Showing posts with label Thanks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thanks. Show all posts

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Thanksgiving

Come this time of year, people on Facebook tend to post a "thanks" everyday.  I decided to take the challenge this year and find things that I'm truly thankful for and blessed by.  Here is a compilation of everything that I posted up to Thanksgiving day.  Advent comes early this year, so that is the reason for stopping at Thanksgiving.  I want to be able to not focus on what God has given me, but how he changed the world one Christmas 2000+ years ago.

November 1st- I'm thankful that Jesus conquered the grave and I have eternal life.
2- I'm thankful for healthy kids and husband.
3- I'm thankful to God for the bountiful provisions of basic needs of food, shelter and clothing.
4- I'm thankful to God for a heritage full of ancestors that paved the way for me, giving me role models for life and showing with their actions: their love for God and their dedication to the church and Centenary College.














5- I'm thankful to God for using A. C. "Cheesy" Voran and Will Andress as match makers, putting my parents together and choosing my best friends and husband.
6- I'm thankful that God gave me an incredible mother and a wonderful mother-in-law.



7- I'm thankful to God for giving us different seasons and changes in weather, even day-light savings time. 
8- I'm thankful to God for the gift on music and my voice, even if it is not solo quality. And, I also give thanks for the beautiful mentors he placed in my life: Debbie Talley and Wendy Sharpless. 
9-I'm thankful to God for friends that you can pick up right where you left off, even if it is years in between.
10- I'm thankful to God for giving me the sweetest sisters (and sister-in-laws) on the planet.

11- I'm thankful to God for all the men and women who have giving their lives to serve this great nation for our freedom. 
12- I'm thankful to God for sweet cousins my kids get to grow up with.

13- I'm thankful to God that we can worship Him wherever we are and that He is in control.
14- I'm thankful to God for my Daddy who I miss very much on this, his birthday.

15- I'm thankful to God for giving me such a sweet husband and best friend who takes care of me and loves me unconditionally.

16- I'm thankful to God for giving me Cavett and for his sweet sense of empathy toward others.
17- I'm thankful to God for giving me Kendrick who keeps making me laugh and his endless supply of hugs.

18- I know I've kinda already said thanks for her but, gotta do it again. I'm thankful to God for my sweet mother-in-law who drove 3 hours round trip just to bring me some soup to help me feel better.
19- I'm thankful to God for quite time and family naps.
20- I'm thankful to God for rain.
21- I'm thankful to God for my BSF class.
22- I'm thankful to God for the Holy Spirit's enabling, strength and endurance that I desparately need today. 
23- I'm thankful for my big families on both sides. 

24- I'm thankful to God for who He is and how he has revealed himself to me. 

Friday, November 14, 2008

Turkey.


Some of you know that I am all about turkey at Thanksgiving, but not just any turkey. For years I have eaten a Greenberg Turkey for Thanksgiving and sometimes at Christmas too. One year while Stephen was in dental school and we were flat broke I got a free turkey for buying a certain amount of groceries from they grocery store. I cooked it, but is was so dry it was unbelievable. In fact, as I was cutting the dried out carcass, I sliced my finger with the knife so bad that I had to take a Valium for the pain. I probably should have had stitches.





Anyway, back to Greenbergs.....This is a smoked turkey from Tyler, TX. They ship and far distances, too. It comes to you fully cooked. You can eat it right then or freeze it for later. This is the first year that I ordered my very own. I ordered it just for me and my immediate family--Stephen and Cavett. I know, its a little selfish, but this is the most amazing turkey EVER, hands down. I fight people for the peppery parts!


