Hey, Girls!
I’m sitting on the back porch on a lovely Sunday afternoon. Queen Esther is a few feet from me hugging a yellow tennis ball with her front paws and huffing and puffing with a wide, toothy grin in the afterglow of about 30 good cross-yard throws. I use one of these thing…
…for two really good reasons:
1) I wear out long before Star does and I don’t mind saying I don’t wear out all that easy. She never gets enough ball time. Never. I’m no math wizard but hurling that thing twice as far means I only have to throw it half as often.
2) In a word: dog spit. Well, that’s two words. Or let’s just make it a hyphenated word: dog-spit. She may be the Queen but spit is still spitty. I don’t care how lovely the original Queen Esther was, Xerxes wouldn’t have given her a second look with spit all over her chin. It’s just not ladylike. The whole story could have slipped and fallen on it.
Anyway, what I’m trying to get at is that I’ve gotten to have a few days mostly to myself. I hate to even mention those words to you moms of young children but it will happen for you someday, too, and sometimes you’ll be glad it did and other times you’ll pine for those babies like every fine day of your life is long behind you even though you know better than that. That’s when it’s a really good idea to have grandbabies but, unfortunately, it doesn’t always get to be your idea.
My man almost always heads to the ranch Thanksgiving afternoon after the meal. It was the deer lease before he got some hunting acreage of his own. I don’t pout about it because I don’t mind and it wouldn’t do much good anyway and it’s simply the way we’re accustomed to doing life. We were laughing at the table a few days ago when he admitted that, in the early years, he’d go to a little extra trouble to be a handful this time of year so that, the second he mentioned heading to the deer camp, I’d yell, “Gooooooo!” and kiss him goodbye in an anxious fury. Anyway, Keith’s idea of closeness has never been clinginess. Sometimes, if he’s been cooped up too long around here, he’ll retreat a tad into his own world like a lot of men do but 30 minutes after his truck tires hit I-10 West (or at least by the first Buccee’s) he’s often calling me and telling me why he ever fell in love with me in the first place. It makes me smile every time.
My man and I do better on this schedule: a lot of time together, a little time apart, a lot of time together, a little time apart, a lot of time together, a little time apart… And that’s how we’ve made it 34 years this coming December 30th.
Instead of getting my nose out of joint when he’s gone (it wouldn’t be a pretty sight anyway), I play like I own the place. I get up a bit later, read a little more, have longer quiet times, come and go as I please, and get with friends (and family, of course, but family is something we do on a regular basis anyway), walk in the woods all by myself (with Star) and I watch movies he’d probably hate.
Yesterday I decided to spend most of the day by myself doing this and that and, lo and behold, I got in the Christmas spirit. I tried to find where our Christmas decorations got stored in this new house last year when we made our monumental move to the country but, for the life of me, I couldn’t find a single box. I don’t know how to navigate the attics yet so I’m sure they’re up there. If they’re not, believe you me, you’ll hear about it. There will be heck to pay by somebody, especially if the stockings I handmade and tediously beaded from a kit for Keith, Amanda, Melissa and myself back in 1982 don’t show up. It was my last act of seamstressness and, without it, there is not the least whiff that I ever walked in craftiness. I’ll not have it.
But I did indeed know exactly where my Christmas dishes were. They were a gift from my “Other.” You know. We girls have a mother then many of us who live in a wide enough circle of women also have an “Other.” I mean, who really gets enough nurturing in this life from one older woman? Spread the love around. She doesn’t take the place of the one who raised you but sometimes you can tell her things you can’t exactly tell your M-Other. That was Miss Mary Helen to me. I have many things from her and most are beyond a retail price but these dishes are the most beautiful ones I’ve ever owned and I have 12 whole place settings. I bet a number of you have this same Spode pattern or one similar. It was the ultimate in Christmas dinnerware to our mothers and grandmothers and, to traditionalists, it can hardly be outdone.
It’s too big a waste to set them aside only for Christmas Eve or Day so I try to get them out nice and early and put some of them on this stand Miss Mary Helen gave me so we’ll use them everyday through the season. It’s a happiness to me.
