A wise man (Joel Albright) once said to me, "You know Reba? Thanksgiving is all about words that start with the letter 'F': fun, family, food, and football." I always think of Joel whenever Thanksgiving rolls around. :)
Right now I'm in Greenville visiting family - my sister Anna and her husband Dave. Anna just had her first baby September 12. This is the first time I've met my nephew - Mordecai David Fink. He's a cute little man that's just beginning to smile and make sweet girgling noises. Here's a pic of Cai and his adorable little hat I just bought him.
My mom joins us tonight and we'll all spend the next few days together.
Thanksgiving - obviously this is the holiday when everyone focus's even more on being thankful. Thankfulness just happens to be one of the characteristics I'm praying the Lord will change in me this holiday break. When I first started traveling with the Galkins, Will would often tell me I'm either living in the past or in the future. I consistently have a hard time living each day as it comes. Because I struggle living in the past and in the future, I struggle with discontentment. These days I often find myself not being content with the plans God has for me right now. I long for what the world calls "the normal life" - a home, husband, family, car, and comfort. Instead I'm living out of a suitcase in people's homes, I'm not married, and I'm not living the normal 29 yr. old life. Is God making a mistake in my life? Are His plans not good? Of course not! The Bible clearly says "As for God, His way is perfect!". James 1:17 says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." The last few days, I've been praying God would help me cultivate a spirit of thanksgiving. To do this, I spend every morning in prayer. I thank the Lord that today I get to have a relationship with Him. I thank Him for His plans for me in my day. I thank Him specifically for each person I know I will come in contact with and pray for those people. As I go through out my day, I ask the Lord to help me give all my attention to the people I meet. I want to be all there in every conversation I have with people. I read a quote today out of the book I'm reading titled A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller. He said, "Thanksgiving helps us to be grace-centered, seeing all of life as a gift."
Thank You, Lord, for all the gifts You've given me. My heart is filled. Happy Thanksgiving!
Aww, Reba, Joel was so flattered to be quoted and called a wise man. And he's still the biggest fan of Thanksgiving ever! We just had a wonderful time with his family in Flint (another "f" word) - and ate plenty of the infamous rolls. :-) Hoping you had a wonderful time as well. We miss you! And once again, I think you need to come up and visit. :-D Love you friend!
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