We decided to not save it for later and carved it up tonight for an early Thanksgiving. Cavett has never eaten turkey, but tonight he tried it and it was like history repeating itself. My Mom never cooked a turkey, my grandmother never cooked turkey. We always ordered a Greenberg. I remember sitting in the kitchen watching my Dad/Mom (depending on the year) carve the Greenberg. I remember not liking turkey, but at some point the time came when I recognized the difference between turkey and a Greenberg. From there on out, you cannot keep your hands away from picking the meat off this bird and stealing a bite. Cavett must have had at least a quarter of a pound. Every time we glanced at him he was "stealing" another bite. I wish I could say the same for Kendrick. But, his day will come soon enough. I foresee Greenberg turkeys being in business for centuries!








It's not too late to order your very own. Check out http://www.gobblegobble.com/. However, if you live in the Tyler, TX area, be prepared to stand in a long line to pick yours up. They don't ship in town. But, if you live there, you would already know about this turkey!!!!

F is for Father


As I was reading Scribbit's Write-Away assignment this month, something inside of me told me I needed to contribute. Immediately after reading the caveats (1. have the subject of Thanksgiving and 2. begin with the letter F) I knew my subject--my Father. I firmly believe that when there is a desire or a push there is a need and a pull. Maybe someone out there needs to hear my words. Maybe there will be comfort, reassurance or just a new knowledge. Here is my story.



Six years and 13 days ago, my mother and father were on their way to a cabin in East Texas to spend the weekend with two other couples. Our three families, a total of ten kids, had spent most of the past Halloween weekends camping outdoors instead of trick-or-treating. Other times of the year we would exchange Christmas presents or have game nights. They were my extended family and both of the other couples are like parents to me. Years had passed and all the kids were grown and out of the houses. The couples were re-uniting sans kids this go around.
Dad had just taken a new job in Texarkana and was commuting about an hour north every day. He had a cold that night and didn't feel good. Mom had had a rough week of teaching second graders. They discussed whether or not they should still go, but decided in the end that it would be a good get-away. About 20 miles from the cabin, my mother called to tell the others they were almost there. Thirty minutes later, Mr. David and Mr. Gary decided to go look for them when they received no answer on the phone. Three miles up the road they discovered the accident.

The country road was dark and not well lit. The speed limit was 70 mph. There was a man on the opposite side of the road, stopped with his boat. Dad slowed a bit to see if the man needed any help. When he looked back, the road had ended. My father came up on a T in the road that wasn't marked. No warning signs, no sign at the T with arrows pointing in either direction, no indication of reduced speed, no barrier. He veered as much as possible, but still hit a tree head on in their white mini-van. There were no air bags and Dad never wore his seat belt. Luckily, my mother was wearing hers. My mother was injured severely and as she felt my father slump over on her and moan, she heard him take his last breath. She also remembers hearing the voice of someone with them, checking on them and telling her to "let him go" and to focus on herself. But, when she saw the first responder and asked about that voice, they insisted that no one else had been there. We both believe it was an angel or God himself.

Today on his birthday, I miss my father. But I am so very thankful that I was blessed with such a generous, wise, loving, caring, and kind earthly father. He had many quirks, as we all do, but that is what made his personality meaningful. I am thankful that he passed on his love for music to me, that he taught me how to make Mexican hot sauce, that he showed me what I need to look for in a husband. Most of all though, I am thankful that he knew our Heavenly Father and that he understood what it meant to be like Christ. I didn't really know his relationships with his friends, but I was in awe in the weeks after his passing to hear the stories of how he led so many people to love God so fully.

You may wonder "why would God let this happen to a man that is doing His will?" It's a good question and one I may not ever have an answer to, but I know this; my father is in heaven and our Heavenly Father has a plan. One day that plan will be revealed and our Father will conquer the final enemy. It is written "The last enemy to be destroyed is death." I Corinthians 15:26. How thankful I am that God gave his only Son to save us from this death! I am thankful that I will one day see my earthly father again. But, for now, I am thankful my father is there watching me and my little boys with a smile. I am doing my best to teach my children what it means to be a man like their "Dadoo," as we lovingly called him. I am so thankful that he taught me about our Heavenly Father so that I may continue to carry the torch of truth and light which shone so brightly in his heart.