Thanksgiving Blessings

Besides having the typical 7,000 calorie meal for our Thanksgiving dinner we also had an amazingly blessed day! There were 13 of us (counting the babies) and then two dogs around the table in our very small dining room. We were crowded but it didn't keep us from the turkey, ham, mashed potates, cranberry salad, corn casserole, pumpkin cheesecake, pecan pie, heath bar pie and bundt cake! All day long. We shared stories of the year, the guys went trap shooting, and the gals went to see the movie "Enchanted" (the guys would have hated it!) But for me the best part was still the sharing of the "Question Game". The time when we share the answers to questions as varied as "What's your favorite color" to "Your favorite bible verse". This year we added in shared prayer requests because we firmly believe that God is at work--in us and through us and He has a plan to use us. When we come together again next year we'll have to list all the answers that God has poured out over the year in ways that are totally unexpected! For all that I am unbelievably thankful.

Stones of rememberance

It occurs to me, as I get ready for this holiday, that there must be a way of remembering All the ways God has been at work in the lives of my kids and grandkids. So, When we play our "question game" at the dinner table this year, I will be sure to write down the answers! I think this year we will plan to covenant together to pray for each other and for God's specific answers to prayer. The huge answer that we saw when Jeremiah arrived has spurred me to believe we should be praying more and more as we see the evil in the world around us growing. So, after the "What are you most thankful for"? question I will give out assignments for the next time we meet. Pray. Amy, I will include you too, so you have to send me your "Thankful for" answer in an email and you have to give me at least one specific thing that we can all be praying for over the course of the next year. THINK BIG!

Then, like the Israelites we will be able to put out "those stones of rememberance" so we will not be so forgetful as to all the amazing things God has done for us as a family!

“What do these stones mean?” then you shall let your children know, "Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground." For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever.'” Joshua 4:19-24