And that’s all it took. Next thing I knew, I’d downloaded a new Christmas album on my iPhone. I don’t like it yet but I will before long. You know how we are about Christmas music. It’s the memories that surround them that make them our favorites but I’m ripe for some new memories anyway. Bring them on!
Actually, I got on here today just to say that I’d love to hear about one of your favorite moments from your Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Any of the four days will do. It doesn’t have to be life altering. Our community here also appreciates a snippet of simplicity. Just capture something you keep picturing from the weekend. An expression. A taste. A conversation. A sight. Write us up a little snapshot of it so that we can picture it through your words and through your beautiful eyes. Not too long, remember. We bloggers are notorious for ADD, myself included. It’s rare that we really read a long one. I’m so mindful when I write a long post that, by the end of it, I’ve lost most people. Sometimes it’s worth it because I’m working something through but, most of the time, I’d have been the wiser to have been the briefer.
Oh, Amanda snapped this picture of her Daddy and me on Thanksgiving afternoon so I might as well throw it in, too. He’s wheels are heading East and I’ll be mighty glad to see that handsome face. We Moores love you guys. Christmas will be here in exactly one month whether we’re ready for it or not. You may as well not fight it. Tie that house of yours up in red and green and slam the door on your Scrooginess. Don’t be a fossil. Make some wassail. Tis the season, Sweet Thing. Let’s celebrate us some Jesus.
Having all three (grown) children around the table has to be the best moment of this past holiday. Two of them live near but the “baby” lives in Birmingham and surprised us with a quick trip home. It was all the more special because he plans to be on international soil this time next year, sharing the Gospel with those who’ve not yet heard. So thankful for what God has done and is doing in our lives!
I love that Spode pattern! I used to have some. My aunt gave me a little bit each Christmas when I was growing up. But I moved so many times in my twenties, that it got broken or lost somehow.
I have a funny memory from Thanksgiving. I made a Sweet Potato Souffle that I was really excited about, but my husband and children were not. They barely touched it and my kids had to be bribed to even taste it. The next day, my 7 year son said, “I’m never eating that orange stuff again!”
p.s. I love the photo of you and your husband. So cute!
Thanksgiving for me was having my baby boy home to Millington, TN from Virginia Beach, VA. The other one lives about an hour and 15 minutes away, but due to various circumstances, I rarely see him. Youngest and I drove down to see him and his wife yesterday and that made the holiday complete. I am nearing 80 years of age, health is not as good as I’d like and it is such a treat for me to see one or both of my boys. Oh, and after the first four sessions of Believing God, I had to have a pace maker, then eye surgery, and had to drop out. My church has allowed me borrow the DVDs!!!! Is that not a praise!!! I can’t tell you. This is the bible study that has most impacted my life I do believe, although every one of them has been a superb blessing. I am more thankful this year than I have ever been, because I am in His word more and I love Him more and I understand how blessed I am more than I ever have. I love you Beth and I thank God for giving you the gift of teaching His word!!!!
My favorite moment of Thanksgiving was spending time with my husband’s grandparents who were also celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary this weekend! Can you imagine?! 70 years! They were so cute – they wore matching tee shirts that read “Together Since 1942.” When asked how they’ve made it so long together, grandpa said, “Well, when we got married I made her queen of everything. And I made myself king of the rest.”
This Thanksgiving it was just me and my sweet husband. Our boys couldn’t afford to drive home. So it was a very uneventful Thanksgiving, we shared it with our 4 dogs and they loved THEIR Thanksgiving Dinner. Be Blessed!!
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE PHOTO OF YOU AND YOUR MAN!! It is so good…one of those “that couple is in LUVVV” photos! Congratulations on your anniversary coming up! Ours is December 21st…21 years! Thanksgiving Day, hummmm…we spent it just the four of us (husband, me, two kids) at home. It was so nice just being together and hanging out. One thing I loved is our afternoon walk. We like to have a Thanksgiving Day walk around the neighborhood after a huge meal! We saw several people out walking and got to greet them. I LOVE just a relaxing day with my family when we don’t have a set schedule and can just talk and be together (doesn’t happen very often but when it does it is wonderful)!
