We've just come through a wonderful Thanksgiving season during which we got to love on our children and grandchildren as well as extended family!
We ate...a lot!
All together and very, very thankful!
We played games...
We decorated Grandmas home for Christmas and hugged reindeer!
Adults were too stuffed to play!
Precious grand-baby playing with great grandmas decorations!
I'm more thankful than ever before in my life for my family and my precious friends, and my heart is burdened like never before for the lost in our community.
Recently, wherever I go I wonder who around me is without a savior? I wonder what Christmas means to them...more debt? disappointments? loved-ones that no longer visit? missing peace? Without Jesus I can't imagine going through the holidays. Let's all pray right now for the Lord to show us who we should bring with us to Christmas at Crossroads!
A tiny Christmas baby came, He is the missing peace so many people are still searching for!
As I mix Ron's grandmas homemade roll recipe, and burn the first fire of the winter - I am completely full of thankfulness.
Why the Creator of the universe chose to call me to Himself is something I'll never understand. It's abiding in His calling that covers my life in purpose. That purpose fills every second with assurance that there is a reason for each day, that all I have to do is remain in Him and watch for opportunities to serve Him - normally by serving those around me.
The family that the Lord has surrounded me with is one of the areas of my life that I thank Him for continuously. Always remembering how short our time here truly is by loving them deeply each time we're together.
Today I got word that my daughters' friend lost her father in an accident.
Today we also found out a friend from Crossroads has been given 2 - 3 months to live, completely unexpectedly.
As I bake my rolls I think of these families and can't imagine that they will be able to be thankful tomorrow or that Thanksgiving will even enter their minds. As I bake my rolls I pray for them, and I tell the Lord of my thankfulness for Him in my life.
I'll think of them tomorrow as I express my thankfulness and love to my family and those we spend the day with.
It took many, many tries to get an even fairly good picture of our family during Thanksgiving.
I tried over and over and ornery family members who shall remain nameless, were just not having it.
I enjoy jokes and laughter and pranks and goofing around, but, I was really trying to get a few pictures that could possibly be used in our Christmas cards. Not sure we accomplished that. We did however make fun of one another and carried on quite loudly!
Here are some pictures that may provide a glimpse of the lack of cooperation I experienced so that you will feel sorry for me!
Eric blaming his squirming dog for bad pictures.
Aaron making faces unknown to wifey
Uncle Sam not cooperating
Alyssa demonstrating her reluctance to be photographed by modeling a new hairstyle.
I took the least amount of pictures ever at a holiday. I don't know why -
I took this picture at my hubby's side of the family - such great food and fellowship!
Ron's mom hosted us all- so good!
Then off to my side of the family where, yes, we ate again. Crazy!
We missed Eric and Alyssa and our nephew Matt. It just gets more and more difficult to get everyone together at the same time, but it was good.
I was blessed that my dad got out of the hospital this morning and was with us today! So thankful!
We watched the movie "Brave" and laughed together and then it was time to go home. Another Thanksgiving over!
This is Ron and my 37th Thanksgiving together! I hardly remember one without him. I am blessed.
Today I learned that I had missed my kids way more than I realized.
I cried when they walked through the door. Four months ago today they got married - SO hard to believe it has been that long!
As I write this we are all sitting in a dark living room watching something that I'm not paying attention to as I cuddle up by the fire...God has blessed me more than any woman could be blessed.
I adore the holidays - celebrating thanks this Thursday for our amazing country and our families and then our Savior's birth. I am so excited!
Due to the shortness of their stay we will be doing all of the tree decorating and traditions associated with that tomorrow. So good.
Because all of our kids will be leaving again soon - I cherish this fireside moment. Something so simple becomes extremely significant when you realize the importance of the moments WHILE you are in the middle of them! It took distance to produce that kind of attention in me.
I am blogging while waiting for my daughter to wake up so we can bake together.
I only have this one day with her before she goes to Boston for Thanksgiving. Tough, very tough!
Today we will bake our families 'secret roll recipe' - and she will share it with her boyfriends family instead of ours.
This makes me very proud in many ways - she is growing up to be an amazing woman of God - but makes me sad as well.
It is ironic that in every instance I can think of when we let something go, we also get something back. As our kids connect and network with school, ministry and friends, they make life decisions that bring other people and things into our lives. Some good, some bad. And really all we can do is pray.
Parenting used to be much easier when we could just make all the decisions! Now we try to hold our opinions until just the right time, or until they ask, more and more often not sharing them at all. Unless of course we know they are doing something obviously wrong.
So we send her off tonight with a family a year and a half ago we didn't even know and tomorrow I will be try to be thankful for kids who are growing independent of us, as it should be. Just wish they didn't have to be independent so far away!
The good news is our son will arrive with his girlfriend tomorrow night - so we get to spend time with Eric tomorrow!! Very thankful for that! I hope your loved ones are close - hold them tightly and TELL them how much you love them!
Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow everyone - I won't be blogging !
Today seemed like a good day to finish preparing for Thanksgiving. It is now 7:11 p.m. and I have done nothing I planned except grocery shopping with my hubby.
I am used to shopping alone and he is used to avoiding having to go. But, following breakfast out together we decided it would be the least busy time of the day to go.
