Thankful for What Didn't Happen with Guest Jo Huddleston

Author Jo Huddleston

Retailers bring out Christmas things to get us into the gift-buying mode. This happens earlier and earlier as the years go by. In the past, even retailers waited until the day after Thanksgiving for the official start of Christmas season.

I hope the exceptionally early start to the Christmas season doesn’t overshadow the Thanksgiving holidays completely. I wouldn’t want to look ahead to Christmas so much that I didn’t focus on Thanksgiving Day when it arrives.

Around the Thanksgiving holiday, most people pause, however briefly, and try to be thankful for their blessings. Usually, we include even things we take for granted all year. But have we ever stopped to be thankful for things that we don’t have; for things that didn’t happen?

I’m thankful I didn’t spend time the past year as a hospital patient. I’m thankful I wasn’t in an accident that left me injured, with a long recovery time.

I’m grateful that our community wasn’t devastated by a fierce tornado or hurricane. I’m glad no trees fell across the roof or through a window, and no power lines lay tangled in the yard.

I’m thankful that Santa Ana winds didn’t whip across our state, like they did in California, fueling ranging fires, which consumed everything in their path.

I’m thankful my community didn’t have an outbreak of dreaded infection or contagious disease like that which hit some locations. I’m grateful that malnutrition and hunger don’t bring pain to children’s faces in my community like those situations I see on television.

At the same time, I’m being thankful for having missed some bad events this past year, I’m also thankful for the good things.

I’m thankful for the privileges I have because I live in America, and for the responsibilities, those privileges bring to me. I’m grateful for teachers, from pre-school through college, who teach because they love the student and want to help students to discover learning.

I’m thankful for my community’s police department and fire department that provide for the safety and well-being of our citizens. I’m grateful for every health care worker and medical professional in my area who remain dedicated to the health and welfare of their patients.

I’m thankful for all things electronic. They make my life easier and more interesting even though I don’t understand them.

I’m grateful for neighbors who care. I’m thankful for books to read, sunsets to enjoy, and grandchildren to love.

Most of all, as I count my blessings every Thanksgiving Day, I’m glad I have Someone to thank. “Enter his gates with Thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” (Psalm 100:4, NIV)

Jo is generously offering an ebook copy of her book, Tidewater Summer as a giveaway! Leave a comment to get your name in the drawing. 

Will Rose find the solitude she seeks during her island summer or is solitude what she really wants?

A compelling story of one woman’s pursuit of restoration from physical abuse at the hands of her fiancé. Rose Marie Henley’s Great-Aunt Clara convinces Rose to spend the summer at her South Carolina beach house.

Aunt Clara’s handyman sends his nephew to repair Rose’s water heater. Last year Rose would have been excited to see his over-the-top handsome nephew, Frank Sutton. But now she doesn’t want any man in her life again.

Frank has an instant attraction to Rose. Can he break through her defenses? He’ll do anything to protect her, but will she open her heart to trust him?

Buy it Here.

About Jo Huddleston

Jo Huddleston is an Amazon Bestselling author of books, articles, and short stories. Novels in her West Virginia Mountains series and her Caney Creek series are sweet Southern historical romances. Her novels are endorsed by Amanda Cabot, Lillian Duncan, Cara Lynn James, Sharlene MacLaren, and Ann Tatlock. The redeeming story of God’s pursuing love is the foundation of her novels, and in them you will find inspiration, hope, and gentle stories that are intriguing and entertaining. Jo is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and the Literary Hall of Fame at Lincoln Memorial University (TN). Learn more at www.johuddleston.com