Today is my birthday and my sweet prince took me to lunch and then to my favorite book store. He even let me spend as much time as I wanted (I am usually on a time table) the men in my house don’t understand my love of books, tea, and chocolate sometimes. Then we bought some Christmas decorations and a cd to dance to when we got home. It was a wonderful day.
Chris’ parents (85 and 80) trekked 16 hours from east Texas to Colorado to spend the week with us! They leave in the morning…I am so sad about that! But glad for the time we have enjoyed.
My Man helped me get ready for hosting a smaller version of a family Thanksgiving for my parents, my four children, one of my sweet nieces, and the two of us. He used the rectangle-mop thing to shine up the hardwood floors. Instead of using the floor cleaner spray, he used the Swiffer furniture spray. The floors look beautiful, but you just might break a hip on them they are so slick! We have had a blast tossing a ball for our little 5 lb Yorkie and watching him slide into another room, past his toy, and bumping into the wall. Hours of entertainment!
Not ready to send my bunch back to school tomorrow. 🙁
Love the pic of you and Keith! Very cute 🙂
Thanksgiving was a mixture of good and bad for me. It’s the life and norm of a family ravaged by unforgiveness and mental illness. I’m still processing all that occurred. But I do have sweet snapshots of memories made with my niece and nephews. Swinging with the boys and examining a tarantula that was crossing the road. Then going to Pioneer Market with my other nephew and having he lead me through the store like I didn’t know where to go…so cute! Then the last snapshot before I left to drive 2 hours home was of me and my niece sitting on the floor ofmy SIL nail shop and me painting her nails bubblegum pink!
My best friend, or kindred spirit, and I have over the past 6 or 7 years have met each other to shop on Friday after Thanksgiving. It has become tradition, and especially now, since she lives in Birmingham, AL (I live in Fort Walton Beach, FL). It doesn’t matter about what we are shopping for, just stopping and having lunch with her is priceless to me. We never have enough time to discuss our families, and our lives, but we always know where we leave off for the next phone chat or visit. God sent her to me in 1996, and I am so very thankful for her friendship.
Enjoy your quiet time.
Blessings.
My favorite memory from this weekend was Christmas shopping with my daughters on Friday. I used to go Christmas shopping at 4am but haven’t in many years. My girls (12 & 7) wanted to see what the fuss was about, so I agreed that we would go… In the afternoon. We turned on the Christmas music, went store to store singing as we went and it actually started to snow. It was a beautiful afternoon 🙂
My favorite Thanksgiving memory each year is actually with my book club. I get to host each November and always cook the traditional Thanksgiving meal for them. Together we filled 3 baskets of meals for families at the inner-city Christian school that I teach at. It’s the only book club that we pray before (okay, I might trap them – I don’t let them eat until I pray for them). I then encourage them to pray for the families that will receive the baskets and I just trust that God puts the right families on my heart. I LOVE blessing them and seeing their faces when I surprise them with the meals.
Our children and grandchildren live out of town and are in the ministry so it is rare to have them attend church with us. What a joy to have our you her daughter and 2 grandchildren worship with us today. And to have them rush up to see Mimi and Poppy after coming from the children’s church. My heart is so full of thankfulness for family time and memories etched in my heart!
Beautiful border collie?
Yes I have an australian cattle dog or a queensland heeler and believe me in her younger years I could throw her ball over and over and over and over… she never tired.
Today she is almost 14 and she will tire but still want to run, and the only way I can do it is wear gloves as you say the kong gets pretty ‘awful’. She loves her assortment of kongs.
A tennis ball won’t work with a heeler.
I also agree with you, to make a marriage work well, time away is nice. *retirement might be interesting in a few years.*
Day after Thanksgiving…. We TRY to get our Christmas tree up and house decorated the day after Thanksgiving. After bringing the boxes of decorations and the box with the artificial Christmas Tree in the living room, my three year old little girl decided she needed to sing to us. She climbed on top of the huge green plastic storage box containing our tree and belted out “our God’s not dead he’s surely alive, he’s living on the inside roaring like an inside!!!!” It did’t matter how many times we told her it was “roaring like a lion”, she kept proclaiming he was “roaring like an inside”. LOL!!! Anyways, it did make this momma proud to hear my baby girl proclaiming Him to be alive even if he was “roaring like an inside”…. 🙂
My favorite thing about Thanksgiving this year was that my family and I spent FOUR hours at the table. After “ooo-ing” and “aahh-ing” over all the deliciousness, we took turns saying what we were especially thankful for this year. It turns out that we are all most thankful to God FOR GOD! Then the fact that the Aggies pulled out a big win on Saturday meant that the whole weekend was perfect! And the Christmas decorations even all got put up! Whoop!!
