A Slightly Late Thanksgiving Recap. .

Hello, hello!

Since the last time I have chimed in. .

we have progressed well into the Christmas season. .

I have gotten much of my Christmas shopping done. .

I finally got a Christmas card designed (though not printed or mailed). .

We've gotten the house decorated. .

Two kids have been to Operation Christmas Child and back. .

We've had a 10th birthday party. .

We're working on a 5th birthday celebration. .

I've done online recipe searching, online shopping, and online studying. .

but I've done NO online reporting of our lives. .

so I wanted to share the recap of our Thanksgiving!

As our first holiday without the family patriarch present. .

the routine holiday gathering was a new adventure!

My brother Brendan and his wife Tina hosted our clan of 22 (soon to be 23 again with the arrival of grandchild #14 in June). .plus my brother Nick's new right hand man and his two sons.

My baby brother (the 6'5 one cutting the ham) consented to smoke us some protein! What a cook he is indeed. .He smoked a ham as well as a turkey. .and both were divine!! I don't even really like white turkey meat, because even under good circumstances it always tastes dry to me. .but his was phenomenally moist!! We had plenty of vino flowing and lots of good side dishes and desserts.

It was a gorgeous Kansas day. .a touch cool with a slight breeze. .

Brendan (the squatting guy) had found some of his old 4-H rockets in the attic when we helped my mom move to town several months ago. .

And he was roaring to let them fly. .The first attempt had the kids ready with their hands over their ears, waiting for a sonic BOOM. .

But, remembering that the rockets (and their motors) were probably over 20 years old. .

It was no surprise that they had to be "fine-tuned" before launching!

Leaving Brendan with nothing less than blessed satisfaction as the first rocket launched. .

(and the person who drew his name for Christmas convinced that maybe a gift of some NEW rocket supplies would be in order!)

As evidenced by the MASSIVE grin on his face!!

And was retrieved by the designated "pick-up" team!!

An "unofficial" football game gave them something to do while they waited on the search and rescue team to retrieve the rockets!

The kids enjoyed Ranger rides up and down the roads as well while Brendan and Jeremy tinkered with the engines and the 2 rockets between the launches. .

The girls enjoyed relaxing and watching the show. .

while digesting the ginormous amounts of food that we had consumed!!

As we started the rocket show. .the wind actually picked up. .

which just fueled Brendan's fire. .as he had to use SKILL to determine how far to launch the rocket INTO the wind, in order for it to blow back to the field in order to be properly recovered. .

by the constantly changing recovery crew!

And, while our loss hung, heavy and unspoken in the air. .

our day was full of happiness, laughter, activity, and blessings. .the essence of Thanksgiving!!

Friday morning, the Kansas weather wasn't so kind to us. .

as the boys climbed out Grandma's windows and onto the roof to hang her Christmas lights. .

and the girls worked on the greenery and bows on her front pillars. .

the cold Kansas wind whipped around. .

Brrr!!

BUT. .

with as many helpers as we had. .the work didn't take long. .

and the girls were soon able to duck out and do a little "after-Thanksgiving" day antiquing!! We all found some fun things. .including some Christmas gifts. .And some little 5 year old girl will soon enjoy a birthday tea party. .using some of the treasures we found. .

And I can't WAIT to show you pictures of THAT!!

Hope you all have found some time to work off your extra calories. .

so that you can indulge in a few extra Christmas goodies!!

A little baking and candy making MIGHT be on our agenda this next week!

Thanks for stopping by. .

to see that we ARE still among the living!!

Have a GREAT week!

A Few Little Blessings. .

^{I'm a holiday kind of girl. .}

^{I love 'em all. .}

^{though this is one that usually provokes a little more heartfelt consideration of the occasion!}

^{I am truly blessed in many different ways. .}

^{I hope you took a minute to read my post from earlier this week describing the One I am most thankful for. .}

^{and most grateful to. .}

 ^{but I wanted to share my other Top 10 list of thanksgivings this season. .}

^{It also blesses my heart greatly to read about your blessings too. .}

^{so, even if you never comment any other time. .}

^{Please, leave a quick list of your thankfulness at the end of this post!} 

10.) A safe community. .

that is both physically safe for us and our children to go about our daily lives uninhibited by fear. .

and emotionally safe. .that we can be who we are without fear of rejection.

