Last Year At Thanksgiving: This Year at Thanksgiving

This year has flown by!  So much has happened to us as a family, so much to be thankful for.  Last year at Thanksgiving Peter wasn't with us.  We had planned a huge yard sale for Black Saturday so we didn't travel to our family's house for dinner.  And as we sat at the table with a small group of friends we wondered what the following Thanksgiving would hold for us.  We had no idea what God was planning.

The yard sale was a big success netting over $1,000. That along with the gifts we received from donations all throughout December, gave us what we needed to pay off our debt to Bethany before it's due date.  We had so much fun doing it as well.  Family and friends all pitched in as we turned our back porch and family room into a yard sale "boutique".  The gospel message went out loud and clear that day as well as the message of millions of children in need of homes still.

This year there is 1 less orphan in need of a family.  He will be sitting at a table with his aunts and uncles, grandpops and grandmoms, cousins and friends AND his Mommy, Daddy, Sisters and Brother.  This year might be overwhelming for him, he might even cry.  But I know that in the years to come, the Lord willing, this little boy will grow to love and own this family as his very own.  Maybe even one day, when we go around the table asking each person what they are thankful for, we might here, "my family".  Wow!  How many tears will flow on that day, I daresay, just as many as this holiday will spill!

By God's design, we have suffered a great loss this year, the death of our dear Dad Inglin.  But we have also been blessed with 2 special blessing, the birth of Violet, our niece, and the adoption of Peter.  Certainly, both happy and sad tears will fall at our tables, but this I know; God has done a marvelous work in our family and we have many reasons to praise His name.  That's what I am looking forward too.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who celebrate it and to those who don't, thank you for reading this blog.  A day of thanks is fitting to our faithful God.  As we all continue to press into God's call on each of our lives, by God's grace, I pray that our hearts be filled with joy at the gifts that He has given to each of us, the best gift being, Jesus Christ.  We have so much to thank Him for, Don't We!