I remember as a child anxiously awaiting the arrival of the latest Ideals. Ideals, for those who never had the pleasure, was a sort of magazine, sort of gift book publication with beautiful photography and full color art interspersed with poems, stories, quotes, recipes, and reader contributions for every holiday and season throughout the year. Our books didn’t arrive through the mail to be placed on our coffee table; we were too poor for the luxury of a subscription to anything. Ours came a year later when a lady from our church passed down her previous year’s copies. But the content was timeless and my favorite issues were Thanksgiving and Christmas.

For 65 years the magazine inspired creativity and for me in 1969 at the age of 10, I was determined to have a Thanksgiving table worthy of Ideals! I set about gathering leaves and gourds for centerpieces. I spent hours making turkey place card holders out of pine cones and construction paper. I convinced my mother to use real dishes instead of paper plates. I insisted on candles and I even wrote a poem that I read for all of our guests—my grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins. In my mind that was the most fabulous Thanksgiving dinner ever with table décor that would have made Martha swoon.

Ideals has joined the ranks of collectibles for sale on Ruby Lane and is no longer in regular publication, although I understand there is an anniversary edition slated for Christmas this year. But for those of us who enjoyed its pages and will miss its contribution to our holidays, I offer the following collection of Thanksgiving poems, prayers, and quotes:

For each new morning with its light, For rest and shelter of the night

For health and food, for love and friends, For everything Thy goodness sends.

For flowers that bloom about our feet; For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet

For song of bird, and hum of bee; for all things fair we hear or see

Father in heaven, we thank Thee! Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.  ~W.T. Purkiser

 

O Lord that lends me life, Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness! William Shakespeare

 

 

 

Come, ye thankful people come, Raise the song of harvest home:

All is safely gathered in, Ere the winter storms begin.

God, our Maker, doth provide For our wants to be supplied:

Come to God's own temple, come, Raise the song of harvest home.

Traditional Thanksgiving Hymn

 

So once in every year we throng Upon a day apart,

To praise the Lord with feast and song In thankfulness of heart.

Arthur Guiterman, The First Thanksgiving

 

Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some. Charles Dickens

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.  ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

A Traditional Thanksgiving Prayer

 

Today we give thanks for our many blessings

As we pray for those in need.

 

We give thanks for our family and friends

As we pray for those who are lonely.

We give thanks for our freedoms

As we pray for those who are oppressed.

We give thanks for our good health

As we pray for those who are ill.

We give thanks for our comfort and prosperity

As we share our blessings with others.

On this day of Thanksgiving, may the love of God enfold us,

The peace of God dwell within us, and the joy of God uplift us. Amen.

Cindy Brown
Cinsababe's & Cinsababe's Too
on Ruby Lane
http://www.rubylane.com/shops/cinsababe