9.) Transportation to get us where we need to be in a short amount of time. .and technology like phones and internet to keep us connected to our friends and family when we need to be! I'm thankful that the miles between us can seem relatively few with our modern day advances!

8.) Easy access to abundant and healthy food. .

both in the stores. .and in my own neighborhood. .

7.) The opportunity that Jeremy and I have to perform our work passions in settings that both challenge and satisfy our hearts and our minds. As well as the determination to help our children learn the value of a hard day's work. .and the satisfaction of a job well done!

6.) The luxury of being able to "leave it all behind" for a few days of escape from the reality of life. .

and the ability to return with the desire to persevere.

5.) For the life of my dad. .Though cut short, in our eyes. .

The legacy that he left in our lives and our personalities is priceless. .

and the thought of never having to see him suffer through the aging process is comforting!

4.) The warmth and comfort of a rather large, loving extended family on both sides of our tree! We've learned more about one another in the last 6 months than we have in years. .and we still love each other! To know that someone will love you through the thick and the thin is a commodity not to be taken lightly!

3.) A sweet little retreat that we like to call "home". .

 where we can hang out and be ourselves.

It is cool in the heat and warm in the cold. .

A place of safety that sees all the tears, anger, promises, and love!

2.) The little flock of 4 that God blessed two kids with over 16 years ago. .that continue to frustrate and bless us, all at the same time. .that challenge us and bring laughter to us. .that give us extra purpose in our mission. .that will carry on what we stand for. .as we carry on what our families before us stood for!

And the top thing that I am most thankful for. .

aside from my Savior. .

1.) this man. .the one whom I have loved for the last 21 years. .

The father of my children (all of them). .

The one who makes me laugh. .

And scream in anger. .

The one who can make me scream in anger and then laugh in the same paragraph!

He isn't perfect. .

but then neither am I. .

Our life isn't always wonderful. .

And many days I have to CHOOSE to love him because the emotion just might not be there. .

but there isn't another man I would rather spend my days and nights with. .

And as we grow old in each other. .

and mature in the Lord. .

It just gets better and better each year!!

Wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Psalm 100:1-5

Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.

Give Thanks With a Grateful Heart!

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire

Hebrews 12:28-29

In this season of Thanksgiving. .

I can not help but consider. .

how my life and my heart have changed over the course of a year.

I am a different person. .

Just as most of you are probably different as well!

This was going to be a little post about all the things that I am thankful for. .

which are many. .

But. .

As I tried to choose a scripture that I wanted to share today. .

The Lord just grabbed me by the depth of this verse from Hebrews. .

and I just can't get beyond that today!

So. .

My post took a bit of a different turn. .

If you are in a hurry today. .

Come back later. .

because I want you to read it slowly. .

and truly consider. .

Look around friends. .

Check out our world. .

Extraordinary tsumamis. .

Devastating earthquakes. .

incredulous acts of terrorism. .

Shifts in the weather system causing excessive droughts. .

as well as extreme variations in climates!

Frightening changes from what we understand as "normal."

Look around at the cultures. .

People are caught up in all sorts of wickedness. .

We live as if there are no consequences. .

Morals and values have slipped away. .

Selfishness runs rampant. .

So many of us SAY we believe in God. .

but we place our FAITH in ourselves. .

what WE can do, how WE can do it. .

misguiding our OWN selves from the real Truth. .

The One who IS Truth. .

How long can it go on??

Some will say. .

not much longer!!

Only He knows for sure. .

but it seems that the labor pains are underway!

So today. .

I am GRATEFUL. .

for THE Kingdom. .

that CANNOT be shaken!

I have read the Book. .

I KNOW how it ends!!

God's people. .

Those that have TRULY received Him (John 1:12; Colossians 2:6)

will win. .

An eternal life. .

And the rest. .

Those who have disregarded Him. .

those who chose to put themselves in a higher place of honor than Him. .

those who never made the time to find out WHO He really is. .

will be consumed by the fire.

If you can't remember the last time that YOU were truly still. .

to KNOW God was in charge. .

Truly still to be IN AWE of Him. .

Truly still to consider the magnitude of Him and His work. .

