Thanksgiving

In 1 Chronicles chapter 16, King David comes before the ark of the Lord and gives thanks. I thought this was a very appropriate chapter for the day we set aside to give thanks.

 

"Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people."

 

"Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works."

 

"Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord."

 

"Sing unto the Lord, all the earth, shew forth from day to day his salvation."

"Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness."

 

"Let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof: let the fields rejoice, and all that is therein."

 

"O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever."
 

 

Today I hope we can all take a break from our material lives and stop to thank God for what we truly cherish in this world. I would rather have my family, friends, and my little niece that's on the way than more clothes, a big flat screen TV, a month in Europe...you name it. Most of all I would rather have my Lord and Savior than anything. Health, safety, comfort...I would rather have Jesus.

 

Take a step back from the table piled with food, and the black Friday shopping cart that is full to the brim. What really matters to you? When you have the answer, then take some time to sincerely thank the Lord for the blessings of this life.

 

Thankfulness is so much more than a Facebook status declaring thankfulness for the trivial things in life. It cannot fit in a blog post, a short story, or a novel. Thankfulness, the real kind, is a way of life. It is not contained to one day, one month.

 

True thankfulness is shown in 1 Chronicles 16, when King David and all his people made sacrifices, music, and poetry declaring their love for the Lord. It is praising Him on the beautiful days and in the blackest of nights.

 

Take a deep breath and a moment to think. And then praise Him!

Girl's Night Out

 

With Benjy and Brittany's wedding only a week away, the girls decided to take a night away from the craziness at home. We decided to head to a little Bed and Breakfast in Monticello, about a half hour away from home. Brittany had no idea what we were planning. All she knew was that she had plans. Lucky for us, she fell asleep on the couch while everyone was arriving. We all gathered around the couch to wake her up. She was surprised to see us all around her, as her sister lives a few hours away.

 

So, armed with spa stuff, junk food, and laughter we loaded into the van.

 

 

This picture was without Brittany's bags, I think. Also, Ashley and Kaddie didn't have their things in this vehicle either. What can we say? We're girls ;)

 

Sparkling grape juice, yogurt covered pretzels, pumpkin roll, cuties, soda, candy...whew! Junk food abounds!

 

I picked up some different face masks and grabbed some of my Bath and Body lotions for our little spa time. We also borrowed a hand waxing machine for the night. As we snacked and talked we painted our nails, waxed our hands and, of course, had fun with the face masks!

 

 

I think we all liked the clay mask! If you ever want to creep someone out, just buy a tube of face mask! Don't you just love Brittany's mustache?

 

We had two adjoining rooms, which was nice since the rooms were a bit smaller than I had anticipated.

 

 

 

I may have broken the faucet. Oops. At least it provided some amusement! Everyone avoided that sink after I got sprayed.

 

After talking for a long time we watched a movie. I actually forget what it was called. It was about a football player and his daughter. After the movie, we were all pretty much comatose, so we headed to our respective rooms and crashed.

 

 

Jo and I shared this very large and comfortable air mattress. Next time I go camping I think I will take one of these! It was almost as comfortable as my bed at home.

 

We just spent one night at the B&B. It was a nice reprieve from the crazy wedding preparations that are taking place around here! On the way home everyone crashed. And by everyone, I mean all those in the backseat. Kim and I stayed awake, which is a good thing seeing as I was driving!

 

 

 

I love this group of girls! Even though this is the first time I have really spent time with Ashley and Kaddie, we had a blast! I am really looking forward to spending more fun times with these girls.

 

With only 4 days until the wedding, life is getting crazy around here! Hopefully I will get another post up here before the end of the week.

 

Thanksgiving Blessings!

 



Simple Pleasures

As the weather steadily darkens, cools, and changes our surroundings from green to a brilliant array of oranges, yellows and reds, I am feeling thankful. Fall means the beginning of all things warm and cozy: soup, fuzzy socks, oversized sweatshirts, and (best of all!!) campfires.

 

 

The other evening, with the sun shining brightly, my family gathered in our little forest area for a campfire. As the fire cheerily burned, we laughed and talked the evening away.

 

 

I don't have many blog posts that include my big bro!! Benjy is usually the absent one, but that has changed quite drastically in the past few weeks. Benjy and his fiancé Brittany are living with us right now! It has certainly added some excitement to our lives! Buddy, their adorable puppy, is along for the ride as well.

 

 

 
 

 

Do not be deceived by this little booger! He may appear fuzzy, adorable and cuddly, but he is really a crazed maniac dog whose mission in life is to make things difficult. Ok, and he is adorable. Needless to say, we all adore him.

 

Mick the faithful. Unlike Buddy, he is a well behaved gentleman. He likes to stand guard at the entrance to our forest area. Just in case there are any bad guys you know...

 

My little cousin Edie, who isn't so little anymore, got to spend the evening with us as well. Mary was especially happy that Edie came! She added a bit more sunshine to our gathering.

 

 

It was such a beautiful night. Even better, this evening didn't cost a lot of money, we didn't have to leave our house, and it didn't take a ton of effort. No, this was one of life's simple pleasures. It was one of those evenings where I couldn't imagine myself to be anywhere else.

 

This is my home, my family.

This was a day that the Lord made, and we rejoiced in the simple pleasure of it.