gratitude

A Pilgrims Prayer (One More Time Around The Sun)

/ Janna Hill / Leave a comment

Well it is, once again, that time of year when I drag out this old prose and start making the dressing.

A Pilgrims Prayer

Okay, I didn’t really know any of the original Pilgrims but I did see a few John Wayne movies. John knew a pilgrim when he saw one. He seemed to know a lot of pilgrims.

But allow me to propose that we are all pilgrims, each one of us on a journey of sorts; we are all looking for something. Be it a quest for self-confirmation, for truth, a cure, enrichment, comfort, a friend, a lover, a job, a meal or a place to lay our weary head at the end of another day.

Life is a journey, or at least it should be. I’d hate to think any of us were just flailing through the experience killing time on this giant floating gumball.

We all have one destination though we may travel many roads in getting there.

Hopefully we will choose well.

When we do take a wrong turn [and we will from time to time] I pray that we have enough sense and humility to stop and ask for directions; the sense to know good from evil and who to trust and I pray we have the courage to admit we took a wrong turn and learn from it.

So here’s wishing all of you pilgrims a Happy Thanksgiving and may we all, whatever road we’re on, take the time to look ahead, pause and bow our head in thanks.

My personal prayer:
Thank you Father, The Creator of all things, for this day and all it holds. Thank you for the days past and Father forgive me for my wrong turns. Thank you for the day to come and guide me to make better choices. Thank you for all the persons in my life and the ones who read this prayer. And Thank You Father for the beacon that lights my way.
In Jesus name. Amen.

/ Janna Hill / Leave a comment

Yesterday was Thanksgiving. I didn’t have time to post my annual Pilgrim’s Prayer as I was up to my arse in dinner preparation and then a bunch of celebration. Whew! I am grateful.

It was another Thursday and another Thanksgiving holiday in the USA. So the earth has not quite spun off her axis; some of her inhabitants may have but a lot of us are here today so let’s make the most of it.

I have shared the following bit of prose in one form or another for … I don’t know… decades maybe?

Occasionally I vary the wording but the sentiment is always the same, so without further ado, here we go… 

A Pilgrim’s Prayer

Once upon a time – a long, long time ago (before Black Friday) Thanksgiving was a celebration of harvest and a time to give thanks. Hence the name thanksgiving.

I don’t think the early pilgrims had a Super Walmart, a Sears or a Best Buy. They had never heard of an indie distributor called Smashwords (yikes, imagine how scary that might have sounded)

I’m sure they didn’t have the www to answer all of you questions or a beastly giant named Amazon— yet somehow they managed.

Can you imagine having to grow your own food and prepare it without the help of of a search engine like google? 

When did they have time? Where did they get their Stove Top stuffing and who canned the yams and plucked the turkeys? How did those crazy pilgrims do it?

John Wayne

I didn’t really know any of those pilgrims but I did see a John Wayne movie once. John knew a pilgrim when he saw one. He seemed to know a lot of pilgrims but that was a long time ago too.

I propose we are all pilgrims, each one of us on a journey of sorts. Our own personal pilgrimage…

Aren’t we are all looking for something? Be it a quest for self-confirmation, truth, a cure, enrichment, comfort, a friend, a lover, a job, a meal or a place to lay our weary head at the end of another day.

I believe life is a journey, or at least it should be. It would be terrible to think we were just flailing through this experience; killing time on this giant floating gumball while waiting for the next Black Friday specials.

I believe we all have one destination though we travel different roads and I trust that we have choices.

Pilgrims (2)

Hopefully we will choose well. On the occasion we do take a wrong turn [and we will from time to time] I pray we have enough sense and humility to stop and seek direction… to reassess our route and to be considerate in our voyage.

So here’s wishing all of you pilgrims a Happy, Happy Thanksgiving from the Hill house and may we all, whatever road we’re on, take time to look ahead, pause and bow our head in thanks.

My personal prayer:

I pray our good seeds of hope, humility, toil and courage produce abundantly; that love and kindness grow wild like the weeds of early spring – fruitful and undeterred.  And may our harvest be rich with wisdom and discernment.

Thank you Father, The Creator of all things, for this day and all it holds. Thank you for the days past, and Father forgive me for my wrong turns. Thank you for the day to come and guide me to make better choices. Thank you for all the pilgrims in my life – for those who’ve gone ahead and the ones that come behind and for those who read this prayer. And Thank You Father for the beacon that lights my way.

In Jesus name, Amen.

BTW Thanksgiving & John Wayne (A Pilgrim’s Prayer) is also in Getting Me Back (The Voices Within)

LIFE BEHIND THE RAILROAD ( #TBT )

/ Janna Hill / Leave a comment

I have been doing a lot of reflecting these past couple of weeks. Convalescents affords me that luxury; and let me tell you all of life feels like a luxury- a new lease on life.