I had tons of coupons with me - sounds good, but, did I mention I hadn't sorted them yet from this weekends fliers? Not good - thank goodness there was a Starbucks in the grocery that I could distract him with!
We needed 2 of the turkeys over 18 lbs. that were limited to one per person as well as requiring a $30 minimum with each. And of course we didn't ask if that was before or after coupons so....we stood with 2 carts mid aisle and tried to make sure we met the minimum digging all the while through my unorganized coupons. (I am happy to report the coupon savings was close to $15.00 and each turkey under $7.00 each - my husband is still trying to figure out if it was worth buying newspapers and the hassle for that amount of savings.) Finally an hour and a half later we made our way to the check out!
Couponing does create conversation opportunities, today as I stood flipping the pages in my 'sport card' coupon holder notebook a lady stopped by remarking, "good for you honey, I should do that too!"
A few days ago I picked up a couple of things at store I don't typically go to and used coupons and the check out guy said, "You don't strike me as the couponing type". What does that mean??
Two weeks ago a young check out guy proclaimed, "you win first prize for having the best system of organizing your coupons!"
You would think it's the highest accomplishment of my life!
All of this to ask you the following questions:
Is couponing worth the effort?
Does any tiny savings justify doing it?
Do you only do it when prime opportunities arise with combinations equaling huge savings?
I welcome any tips you are willing to throw my way! Or if you want to be the Biddle's private coupon consultant that would be good too!
Billy Graham said, "the only true thankfulness comes when you cannot return the favor and all you can do is say, thanks."
That really stuck with me when I heard it, and I think it is really true! When I think of the times I was the most thankful, they truly are the times I couldn't pay it back to the giver.
There is a certain amount of arrogance involved I suppose when you refuse to except a gift from someone. I have had friends from time to time try to give me things or help me in some way when I know they didn't have the finances or the time to help me. They wanted to give and I refused their help or gifts. So was I the only loser in these cases? No. I also robbed them of the pleasure of giving.
Who knows through the years what my pride or independence toward others has cost me, and them. It is not right to be greedy and ask for what you don't need, but, I suppose it is equally wrong to rob others of what they would like to give...
So, from this point on I will except all gifts...JUST KIDDING...
I do hope to get over myself and my desire to 'do it myself' without others. I think I'll begin right now...I'm tired.
As we move toward Thanksgiving and are reminded of how ridiculously much we ALL have, be genuinely grateful and receive as well as give.
We ate a lot! Great food and a blast with our families! I love the holidays!
We started our Thanksgiving at my husband's side of the family. We always have so much fun, and always leave wondering why we don't spend more time together!
We had a very relaxing time with the Seifert's! Relaxing is probably something that doesn't apply to my side of the family. Never a dull moment! We end up at my parents house in the evening after a stop at my mom's sisters house.
The tradition with my family (that our kids will not let us stop doing), is to make hard tack candy! Yippee!
This takes place in my parents garage.
I am so thankful that my kids have such amazing grandparents on both sides of the family! They love their grandparents! The Christian heritage they have passed on to them is something that I can never thank them enough for, God is good!
We got the candy done and then headed upstairs to watch a movie. My hubby turned my mom's living room into a movie theatre complete with theater treats! We were way too full to eat candy, but of course we ate it anyway!! It was fun.
I am not ready for Thanksgiving. Isn't that terrible! I just got home from church and I don't have enough time to do what I was supposed to for Thanksgiving.
Everyone on my husband's side of the family counts on me to make their "Nana's" homemade rolls. Not happening! So, I'm preparing myself to see sad faces knowing I have let them down! Despite not being ready for our meal tomorrow, I have much to celebrate!
I am thankful for an amazing husband and 2 great kids, healthy parents on both sides of our families, a growing ministry (nearly 2,500 people this past weekend), new friends, new teams and a great marriage! I thank the Lord for each of these blessings!
I pray each of you will have a blessed Thanksgiving!
I am very excited about some of the buzz around Crossroads. Things are hopping and I am really looking forward to the coming weeks!
-Adopt-A-Child- This event is one of the most exciting all year! Crossroads has committed to providing Christmas for 600 kids in Richland County! These children have been identified by area agencies as the neediest in the area. We have the kick off announcement this weekend and I can't wait to see what God is going to do in our community this Christmas!
-Rick Muchow visit You can see my previous post with details about Rick. The community seems to be buzzin'! What a blessing that he was willing to come and minister to our teams here at Crossroads on November 22 & 23! I cannot wait until he arrives!
-Small Group Leader training This event begins in just a couple of hours. It will be the first time I've been able to attend one of these meetings and I'm really looking forward to it. Of course it doesn't hurt that one of my favorite fellow staff members, Deering Dyer, will be leading! Expected attendance=40+ yippee
-Thanksgiving service. Wednesday, November 26th we have a Thanksgiving themed service planned that should be awesome!
-We are finishing up plans for our Christmas series and Christmas Eve next week! We already know we are planning a children's recital and a string quartet in our Town Square!
We are really excited and thankful to the Lord for many, many things! What a blessing to serve here, hope you can join us!
