{"id":152,"date":"2009-11-26T14:01:00","date_gmt":"2009-11-26T14:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/thinplaces\/2009\/11\/happy-and-special.html"},"modified":"2009-11-26T14:01:00","modified_gmt":"2009-11-26T14:01:00","slug":"happy-and-special","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/2009\/11\/happy-and-special.html","title":{"rendered":"Happy and Special"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since “Life without God” isn’t exactly good fodder for Thanksgiving Day, I’ll come back to those thoughts over the weekend…<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
For now, a quick reminder of what this day is all about.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
I was sitting with Penny this morning and told her, “Pen, today is a day when we get to think of all the people and things we feel thankful for. Do you know what it means to feel thankful? It’s when we…”<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
“Feel happy and special.”<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
“That’s right. What makes you feel happy and special?”<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
“Pop Pop. Nana…” She went on to list a whole array of family members and people in her life. There was no mention of gratitude for things or weather or health, some of the items that often top my list. <\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Her answer made me think about the nature of God, as Triune, three persons in one being. She helped me remember that relationships are at the center of the universe, that before any of us were created, love, giving and receiving in community, already existed in the person of God. <\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
So on this Thanksgiving Day, may we give and receive to and from each other. And be grateful for those who help us feel happy and special. <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since “Life without God” isn’t exactly good fodder for Thanksgiving Day, I’ll come back to those thoughts over the weekend… For now, a quick reminder of what this day is all about. 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Two major life experiences have shaped her writing and her faith\u00e2\u20ac\u201dcaring for her mother-in-law as she battled cancer and welcoming her daughter Penny into the world after she was diagnosed at birth with Down syndrome. Both experiences expanded and enriched her understanding of what it means to be human and to receive each and every person as a gift.\u00c2\u00a0 A graduate of Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary, she is the author of Penelope Ayers: A Memoir, and the forthcoming A Good and Perfect Gift (Bethany House). Her essays have appeared in First Things, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Christian Century, ChristianityToday.com, and Bloom, among other online venues.","sameAs":["http:\/\/amyjuliabecker.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/author\/amyjuliabecker"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/thinplaces\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}