If you follow me on TikTok you know I survived being electrocuted late last month. The after effects are a pain and still manifesting. Still, I am sooo grateful to be on the topside of the soil.

Anywho, I thought I would share some of my reflecting with this poem from Getting Me Back.

A little aside: My last visit to the old place was about twenty years ago. It was one of those random stops; my youngest son was in high school and we were on our way home from a dental appointment.

I said, “Hey you wanna see where I lived once as a child?”

Being the adventurous soul that he is he said, “sure!”

So, without further adieu, here you go.

For illustration to feed your imagination only XoXo

🖤~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~🖤

Life behind the railroad tracks

We called home a wooden shack

Lulled to sleep by passing trains

A tattered roof deterred the rains

Chilling winds crept through the walls

Carrying echoes of coyote calls

Two to three in every bed

With coats and quilts to cover our heads

Winter’s cruelty calmed us none

We unfurled early to meet the sun

Neither ice nor snow could hold us back

In hopeless times we crossed that track

Coon hunts and rat kills, boy we had fun

Don’t think it strange, it’s just what we done

June bugs and fireflies, the games that they sparked

Freeze tag and chase we played in the dark

We watched the train as it come and it go

The height of intrigue was to see a hobo


My life was carefree, the world a front door

I wasn’t concerned about being so poor

Our laughs outweighed most of the pains

Life came and went just like the trains


I sometimes reflect on that little old shack

And life behind the railroad track

Laughter rings over a muted cry

With a smile in my heart and a tear in my eye


No times are not tough but times are not fair

We done what we must to get here from there

For ice nor snow could hold us back

In hopeless times we crossed that track.

  • True story. Forney Texas 1970 something

Poem from Getting Me Back (The Voices Within)

Remembering Princess Leia (#TBT)

/ Janna Hill / 2 Comments

I was thinking of Leia today. She was a dog my daughter rescued from euthanasia & left with us on the farm.

Her crime? I’m not sure other than being an undesirable white shepherd; a black sheep that sullied the breeding pool.

Leia was oftentimes mistaken for a husky because of her beautiful icy blue eyes. I never cared, I simply thought she was beautiful.

We could never make her understand the boundaries of the 10 acre farm – she felt sure it extended to a half mile radius.

Finding the photo of a book cover with her (playing the part of Gus) left me a little nostalgic.

It’s oddly amazing how animals touch our lives. …Our hearts.

In loving memory of Princess Leia.

I’ll see you in the clouds one day.

A Pilgrims Prayer (Revisited)

/ Janna Hill / 2 Comments

Another November is nearly at end and another Thanksgiving is upon us.

And, another revisiting of A Pilgrims Prayer. (Slightly revised from previous version)

A Pilgrim’s Prayer

Once upon a time a long, a long time ago (before Black Friday) Thanksgiving was a celebration of harvest and a time to give thanks.

Those early pilgrims did not have the conveniences we enjoy today, yet somehow they survived.

I didn’t really know any of those pilgrims but I did see a John Wayne movie once. John knew a pilgrim when he saw one. He seemed to know a lot of pilgrims but that was a long time ago too.

I propose we are all pilgrims, each one of us on a journey of sorts; our own personal pilgrimage, if you will.

turkey-on-the-trail-1024x626

We are all looking for something. Be it a quest for self-confirmation, truth, a cure, enrichment, enlightenment, comfort, a friend, a lover, a job, a meal, or a place to lay our weary head at the end of another day.

I believe life is a journey, or at least it should be. It would be terrible to think we were just flailing through this experience, killing time on this giant floating gumball, while waiting for the next Black Friday specials.

I believe we all have one destination, though we travel many different roads and I trust that we have choices.

Hopefully we will choose well. On the occasion we take a wrong turn [and we will] I pray we have enough sense and humility to stop and seek direction, to reassess our route and to be considerate in our voyage.

wild-turkey-whiskey-1024x710

So here’s wishing all of you pilgrims a Happy Thanksgiving and may we all, whatever road we’re on, take time to look ahead, pause, and meditate on the many things we have to be grateful for, put aside our grievances and give thanks.

My personal prayer:

I pray our good seeds of hope, humility, toil and courage produce abundantly; that love and kindness grow wild like the weeds of early spring – fruitful and undeterred. And your harvest be rich with wisdom and discernment.

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Thankful

/ Janna Hill / 10 Comments

I’m a little late in getting this post out but still I am pleased to be able to participate in this week’s photo challenge Thankful.

There are so many things I have to be thankful for… to be grateful for. So many family members, friends and fans – you know who you are and I love you. I am thankful for you!

The photographs I chose have less to do with the colorful umbrella and more to do with the conversations held beneath it…

Nothing to do with the roof but the souls that have been sheltered under it…

And the door, well it’s just the gateway to another world. So many comings and goings and so many to be thankful for.