This Thanksgiving I witnessed the changing of the guard so to speak. For several years, my mother has taught my two girls the recipes of generations before. They have learned pie crust from scratch, my grandmother’s cornbread dressing, etc. This year they were old enough to do it by themselves with just facilitation from my mom. As we sat down to dinner, we reveled in the fact that my two girls had prepared the dinner, except the Cajun fried turkey, themselves. Besides my mother’s love of all things Scripture, she has shared with them a legacy of baking and preparation.
My favorite snapshot was celebrating with my family amd my friends who have become family. We lived across the street from each other for 12 years. Then we moved to Doha, Qatar for 4 years and when we moved back our friends sold their house and built their new house four houses down from our new house. Friends become like family over time and bless us abundantly!
I had 2 days of Thanksgiving and my #1 occurred on Friday when we had my family for Thanksgiving. My Mother’s brother was among the guests. He lost my mother and their only other sibling last year within 6 months of each other. When it came time to say the blessing, I asked him to do it because I knew it would be special. He is a man of God and since we never know when our time on earth is up, I wanted to hear him pray. It was a special prayer and it meant so much to all of us.
Riding the holly trolley around lake Harriet in Minneapolis – with us were Santa Claus and Carolers from the local high school – the boys loved it…so fun!!
I’ve been with my parents, grandparents, and extended family every Thanksgiving since I was born. This year was the first year with a husband of my own…. it was fabulous!
We inevitably go see a movie over the holiday. This year’s choice was Argo – definitely a great film and amazing story!
I also treasure the mornings when I force myself out of bed to spend time with just my parents (they wake up at 5:30 every morning!). We light up the fireplace, huddle up in our pjs and blankets, drink the best coffee in the world, and have the best heart-to-hearts a girl could ask for.
Awesome 4 1/2 days off from school with family and friends…and enjoyed some relaxation by watching 2 movies in the same day!
Spent the holiday with good ol’ friends… Refreshing for sure but the best part was talking to God again and really praising Him for the difficult and lonely time I am in right now. I had forgotten how His presence could emmerse me in hope And the KNOWING that He holds my future and He will NEVER leave me all alone. Thank you Jesus and I’m sorry for my silence You deserve more
My granddad went to be with Jesus this Thanksgiving weekend. So it was bittersweet. My dad moved home from his house after a year and a half of taking care of him, and my sister and I surprised him & mom by putting the tree up and getting the house all decorated for the holidays. It was such a precious time with the four of us all together again.
Also, my sister came to church with me this morning for the first time in ages, and her husband is thinking about joining us soon. This is a HUGE answer to prayer. God is drawing them nearer to Him. His timing is perfect. Last night (prior to church), I reread Esther 1-4 (I’m in the study now with some precious ladies) and was struck by the last verse I read, how Esther had not been called into the King’s presence in 30 days. God never stops drawing us, never stops calling our names, never ignores us. He is not silent. We may ignore His calling for a time, but His grace is truly irresistible. So thankful for that truth and how I’m getting to see it in my family’s life!
There are certainly treasures in the dark times. This was our first holiday since my mom in law won her cancer battle and went to be with Jesus in September. Then today my 16 year old mildly autistic son was admitted to the hospital with psychiatric issues. This will definitely be a Thanksgiving weekend to remember. And one filled with treasures we would never have seen otherwise. God is good all the time!
Oh Beth, you help me. Thanks for saying so often how much you love us siestas.
My snapshot is my hubby holding our sick (with a cold) 2 year old boy for hours in the rocking chair as he slept away the mornings.
I took some great pictures of them, in the sunroom at Grandmas house.
