Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I just spent the last half hour researching online all the many different ways there are to cook the big 18 lb. bird we have currently sitting in our refrigerator. Thanksgiving this year is going to be here at our apartment, with Ken and I and the girls, and each set of our parents and hopefully siblings. We felt like this year was a year to share with them our hospitality and bless them. It's amazing how easy it is to get caught up in all the 'details' of the holiday, the cooking, the cleaning, the who-is-bringing-what.

I wanted to take a break from the cleaning/preparations and remember how thankful I am for the MANY blessings God has placed into my life. I am so thankful for HIM....how much He has gotten ahold of my heart this year and has brought about tremendous transformation and joy in my life. I could sit here for a very long time listing out every single thing I am thankful for, but just to list a few (in no particular order)....

• I am thankful to have a Saviour who sacrificed Himself for ME, because He loves me. Who shed His blood and have His body be broken so that I would be able to receive the assurance of an eternity secure with Him, all because I confessed with my mouth that He is my Lord. Thank you Father!!!
• I am thankful for a husband that loves Jesus, loves me, loves his daughters, and leads his family the way that he feels God is showing him to. Who is seeking after the BEST things that God has for our family, and not just settling for what would seem 'good'.
• I am thankful for two wonderful, precious, beautiful daughters. For Hannah who already has such a servant's heart, who so easily loves others and gives them the benefit of doubt. And for Mikayla who every day gives me a reason to smile, with her snuggles and smiles and all the new words she says and things she is discovering. Oh I am so blessed.
• I am thankful for the rest of my family as well. For my parents (both mine and my in-laws) who love us and still demonstrate their love toward us by helping us out sometimes with the tangible things. For my own brother, my sister-in-law and her husband, my brother-in-law.
• For the many wonderful friends that Father has placed in our life that are also so very much like family to us. You all know who you are, you have been an instrumental part of our lives in pointing us towards God.
• I am thankful to be able to homeschool my kids. I know this was a calling God placed on my life, and even though there are very tough days, there is still so much joy that comes from knowing that I am not just teaching my kids their reading, writing and math, but just knowledge that comes from real life. This is truly a time that I will always look back on and cherish.
• I am thankful for the home that we do have; I have complained so much in the past about "just" living in an apartment and not having our own yard or more space, but I've since realized that we are truly blessed in comparison with so many others who daily wonder even where they're going to lay their head down each night.
• I am so thankful for God's provision. Not just financially, but also through the small things. Thank you Father that each day we have enough food to eat, we have clothes on our backs, and even sometimes a bit extra for the little desires of our heart that only You can see but want to fulfill.
• I am thankful for our church. Life Church has been such a blessing to our entire family, the pastors have spoke into our lives so much. It is so awesome to be someplace where we can just be real.
• I was trying to think of something serious to wrap up my list, but seriously something that came to my mind was coffee and chocolate. Yes, I am thankful for these things, especially to have that nice warm cup of coffee to start off my day. That's just one of those things I look forward to.

That is only a sampling of so many of the things that come to mind this Thanksgiving. I encourage you to make your own list and share it with your family, as I plan to. Be blessed this Thanksgiving!!!

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is GOOD; His love endures FOREVER."

Psalm 107:1