Happy Thanksgiving Eve

Here is our playlist, which we are about to hear while we bake some pies.

http://grooveshark.com/playlist/Thanksgiving/79194359


Have a peaceful Thanksgiving.

Grateful for the 23rd day: Sharing

Our past week was full of sharing with lots of lovely folks.  Every Tuesday we go to Joy Club at Hall Church.  The school bus drops off kids from the area after school, and they stay for a Bible Club.  "From the area" means something like this:

Follow enough tire tracks, and you find beautiful children like this: 

Every Wednesday we attend AWANA club at Gandy Church.  This past week at the last minute, we started getting phone calls:  the commander is sick, can you fill in?  The game leader won't be there, can you fill in?  In addition to playing piano, leading a handbook group, and teaching Bible time?  Some of our boys' friends stopped in for awhile to play and shoot guns in the afternoon.  After sharing a quick bowl of chili, we threw a bunch of pool noodles and arm floaties in the van and left.  Of course, God worked it out that everything in the evening went smoothly.  Only one 2nd grader asked, "What is the purpose of hitting floaties with pool noodles?"   

On Friday Jason asked a co-worker over for the afternoon and a meal.   Other than their dad, this is the 1st time I've been able to say to my kids about a firefighter/medic, "I hope you grow up to be like him."  Hopefully we can share more days with him.     

All weekend we got to do chores for our friends who were gone.  This included learning to milk a cow.  Are we ready for our own yet?   Not quite, but we really had fun sharing the work.  

Our week has been filled with these and many more blessings.  For school we are looking for the word "thanks" and derivitives in the Bible.  We read Cranberry Thanksgiving,by Wende and Harry Devlin.

Here are 2 stanzas of a poem I like, called "November," by J. Patrick Lewis:

The bottoms of autumn
Wear diamonds of frost;
The tops of the trees rue 
The leaves that they've lost.

Red squirrels, busy packing
Oak cupboards for weeks,
Still rattle the branches
With seeds in their cheeks.

And our scripture:

Matthew 6:26-34

New King James Version (NKJV)

²⁶ Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 

Being Grateful for the 15th Day

Today we are thankful for the peace of Christ.  Here are the kids' thoughts about peace:

No wars between any countries

Lying down to sleep

A nice quiet day

Colossians 3:15-17

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.


This week we made acrostics.  http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/pdfs/thanks_acrostic_with_graphic.pdf

We have been reading from this book:  

And we're compiling our Thanksgiving playlist on Grooveshark.com. We may share it when we're done in a couple of weeks!

Being Grateful for the 8th day

Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, 

and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms.

Psalm 95:2

I am thankful to be allowed invited right into God's presence.  I want to enter into His gates with thanksgiving every time I come.

BRINSLIE, TESSA, APRIL, JORGIA

I got to enter in with these lovely girls and about 60 other people last week at True Beauty 2012 retreat.   Worshiping and learning together was an amazing privilege.

At home we've been reading a Thanksgiving story book every day and singing our favorite Thanksgiving songs.

What joyful noises and psalms do you like to sing at Thanksgiving time?