Let’s celebrate us some Jesus! I second that 🙂
This may seem odd, but I had a memorable moment just after church today. My family spent the weekend with my husband’s family. After lunch my sister in law and I were talking in the kitchen and I was sharing with her a testimony about my daughter who was stillborn 21 years ago this month. It was a deep and intimate conversation that knit us together even more. She is a fairly new believer and even though we were already friends, our bond now in Christ is so much deeper! She is my sister in law by marriage, but praise God she is now my SISTER in CHRIST!
My favorite time this past weekend was seeing the Lincoln movie with my hubby. What a wonderously GREAT man he was! Spent the Thanksgiving feast with good friends. My Grandgirlies are in Colorado and I’m here in Tucson being a snowbird (big ol fat chicken tired of shoveling snow). But I’ll be with them for 9 days at Christmas time. May I just say that I LOVE you and your long winded blog entries. It always sounds like you’re writing it all, just to me personally. Thanks for your love and affection for us all. Under the same wing, Jan 😉
Beth, I am so thankful that you wrote the James study. Our women’s Bible Study just finished it. Because I will start chemo again in a couple of weeks this Thanksgiving was very special. Our son and his family were with us. The most special time was when our 4 year old Adam decided we would all say what was special about the day and what we were thankful for. He started out with I’m thankful to be at my Grandma and Grandpa’s house and then he listed the many things he is thankful for including riding on the 4-wheeler with Grandpa (even though the temperature was in the 40’s.) Then 6 year old Gretchen prayed for our food. What a blessing!
Please pray for healing for me.
My husband and I got to spend Thanksgiving with family this year. It’s usually just the two of us. Our daughter and son weren’t able to come home, but my brother, sister-in-law, two nieces, and my Mom made the 13 hour drive from ND to CO. We had a great time and made many wonderful memories.
I live in Canada and I’m Canadian; however, I am a sister in the Lord. Today my husband and I took our coffee and unwashed faces to the beach, before dawn, to capture the sunrise on camera. We were alone with just our Creator and the birds… Believe me I wore a hat over my bed-head hair! It was glorious! When I spotted two adult bald eagles on a rock cuddled up together… I wondered how long they had been together. We have been married 29 years so far. I love the picture of you, Beth, with your husband. You look so happy and young. God is good!
Blessings ~ Wendy
Saturday was a beautiful crisp fall day in East Texas. The sky was so blue and the leaves bright with color. My man and I drove to our favorite Landscape Nursery to buy more pansies. Now this is no ordinary nursery, it is like a hugh garden with all kinds of ideas. We were the only ones there walking through the garden talking and sipping hot cider. From there we drove to one of our favorite coffee shops. We met our son Matt and drank coffee (my favorite drink) out on the patio listening to my son share what God was speaking to him that morning. Except for missing my daughter who lives in New York, it was a perfect fall day. Thank you Lord!
My Thanksgiving was very quiet this year, the kids dad had them and it was hard. I did have a nice meal with my parents. But man did things change on Friday. God gave me a huge gift as I saw my precious friend for the first time since she an her family moved to Ecuador six months ago to minister to children. They will be serving there for a while so any time with her is special. Tears of joy are what I cried and several of them. Thankful isn’t the word for her and I also spoke to a dear mentor from years past today and we hope to see each other soon. I’m grateful, thank you so much Jesus.
Every year We spend Thanksgiving with my husband’s very large family(6 brothers and 2 sisters). Now many of our children have their own. Praise the Lord, they all serve Him. We always have a topic that is thought up a few montha earlier that we discuss for in the evenings after our meal. This year’s topic was “freedom”: What door we think if means and what does the Word day about it. Then the last party is: Are you free? Why?
It is such a joy to listen to our family from 8 years of age to 70! As usual if went in to a time of prayer and worship with Jason Upton playing in the background.
