Thankful for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my most favorite holiday of the whole year because it lacks major commercialization and gives us a family day to spend together remembering all the blessings God has poured out, many 0f which we have either long since forgotten or easily taken for granted.

I have not always been thankful for thorns in my side as St Paul writes.  My son hasn’t always been the easiest child to live with, but I am so thankful for how much God has matured him into a young man this year.  He truely desires to be a godly light in the dark places he finds himself and has a passion for listening to godly manhood audio CD’s from Doug Phillips of Vision Forum.  Without an earthly Dad to influence and encourage him, this is quite a miracle and but more importantly a great blessing to me.

I am thankful my brother-in-law has begun taking an active interest in Stephen’s military career and is giving him sound counsel as he prepares for his commissioning in May and assignment in the Signal Corp of the US Army.  Last year, I was thanking God my son-in-law came home safely  from Iraq and dreading Stephen’s potential deployments.  Now I am able to rest in Gods’ sovereignty and loving care for my son.

I am so thankful for my sister, Terry’s, faithful friendship, hospitality, encouragement and generosity to both myself and my children.

My daughter Mary has had the opportunity to further develop her musical skills this year after I had Duane’s “collectible” high school clarinet rehabbed.  She is involved in not only the school concert band but in a Girl’s Swing/Show Choir as well as weekly piano lessons and practice.  The school Christmas Concert and performance is coming December 17 and her older sister Laura and new husband Brandon will be able to attend.

When Laura got married last year on Jan 3, I really wondered how I would hold up without her father at my side to say nothing of  her  cross country move to Tennessee.  Now, nearly a year later, I can see that God has developed her into a very godly wife to Brandon and they have grown so much together, I can hardly wait to have them home in a few weeks for the Christmas holidays.  Yes, I am thankful for cell phones and skype so we can talk almost daily.

Managing The Urban Homemaker without Duane has been a major challenge to me this past year especially when I lost the entire data base of fifteen years,   right before Christmas, last year.  I struggled with not knowing how to do any of the technical computer things , fill-in-the-blank, and got down on myself.  Now, I can look back and see the faithfulness of God to provide a gifted computer guy, Marc, to carry us through the  hardships and step-by-step into a new system.

I am thankful that I was able to replace the badly rotting steps at my back door with a superior porch made of synthetic material made to look like wood so I won’t have to ever seal or stain a wood surface.  Besides it looks beautiful.  On top of that, I now have a patio beside the stairs between my house and shop under a shady walnut tree to enjoy the beautiful summer outdoors.

I am thankful that Mary and I were able to go to Florida to visit my 88 year-old folks for a week last June and enjoy their company and the Florida sunshine.

I am so thankful for all the new friendships I have been able to make through my Norwex business.  I have had so much satisfaction to be able  to move forward in this area.

This Sunday, a bunch of ladies in my town and I are going to travel to Montrose to watch the Nutcracker ballet.  I am so thankful they thought of including me in their plans.

I am humbled to have the opportunity to teach a parenting of teens Sunday School class based on the book Age of Opportunity by Ted Tripp.  We have had a hilarious time of fellowship and learning each Sunday morning, again I am having the opportunity to develop more friendships.  Our class has lovingly renamed our class,  Age of Opportunity, Growing Parents Gods Way. I hope some of you get the “play on words” and can appreciate it.

God has been so faithful to provide for me in small and large ways in the last year when I despaired of being able to be financially solvent.  He is such a great provider and faithful husband.

So many new doors have opened for me after loosing Duane, but it has not come without months of physical, emotional, and spiritual pain and grieving.  In the last two to three months I feel like I can jump out of bed each morning and embrace the day, I couldn’t do that last year.  Healing comes, memories sweeten, my recognition of God’s lovingkindness and goodness has grown exponentially through the painful loss of my husband.

I despaired of ever producing a catalog again.  I agonized over the countless calls and requests from people wanting a new copy of The Urban Homemaker catalog and now it is done, at least for a few months until it is time to revise it again.

My daughter and I are in the process of planning and building a new website to encourage a new generation of homemakers in their high callings.  We are excited that God keeps opening new doors of ministry.

I know there is so much more I could write.  God is a God of details (and I am not) so there is lots of I have overlooked and not mentioned.  Perhaps, as the day goes on, more things will come to my mind and I can revise my little essay.

Take time to think of how God turned difficulties into good this past year, how he has not forsaken you even if and when you forsake Him.  He is a Great and Mighty God.

Today, my children and I are gathering together to spend  Thanksgiving with friends to ask the Lord’s blessing, to praise his name, to rejoice that He is on our side, He will always be triumphant, His word never changes and is always there to guide and direct us, He delivers us from tribulations as He refines us into pure gold.  May His name be praised forever and ever AMEN!