Giving Thanks is Giving Praise!

My husband isn't much for traditions... his thought is that one day is the same as the next, but I love to build traditions and to make days special! Isn't it just more fun that way?!? For our first Thanksgiving in our new, married home, we had a group of friends (who had no family coming into town the same as us) come to join us in our little home. It was one of those small, simple Thanksgivings I mentioned here, but I wanted to start a tradition of singing my favorite Thanksgiving hymn as part of our evening.

There are a number of wonderful songs and hymns that are appropriate around Thanksgiving, but my favorite is "For the Beauty of the Earth". I don't know if it is the tune or the words, but I just love it! I heard it for the first time as a song sung in the film Little Women, but I have enjoyed incorporating it into our family's Thanksgiving.

Here are a couple verses!

For the beauty of the earth
For the glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies.

Lord of all, to Thee we raise,
This our hymn of grateful praise.

For the beauty of each hour,
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower,
Sun and moon, and stars of light.

Lord of all, to Thee we raise,
This our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of ear and eye,
For the heart and mind’s delight,
For the mystic harmony
Linking sense to sound and sight.

Lord of all, to Thee we raise,
This our hymn of grateful praise.

If you are interested in hearing an instrumental version, you can find it here with more verses of the lyrics typed up. :)

See more Thanksgiving traditions and ideas at There is no place like home!

Do you have a favorite Thanksgiving hymn or song???