention. I am thankful for the way they rub their insistent little faces on me when I’m watching too much TV for their liking. And I’m thankful for the way they cuddle up with me for naps on weekends & holidays.
And tomorrow, I hope to be thankful for a Broncos win over the Giants.
Thank you for giving me pause to think about these fun things, and the more personally profound things I am thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
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I’m thankful that caffeine is a legal drug. I am completely and utterly addicted, and if it were illegal, I would be leading a very different life right now.
I am also thankful for the realization a few years ago that it *is* a drug, and it has given me a sense of God’s love towards addicts of illegal drugs, realizing that we’re not all that different.
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I so am very thankful for the amazing taste of really great food! Everyday I wake up and think…WOW..I get a whole new day of eating.I love to plan meals, search the web, read cookbooks from the library, read magazines to get ideas..favorite one is bon appetit.
We have a date night once a week and we go to a place in Seattle that has pizza made in a wood brick oven. That and a glass of red wine is the ultimate!
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Do you keep the labels and write reviews of each cigar? Like wine labels? They are so tiny and beautiful in their own right.
I am grateful for my dg…she brings such joy into our life
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I’m thankful that I finally stretched my wings and decided to become a blogger. I have had the most fun this year. It just seems like a natural extension of who I am. It has also has helped me branch out and decide to share my art work with the world. I’m thankful that soon… I will have an Etsy store:) Hope you and your family have an awesome Thanksgiving.
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I’m sure there is something but I just can’t think of it at this moment. There always seems to be some family drama going on and everyone’s crap gets dumped on me. Oh I know, I’ll be thankful when the holidays are over. Just once I would love to have a holiday without some kind of drama. Sorry to be such a downer.
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I tried this one earlier on FB, and missed the point n writing: “Today, I’m feeling thankful for the good news, … God loves sinners.
What I meant to write is: I’m thankful that God loves me.
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I am thankful for Twitter because I have met an amazing group of people who, like me, are getting healthy and losing weight. I am thankful for my dogs because of their unconditional love and that they get me off the couch to walk with them. And I am thankful that I met someone at a Tuesday Morning store last January who introduced me to my new church. It was one of those “God Things.”
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The Facebook nerds who came up with Farmville
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I’m thankful for hair dye and make-up! How lame and vain right? But on UGly days, it makes me feel better!
I’m also thankful for people who are authentic — like you.
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I’m thankful for gardening. It’s an obsession, but one that (I think, my husband might disagree!) I’m better for having. I love the smell of new life that happens in the spring, my compost bin doing it’s work, the smell tomato plants leave on your hands if you touch them, watching my six year old become completely engrossed in watching bumble bees bounce from plant to plant, and getting a sense of the kind of love God must have for us, his own “garden” that he watches. It makes me a healthier, more aware human, gives me purpose and peace. What a gift that God lets us grow our own stuff!
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I am thankful for Facebook. I am “friends” with cousins and old friends that I never get to see, and I get to talk to them and see pictures of their families, and daily keep up with their lives. It is a great thing for me to be able to be able to talk to them and let them know I am thinking of them. Just keeping in touch is great. Some of these people live far away, like my son in Afghanistan, and it’s just great.
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After being in the Philippines, I am thankful that clean water comes out of my tap.
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Thank you for a wonderful post. And sometimes there is nothing that smells better than a cigar or pipe (though the neighbor needs to get a new brand and he’s at least not smoking cigarettes-bleh). The cigars are an art, the leaf a piece of life. It’s just like having a fire in the fireplace or a campfire. The smells that bring back wonderful memories and some sad for the person gone.
Ever been to a tobacco farm in Tennessee? And no I don’t smoke, anything.
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I’m thankful for foodgawker and pioneer woman. They have greatly expanded my cooking abilities!
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I’m thankful for cheap bodice ripper novels. I have this habit of entrenching myself in hard to read classics and too many political commentaries. There’s something completely relaxing about reading a book that isn’t at all deep and that you know will have a happy ending.
And I am grateful for cranberry pie. Amen.
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Dear Ryan,
Please take this in the spirit it is intended. Frankly, I’m not sure what spirit that is. I am only speaking from our experience.
I’m thankful that my husband is alive after going through oral cancer treatment last year, probably from smoking cigars the last fifteen years and other things before that time.
I’m not going all “Jesus” on you - frankly, I’m not a believer (so you are entitled to take all I say for what you will, lol) But…if you want to take the chance that your young family might have to watch and care for you during a horrendous treatment for oral cancer because of the spiritual/physical benefits you derive from tobacco, go for it. Also, the possibility you might leave them before you ever hope to because of the spiritual/physical expericence from tobacco? I truly hope this never happens, but whay risk it? You have a beautiful family.
Kendall
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Travel coffee mugs, cloth shower curtain liners, and my ability to crochet. I had to write a post about it here :
http://calistalee.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/thankful-thoughts/
Thanks for this post about being thankful for things that are odd
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