ART & POETRY BY PAUL & KATHY BOECHER©

Today we change the calendar to November, the month of thanksgiving and counting our blessings. It is the time of the year when special holidays get underway and plans are being made for travel and reunion. November has only 30 days. We will turn our clocks back an hour this weekend and perhaps get an extra hour of sleep. Today is National Bison Day. In Minnesota, hunting for big game begins. I’ve included the colored pencil drawing of a majestic moose and his mate in honor of these amazing animals. In this month we observe the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on the 22nd of November. Veteran’s Day is on the 11th of this month, when we honor those who have served our country in the military. Later on we celebrate Thanksgiving on the 27th – when we eat too much, regret it and thank God for all His blessings.

November 1st means that Paul Boecher has been residing in heaven for ten full months. I like to count my blessings each day, so today I thank God for giving me more than 60 years of marriage to this wonderful man and a total of 67 years as his best friend. November signals another change of season. Soon the leaves will completely fall from their limbs, spreading a layer of mulch for the winter to come. We know winter is coming as it always does. It’s our longest season here in Minnesota. Still my heart is grateful. Share some of your blessings with me as we walk through November. Let’s make it a daily affair. Keeping these positive thoughts in mind will give us a new perspective and turn our hearts to the fact that we have a wonderful life. Thank you, Jesus for another day!

Give thanks to the Lord for His creation,
In His hands all things came into existence,
The trees perfectly designed and crafted to bring shade, comfort, and shelter,
The seas in all their majesty, blown into place by His breath,
Abundant with life, food for our stomachs and beauty to behold,
The sky is filled with the voice and color of His paintbrush,
A glimmering sunset, a rainbow of promise, clouds to gather the tears of man,
The secret places are His also, He formed great mountains from formless clay,
He carved the crevices from steely granite, penciled in the lines,
Washed the canvas with water, tweaked, punched, chiseled,
He created every living thing,
Formed from nothing into intricately executed works of art,
Giving the first man a likeness of Himself,
And the first woman taken from the ribs of the man,
To forever be a part of him,
God is the Creator of all things,
Let us praise Him and thank Him for His wondrous gifts,
And remind us that He created us to be the caretakers of His creation.

“Oh give thanks unto the LORD for He is good; for his mercy endure forever!” Psalm 107:1