I encourage you. .

No. .

I challenge you. .

to

Be Still. .

And KNOW that HE is GOD (Psalm 46:10)

Don't just be thankful this week. .

If God is saving YOU. .

Find the gratitude in your heart. .

and offer it to Him FROM your heart as worship. .

TODAY!

Because if there is one thing I have become acutely aware of in the last year. .

It is that. .

TODAY. .

is the only thing we can be sure of!

God bless you all. .

and a Happy Thanksgiving to you!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Psalm 100:4

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

I've been thinking for the last few days about what I am REALLY thankful for. Of course, there are the obvious things. .my faith, my family, our friends, a warm home, my work. .and a multitude of God's provisions for me. I wanted to go beyond the obvious, and reflect on something deeper. There are so many things to be truly thankful!! I finally chose to be prayerfully thankful for mercy. 

Life is hard. .REALLY hard. We're not perfect. .we're human. .ALL of us! We get some things right. .and we screw up plenty of other opportunities. .if you are like me. .it occurs on a daily. .if not hourly basis!! I find it so hard to overcome my "human-ness."
But. .

Great is His faithfulness, His mercies are new each day. Lamentations 3:23
That's my favorite scripture verse in the whole Bible!

The dictionary definition of mercy goes a little bit like this. .

mer·cy/ˈmərsē/Noun:

1.Compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm: "the boy was begging for mercy".

2.An event to be grateful for, esp. because its occurrence prevents something unpleasant or provides relief from suffering.

Despite all the things I do wrong. .all the situations I could have handled differently, but chose not to. .all of the times that I have been a person I wouldn't even want as my child. .Despite ALL that..God continues to provide for my needs and those of my family. He has the POWER to punish me regularly for my shortcomings and downright disobedience. .but He DOESN'T!! That is mercy!!  Not only does He not sentence me as I might sentence my kids. .but He also provides for many of my desires. .which are usually different from my NEEDS! WOW! I would love to be a parent like that. .and I am so thankful that I have an eternal Father like that!

Maybe you have read 103:8-14 before with your own eyes. .and maybe you haven't. .Those promising verses follow. .I know how easy it is to skim through the words only half reading. .but I challenge you all to read them. .twice if you can. .and really consider what David was telling us when he wrote those attributes of our heavenly Father.

Psalm 103:8-14

New Living Translation (NLT)

8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful,

slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

9 He will not constantly accuse us,

nor remain angry forever.

10 He does not punish us for all our sins;

he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.

11 For his unfailing love toward those who fear him

is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.

12 He has removed our sins as far from us

as the east is from the west.

13 The Lord is like a father to his children,

tender and compassionate to those who fear him.

14 For he knows how weak we are;

he remembers we are only dust

I am SO thankful that each day, God wipes my slate clean and lets me try again. And that, mercifully, He still loves me as much at the end of the day as He did at the beginning of the day.

 

1 Chronicles 16:34 reminds us to Give thanks to the Lord for He is good. .His mercy endures FOREVER!

I would be honored if you would take a moment and comment about something you are truly thankful for today!
Blessings and lots of love on this wonderful celebration of Thankfulness!

Heavenly Father, on Thanksgiving Day

We bow our hearts to You and pray.

We give You thanks for all You've done

Especially for the gift of Jesus, Your Son.

For beauty in nature, Your glory we see

For joy and health, friends and family,

For daily provision, Your mercy and care

These are the blessings You graciously share.

So today we offer this response of praise

With a promise to follow You all of our days.

--Mary Fairchild

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thankful Thursday: The Finale

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone today!!

Today is the last post dedicated to being thankful.  I hope that you still have some things to be thankful for that you can share in a comment!!

I certainly wish that it was easier to harbor a thankful attitude the whole year round!! But I am really grateful for the opportunity to have an entire holiday season to truly be mindful of our many blessings. 

As many of you may know, the first thanksgiving was held as a part of the religious beliefs of the pilgrims.  They were days of prayer. .especially to praise God for the success of their first crops.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says

Rejoice always. .Pray continually. .Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Today I'm most thankful for this. .

The nativity.

Without the birth of our Savior Jesus. .we would be a lost people.

