Give Thanks to The Lord For He is Good!!

Happy Thanksgiving!! I was up early this morning, enjoying the peace and solitude of my Quiet Time, reflecting about all that I have to be thankful for. I came upon Psalm 136. The entire Psalm is one of Thanksgiving to God, because He is good, because He alone does great wonders, making the heavens and the earth, the waters that stretch across the earth, the lights that govern the day and the moon and stars that govern the night. He deserves our praise and Thanksgiving for all of the ways that He protects and provides for His people, for freeing us from bondage and leading us through deserts.

Today I give thanks to the "One who remembered us in our low estate and freed us from our enemies, and who gives food to every creature. I give thanks to the God of heaven." What I especially love about this Psalm is the response, "His love endures forever". That's the truth that I cling to every day, the thing that I am the most thankful for. It is what begins my journey to a million other things that I am so grateful for on this Thanksgiving day: my family, my husbands kisses and the laughter of my children, our health, our many wonderful friends, our jobs, the way of life that we enjoy in Wyoming, the beauty of God's creation that surrounds me. And I'm thankful for turkey and stuffing and green bean casserole and pumpkin pie!

I love thanksgiving for so many reasons, but especially because today makes us stop and ponder what we are thankful for and why. Our Pastor and his son just got back from a missions trip in Zimbabwe. They were there for two weeks, visiting family's in different "trusts" or villages. Each family that they visited was given a gift of water and cornmeal. Pastor Bob shared with us how grateful the people were for what is a seemingly simple gift. Bu this gift would go a long way in feeding these families and they didn't hesitate in sharing their meal with their guests! I think that we have gotten too accustomed to comfort, ease and plenty here in American, making it harder and harder to be thankful. So today I am finding myself thankful for our ability to share water and cornmeal with a starving country, and for people like Pastor Bob and Dylan, who are willing to to go and give to a poor and hungry people, and then come back and open our eyes to all that we have to be truly grateful for, and to consider that if we had a lot less, maybe our gratitude would be more. Take time and read Psalm 136 today, it will begin the journey to a thankful heart!

A Fall of Firsts

I love Fall!! I know that I wrote a few months ago about how much I love summer, and it's true, I do love summertime. I love all of the seasons, mainly I love the change of seasons, which means that Wyoming is the perfect state for me to live in! In my heart of hearts, though, Fall is my favorite time of the year. I love the colors and the smells and the cool, crisp feel of Autumn. Now that Fall is almost over, I find myself reflecting over how many firsts we experienced in the last three months. There have been a lot of 'em!

The "first 1st" was Kade's birthday! He turned 1 on September 28th. What a celebration that was! To think that a year earlier my little man came into this world in a burst of energy! The doctor told Mike and I that it was the first time in the many years of delivering babies that one fought so hard to make his way out into the world!

For those of you who don't know our story; Mike, Hannah, and I waited and prayed for 9 1/2 years for this newest member of our family. He was a much anticipated baby! When people realize the 11 year span between our two kids, they give me a knowing smile and want to know if Kade was an accident. I love telling them that he was an amazing surprise, but in no way was he an accident! God knew exactly what He was doing making us wait for this answered prayer! At the beginning of my pregnancy we also had quite the scare when I had a cyst on my ovary that burst. Mike rushed me to the ER two days after we found out that I was finally pregnant. The doctor initially thought that I was suffering from an ectopic pregnancy and we were told that it wasn't a viable pregnancy. We were broken hearted. But rather than administering the medication that would terminate the pregnancy, the doctor on call (I refer to him as one of Kade's Angels!) chose to send me to Sheridan and my regular OB/GYN, where it was discovered that I had the cyst and it was not a tubal pregnancy. What cause for celebration that was! Struggling with infertility for all of those years was heartbreaking for both Mike and I, but it gave us the opportunity to choose to trust in God. My faith grew and was strengthened because of my heartbreak, not in spite of it. And that day when I finally held my baby boy in my arms was the end result of years of choosing trust over despair.

Kade's 1st birthday was a big event, complete with cupcakes and birthday hats and gifts. The thing that struck me the most, though was the fact that my little boy was surrounded by people who love him and who had spent years praying with us for this beautiful little boy! He was completely enveloped in love.

Other Firsts this Fall:

Hannah's first Jr. High Dance!

Kade's first haircut

Hannah's first hunt!!