My 15 year old daughter had a serious illness earlier this fall and almost didn’t recover…so this thanksgiving I thanked God that she was even with us!! I thought for a moment how different our holiday would be if she wasn’t here. I just stare at her in amazement and so thankful for her healing. During this trial, my faith was refined…I thought of those words from one of Beth’s studies…and also from another study when she said that no matter what God sees you through even if your worst fears happen. Beth, I can’t tell you enough how your studies have helped me look at the circumstances in my life in such a different way. The experience helped build my daughter’s faith as well…even though the pain was so difficult so much of the time she was in the hospital and PICU, she always felt God was near her. She trusted completely that if she was not healed that she would be with Jesus in heaven. We walk by faith and pray that she continues to be healed from this awful incurable disease called Crohn’s. She had to have emergency surgery from a GI bleed and the surgeon did a bowel resection. It saved her life. Please join me in praying that she stays in remission from Crohns (diagnosed at age 11). Thanks for reading and learning my story this thanksgiving.
Some sweet things snapshots:
1- My hubby’s 65th birthday on Thanksgiving this year! One year ago he had surgery on a tumor in his head.
2-He received a birthday card from his sister which touched his heart as the relationship has been hard for a long while.
3- all our children and grandchildren, and dear 86 year old mom-in-love around the table singing Happy Birthday
4- our son, smokin’ the turkey this year! It was delicious!
5- the joy in the room and on our faces!
Every year We spend Thanksgiving with my husband’s very large family(6 brothers and 2 sisters). Now many of our children have their own. Praise the Lord, they all serve Him. We always have a topic that is thought up a few months earlier that we discuss in the evenings after our meal. This year’s topic was “freedom”: What do we think it means and what does the Word say about it. Then the last part is: Are you free? Why?
It is such a joy to listen to our family from 8 years of age to 70 share their hearts! As usual it went in to a time of prayer and worship with Jason Upton playing in the background.
Black Friday deals don’t compare with the treasure that is shared at those times!
Blessings Beth to you and the whole Moore family…
Our Thanksgiving was a bit different this year as my oldest son moved into his new house (he has had a very difficult past few years with a divorce and such, but ever thankful for our church community to help him through!). Anyhow…my youngest son only had Thursday off and has a trailer to assist in the move, so my wonderful husband, two sons and myself spent the day together moving! Even though it was not our “traditional” Thanksgiving sitting around the table carving a big bird. We were blessed to be all ( well most of us) together and praising God for the ability to help a family member…eating cold meat sandwiches and chips! Lol Enjoyed every minute of it!
Thanks for all you do!
Kim
Beth, thanks for sharing how your holiday was and for the darling picture you shared of you and Keith.
Our holiday was very different this year. My mom died after only a one month diagnosis of cancer in August. She died in our home where we were caring for her. And this past Monday, right before Thanksgiving, we got the news that my husband has cancer. Our four grown daughters are scared because it is their dad and because we just lost Mom/Grandma. As Christians, we know that all things go through His soveriegn hands. We would appreciate your prayers for our family. We see an oncologist this week and a surgeon next week to determine the best treatment for him. So, we re praying we continue to trust God for Jim’s cancer and for the healing after losing Mom. Yes, this holiday was very different, but we still thank God for His many blessings……
Thank you for your ministry, Beth, and for the encouragement of all the siestas!
The little prayer our 4 year old son said over Thanksgiving (translated with all the consonants he can’t yet say 🙂 “Dear God, Thank you for the whole wide world, thank you Jesus, Thank you God, amen.” We had some extended family there and it was a precious moment! (ok, that and we actually got to bring our Border Collie cross, Gem, with us on the trip to spend the night with us at the in-laws 🙂 -but we left our ball-hucker at home-It is an amazing invention!!)
My husband and his brothers don’t get together often, so my mother in law never gets to see her boys all together. But this year, all differences were set aside for one day and I remember watching her on Thanksgiving and seeing the JOY all over her face. It was such a great day for her and it felt like God was there in our midst. It was so beautiful!
My favorite memory from our Thanksgiving…the first away from our family as we are living in Central Asia…watching our 18-month-old daughter sit in a little chair with the big kids watching a video and holding one of our little friend’s hands. She looked so big and grown-up and was a perfect picture of her little personality.