I am thankful for his merciful gift of eternal life for those who believe in Him, even when we don't deserve it.

I am thankful that I don't have to be "good enough" because I know that I can NEVER be good enough to go to heaven on my own power!

I am thankful that my children are believers in Him and strive to know Him better.

I am thankful that my husband was a light for me when I had lost my way.

I am so, SOOOO thankful to live in America. .where I can exercise my right to my religious beliefs without fear of fatal persecution. 

I am thankful for a Christmas season to share with others. And while Christmas is a sorrowful time for some, I just hope and pray that we can light their way with the Good News!

Luke 1:30-33

"But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

Wishing everyone a VERY grateful Thanksgiving filled with blessings and love

and

a joyous Holiday season filled with good things all around.

Thanks for sharing these last 3 Thursday's with me being mindful of our many blessings!!

Thankful Thursday. . Part Two

First of all, I have to say that I was totally humbled and near tears to read from everyone's hearts last week!! I appreciate that open-ness and I felt thankful with everyone else too!!

Psalm 50:23 tells us

"But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God."

I have tried to be extra-thankful over the last week.  And my sister pointed out in her comment last week that it is easy to be thankful for the big things, but even then, it is easy to take that stuff for granted.  I don't know about you. .but I have never considered giving thanks to be a sacrifice as the scripture from Psalms suggests.  As I researched that verse a little, it really made a lot of sense.  Once God has our hearts, he really needs NOTHING else from us. He has provided our salvation as a gift--once we accept that gift, we need not do ANYTHING else to attain that.  We can't be extra good, do extra good things, or say extra prayers to please Him.  But we can be extra thankful to honor Him.  And because most of us aren't naturally thankful ALWAYS and for EVERYTHING. .I can see where it would become a sacrifice of your mind and your heart to keep that thanksgiving attitude at the forefront of our beings? Wondering if anyone else agrees?

That being said. .I am thankful today for the CHALLENGE of being a mother and a wife.  For those of you that are also blessed with children (and those who survived the children and now have the challenge of dealing with the CHILDREN of their children). .I think that you would have to agree that often times there seem to be more challenges than good things?! Challenges of attitudes, relationships, fighting, peacemaking, teaching them. .and on and on and on!! And the challenges of a spouse?? Those are there too--meeting their needs, accomodating to their schedules, willing to negotiate different opinions and sharing everything--even the covers with a bed hog!!

I am thankful for a home that I frequently liken to an "ant den." with busy-ness and chaos abounding in every corner. With more than one person talking at once about more than one different topic at a time, and children that even use my first name to get my attention from another child (including the littlest!) Even though it is undoubtedly the hardest job I will ever do I am thankful that I was allowed to have children.  From the time I was little and played with dolls. . To the time when I grew a little older and had names picked out for them nearly a decade before I would ever give birth to one (not that I stuck with any of the original names, by the way). Being a mom and a wife was something that I always wanted for my life.

I am thankful for this one. .our first born.  The one we practice on. The one that cried endlessly or ate unsatiably for the first 6 weeks of his life. The one that struggles with inattentiveness.

The hunter. .and the comedian.  The one who will be in high school in 8 short months. .and DRIVING.  The one who is always coming up to his mom and giving her a big hug. .even in junior high!

And then I'm thankful for this one.  The one whose expectant life we announced on Tristan's 1st birthday (in retrospect, I bet they thought we were NUTS and talked about us for weeks!!) The one who is totally black. . or white--no gray!! The one who always seeks to please.

The motor head, car freak who can tell you every make of semi truck there is when we meet them on the highway.  The one who loves ebay almost as much as his dad! The one that rarely misses a night of telling his mama that he loves her.

And thankful for this one. .the great debate.  This one that we argued about weekly for 3 1/2 years before we agreed to try for that girl. .just ONE more time!! This one that has more energy than the other 5 of us put together.  The one that loves shooting baskets, even if it is by himself.  The one that doesn't like to get in trouble and hasn't learned to talk back yet. 

The one that loves to be up in front of people, whether singing or speaking.  The one that never misses seeing me and saying "oh, hi mom" like he hasn't seen me for a week. 

