Here is a different thanksgiving prayer. According to C. Weldon Gaddy, author of "A Love
             Affair With God: Finding Freedom and Intimacy in Prayer,” He finds great joy in thanking God
             for gifts which do not regularly receive attention in his prayers. 

             Generous God of love, today I am especially grateful for family reunions, get-togethers with old
             friends, introductions to new acquaintances; picnics, popcorn, and caramel-covered apples;
             squawking seagulls at the beach and soaring eagles in the mountains; for a field of bluebonnets
             in the spring and a grove of trees that looks like a bouquet of flowers in their autumn splendor, 

             God, I know these blessings differ substantially from the gift of Your Spirit, the testimony of
             the Bible, and the power of Your redemption.  But I am sincerely thankful for all your gifts and
             blessings:  every one, large and small. 

             Some people have trouble with this kind of prayer. We are used to reciting a long list of needs
             and making requests to God in our prayers. C.Weldon Gaddy says that our emphasis on this type
             of prayer has silenced our litanies of joy and prevents us from talking to God about our
             experiences and expressing our appreciation to God for our blessings, small and large. We never
             converse with our loved ones like this; but we have no hesitation to treat God as a heavenly
             bellhop.  Prayers need to be a conversation with our God to whom we have established a
             personal relationship. Thanksgiving is a time for remembering all things God has showered on
             us, little things and big things. 

                                                A Thanksgiving Prayer

             O God, when I have food, help me to remember the hungry; 
             When I have work, help me to remember the jobless; 
             When I have a home, help me to remember those who have no home at all; 
             When I am without pain, help me to remember those who suffer. 
             And remembering, help me to destroy my complacency; 
             bestir my compassion, and be concerned enough to help; 
             By word and deed, those who cry out for what we take for granted.  Amen.” 
 

                         Lord, help me to have fun. I’m asking you because a God who invented
                         butterflies and ducks must know something about it. Remind me to have
                         a good time. Let me spend money as well as save it, and spend it on
                         someone beside myself. I would feast as well as fast, change water into
                         wine, and each day rediscover that you have crammed the earth with
                         surprises. 

                         Let me use my body delightfully. You built it, with its fine-tuning and
                         that flexible thumb! I am marvelously made. You muscled my bones and
                         thatched my head and waited two million years for manchild to stand tall
                         in the wind. 

                         God of joy, give me your good Spirit! God of harmony, let me dance to
                         the rhythms of your world! I think you have a good time with your
                         creation. You pour out the oceans from your cup and roll them like a
                         bowling ball into the shore. You beat out the sun, while the stars fell in
                         showers from your hammer. You put the hummingbird together and
                         tossed an eagle into the air. When the planets are dull you watch the
                         children swing to the top of the trees. 

                         Lord of the rainbow and the redwood, I can’t take in all five rings of
                         your circus. Give me more than five senses and one time around. Lord,
                         I want to enjoy life. 

                         ~ Joseph T. Nolan