Our weekend was full to the brim! We started out by gathering together “back home” with my husband’s family at the farm where delicious food (no turkey!) was devoured, cousins rode four-wheelers and dirt bikes, and conversations happened long into the night. The next morning my daughters and I woke up bright and early so we could have breakfast in town with more family, and we spent the rest of the day traveling around to visit lots more. The highlight of the weekend was attending my very first two bridal showers as the mother of the groom on Saturday and just savoring every smile, every laugh, every hug from family members and friends, and every expression on those two young lovers’ faces as they opened up a myriad of gifts. Today has been the biggest day of rest, and I’ll admit that a bit of it started already while sitting in church. 😉 My heart is full and filled with thanks tonight.
This was a weekend of tears–and laughter. My precious and sweet Father-in-Law passed away on Thanksgiving Day. He had been battling cancer since we found out in July–and it just got to be too much for his sweet self. Our family is going through so many other difficulties, but this brought everyone together around the dinner table to share stories that day at lunch time. We drank Cokes in his honor and had extra dessert. We hugged each other and tried to help my Mother-in-Law to know that she is loved and supported–and not alone. Every one of us has the HOPE of Jesus, and that makes it easier–in fact, even though I am only three years into this journey with Jesus, I couldn’t help but look at my Father-in-Law on Wednesday night and feel a little jealous. He was going to see Jesus face to face!! I’m happy for him now–but sad for me and for the rest of the family. We bury him tomorrow and then begin the journey of healing and learning to live a new kind of normal. I have never been more thankful for a church family–I had no idea what that would mean to me one day. 🙂
Our Thanksgiving was wonderful but what stands out in my mind was spending time with a lovely woman at our church as we decorated for the Christmas season. She has rapidly become one of those “Others” in my life (maybe more of the big sister I don’t have, but you get the picture). While the task seemed large – her company, wisdom, laughter and teaching me lil decorating tips along the way made the day go quickly and enjoyable one. I’m very blessed and thankful to have her in my life!
In my family, there is rarely a day we do not use our most regular form of communication: arguing. This Thanks Giving was no exception. It was not very pleasant. But I have to say, my favorite moment this weekend was tonight. My family is in bed and I have a room to myself and my King. Let deep call and drink from His living water. I am thankful.
My favorite thing this Thanksgiving was that I was invited to a friend’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. I was unable to fly home this year and not only was it great to be invited to dinner, but I felt so welcome and part of their family. We ate, watched football and played games. It was a great time.
My favorite Thanksgiving memory this year…well, we’ve had 15 overseas now…so they are all special (being away from home forces you to focus on the blessings!)…but after a hearty meal and some fun games, we decided to do a photo to remember the day and the 3 sweet single gals who joined us this year. My 4 year old son wanted to be just like his dad, so he ran to the camera, looked in the view finder, snapped the button, then darted back to the picture with the timer clicking…he caught his foot on the rug, busted face-first, came up grinning, and still made it into the picture. What was supposed to be a serious pose (a joke) has 1/2 of us laughing. Here’s the blogpost. http://campbellclanblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/thanksgiving-at-our-house.html Love you, Beth, we are all in your Daniel study and learning so much over here in Turkey!!!
Today our church service revolved around the different Christmas traditions including trimming the tree. The pastor invited anyone who wanted to come up and say what/who Jesus has been to them this past year as we took an ornament and hung it on the tree. I was sitting by myself because my husband, a quiet, behind the scenes kind of guy, was running the lights. As soon as the invitation to come up was given he started up the isle from the back, stopped by my row and motioned for me to come with him, and I knew why. You see over the past 18 months my husband of almost 34 years has been fighting for his life. He was taking the treatment for Hepatitis C which is similar to chemo, for nearly 12 months. It really took a toll on him making him weak, and physically ill almost constantly. He rarely complained and never missed work. The newest treatment only has a 75% cure rate and he already had liver damage (He’s also sober a little over 3 years!) The treatment ended in May but he had to wait 6 months to find out if he was cured. It was a long six months! But praise God…He was cured!!!! And not only that but his liver bloodwork was all back to normal! We’ve always had lots of reasons to be thankful, but this year was extra special. So when we walked up to the mic, both in tears by the time we got up there, he said humbly, “This past year, Jesus has been my healer!”