And last but not least, totally thankful for this one!! The only girl. The one who caused me to call the OB/GYN to cancel my consultation appointment for a tubal ligation.  The one that I could hardly bear the thought of because I was OLD! The one that will cause me to stay young for a LONG time yet.

The one who loves babies and kitties and cheerleading.  The one who can give you a hug with every ounce of her being. The one who can look up from what she is doing and randomly say "I wuv you so much" and make everything better!

And THEN. .there's THIS one.  I'm so thankful for him.  Thankful that he is a hard worker and a great provider.  Thankful that he was a Christian that helped turn this God believing, but not saved girl's life around. Thankful that he is a good sport with a sense of humor (that is a nerf gun, by the way). Thankful that he doesn't get riled very often.  Thankful that he tolerates me and the kids daily--good or bad--just as we tolerate him!

In addition to all those guys. . I am REALLY thankful for a set of stable and wonderful parents, 3 siblings that I love dearly, and great in-laws!!

Psalm 100:4

Enter His gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and bless His name!

I realize that everyone will be busy with Thanksgiving next Thursday. .but I will have my third and final Thankful Thursday post up early that morning.  If you felt led to share, please know you are welcome to share anytime you have the chance to look in--I have noticed many people have gone back this past week and checked comments! Have a very THANKFUL and BLESSED week!

Thankful Thursday

Perhaps it is the season of Thanksgiving upon us, or perhaps it is related to particular scriptures that I have been dwelling on of late that I am drawn to the concept of thankfulness.  Last week I considered the idea of hosting a "Thankful Thursday" party on my blog through the month of November to prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday.  I considered it for a few days and decided chickened out--plain and simple.  But, the idea continued nagging at my heart through the weekend.

I am, in fact, hosting my Thankful Thursday party on this blog for the next three Thursdays.  My change of heart came Sunday during our Sunday school class.  We are finishing up a James McDonald series on the book of Colossians.  In chapter 4 verse 2 (the first verse we started with last Sunday) says this:

"Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a THANKFUL heart."

For some reason, that made the decision in my heart to dedicate some posts on Thanksgiving. .the REAL kind. 

I tried to search out how many times the bible advises us to be thankful or to give thanks.  The answer I found was A LOT.  There are multiple phrases used to mean the same thing. .Giving thanks, thanksgiving, thankfulness, grateful etc.  So at least well over 200 times we are instructed to be thankful or give thanks.  In Ephesians 5:20 Paul advises us "And you will always give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

And Psalms 107:1 and 118:1 and 118:29 tell us to

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever."

Today, I am especially thankful for technology.  I find it fascinating that I can search for ANYTHING I could ever want to find. .a particular scripture verse-or the ability to dive deeper into the meaning of a scripture, a recipe, or even old friends. .and have instant knowledge at my fingertips.  I think it is an excellent resource for drawing support and inspiration. .for expanding our minds. .for allowing us to reach out to others. . and is a great way to connect with loved ones far away or with people sharing similar interests or conflicts.  It has helped me create relationships with new friends that I have never met, helped me catch up with old friends that I had lost track of, and assisted me in keeping family and friends updated on the big and little things in my own life.  Granted, as with anything else, technology can be a very bad thing if it is given a role of idolatry in our lives! But that is a whole other post!!

So I guess now I am offering a challenge and an invitation.  First, I challenge all of you to look at being thankful in a new way this month.  I am planning on taking my own challenge too!! Be thankful DAILY in your prayers to our Lord--even before we get to the part about asking him to meet our needs.  Don't be thankful only for the GOOD things, but also be mindful about being thankful for our challenges and our hardships. .for those are what truly develop our character.  Second, I invite EVERYONE who happens along this post to place a comment, whether you believe and pray to Jesus. .or you don't--because we ALL have things to be thankful about.  The comment should address something or a few things that you are thankful for. .big or little!! My little tracking widget on the side bar tells me there are lots of people who pop in but never comment.  If you have never left a comment, just hit "comment" at the end of this post, and leave your item or items of thanksgiving, sign your name if you like, and check the anonymous circle if you don't have your own identity.  That's it.
I hope it to be a very enlightening experience to all of us, and I know that I will enjoy the opportunity to be able to be thankful for and with all of you too!

I look forward to reading about everything we have to be thankful for. .Hope you can check back too. .