{"id":2320,"date":"2011-12-20T05:22:24","date_gmt":"2011-12-20T10:22:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=2320"},"modified":"2011-12-19T23:25:43","modified_gmt":"2011-12-20T04:25:43","slug":"remembering-to-be-thankful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/12\/remembering-to-be-thankful.html","title":{"rendered":"Remembering to be thankful"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>This past week, activity reigned within our small cloistered community of believers. \u00a0I cannot imagine Special Gatheirng without the many people who work every day helping to make things right. \u00a0On Saturday and Sunday, as I plan to put the pieces together for worship or parties for more than 100 people, I know that the volunteers would be leading the way making things happen. \u00a0And I’m never disappointed.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Arriving early on the days we have special events or dinners planned, they cook large dishes of food or purchase large cakes. \u00a0They twist and turn the ribbon to make bows and they straighten tablecloths. \u00a0They decorate and plan. David, Francois and Tom move tables and chairs. Trish cooks and brings my “strange” decorating ideas into reality. \u00a0Diane does everything from wash dishes to insure that every person is in their place. \u00a0Joanne transports people. \u00a0Susie and Barbara cook yummy treats. Pam brings the chicken and helps to keep the peace. \u00a0 And the list goes on and on.<\/p>\n

While I don’t always remember to thank the people who make Special Gathering a reality, I am so grateful for how they dedicate themselves to introducing our members to a loving Savior. \u00a0The way they live their lives preaches of the loving Lord whose birth we celebrate on Christmas day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This past week, activity reigned within our small cloistered community of believers. \u00a0I cannot imagine Special Gatheirng without the many people who work every day helping to make things right. \u00a0On Saturday and Sunday, as I plan to put the pieces together for worship or parties for more than 100 people, I know that the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,5,334,3,40,186,49,16,8,4],"tags":[690,688,739,7,699,715,701,694,689,6],"class_list":["post-2320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-autism-spectrum","category-christianity","category-christmas","category-developmental-disabilities","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-intellectual-disability","category-mentally-challenged-community","category-simple-truths","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christianity","tag-christmas","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-faith","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-simple-scriptural-truths"],"yoast_head":"\nRemembering to be thankful - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/12\/remembering-to-be-thankful.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Remembering to be thankful - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This past week, activity reigned within our small cloistered community of believers. \u00a0I cannot imagine Special Gatheirng without the many people who work every day helping to make things right. \u00a0On Saturday and Sunday, as I plan to put the pieces together for worship or parties for more than 100 people, I know that the…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/12\/remembering-to-be-thankful.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-12-20T10:22:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-12-20T04:25:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2011\/12\/crache.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. Howard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Remembering to be thankful - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/12\/remembering-to-be-thankful.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Remembering to be thankful - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","og_description":"This past week, activity reigned within our small cloistered community of believers. \u00a0I cannot imagine Special Gatheirng without the many people who work every day helping to make things right. \u00a0On Saturday and Sunday, as I plan to put the pieces together for worship or parties for more than 100 people, I know that the…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/12\/remembering-to-be-thankful.html","og_site_name":"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","article_published_time":"2011-12-20T10:22:24+00:00","article_modified_time":"2011-12-20T04:25:43+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2011\/12\/crache.jpg"}],"author":"Linda G. 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