So Thankful

I Timothy 4:4&5

"For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected

 if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer."

Everything God created is good and should be received with thanksgiving. God has created so much and has given us many reasons to be thankful everyday all through the year. I am thankful, though, that the United States still observes a day to stop and really think about our blessings and give concentrated and corporate thanks. I hope each of you were able to take a breather from the rush of "normal" life and enjoy a time with family in thanksgiving to God for His many wonderful creations.

Here are a few of the many people and things for which I give thanks:

First, foremost & always - Jesus, God, Holy Spirit!

All my amazing big family - Jones', Rice's, Dew's and beyond!

My church families - here and in NC - Wonderful prayer warriors & friends

My new job! I'm learning a lot and REALLY like what I'm doing and the people.

Playing with my grandbaby, Aria!

Playing games with Keegan & Amy.

Cell phones and new gadgets that make the long distance family feel closer.
Photos of Caleb & Anastasia, texts, calls

Rest & reading

Cozy, warm fire at the push of a button

Watching calves frolic in the field

Pleasant walks

Great food & favorite desserts

Laughter and conversation
Lively discussions in Sunday school
Hanging of the greens at church
Staff of CSH and just the fact that CSH is there 

Smiles
and much, much more!

Aria was asleep in the car.

A BIG thanksgiving gift with loads of thankfulness was permission from Dr. Ebeling to take Mike out on Saturday afternoon.  Keegan, Amy, Aria & I picked Mike up about 11:30 Saturday, drove to a barber where he got his haircut and we watched the first few minutes of the OSU vs. Michigan game. Go Bucks! Then we went to Applebee's for lunch where we were able to finish watching the first half of the game. Mike enjoyed the outing immensly and did very well. His appetite is quite good and he'll try to finish what anyone leaves, if you let him! After lunch, we walked around in the mall a little while then sat and he was able to talk with his Mom and Caleb. His Dad wasn't available at the time. Then we returned to CSH and he went right in without incident or complaint.

Amy & Rascal

Back home, Amy was able to go riding with Tracey for an hour or so which I think she enjoyed greatly. Amy is an accomplished rider and Tracey said it was nice to ride with her since she knew how to handle Rascal if he became rascally.

Arm in action

It was such a joy to have Aria around for the weekend. She is such a happy baby. She is now rolling over and sitting, but she moves so much that she still falls over without support. I think they may be in trouble once she starts moving around on her own - those legs and arms are usually in motion!




More thankfulness: The following email was forwarded to me by Dr. Ebeling on Monday. It is from one of Mike's group leaders in Cognitive therapy on Monday, Dec. 1.

In cog rem today Michael R. appeared to be more oriented and alert. When asked about his haircut and new shirt he told me his wife gave him the shirt and that he got the haircut while he was out. Also in my loop we were talking about a color by number activity and I said it reminded me of a paint by number activity and then Mr. R reminisced about when he taught his sons to paint using primer and a roller brush for the outside of his house. It was the first time he has mentioned his family to me.

He also talked in depth about his bachelor degrees from Ohio State and Asbury College. He talked about how he hadn’t wanted to pursue a master’s degree in history so he did another bachelor’s degree to teach physical education. He also discussed teaching at a high school, both physical education and history, as well as a basic math class.

While I was surprised that Mike had not communicated that well previously, I am thankful that he did this week. I guess it just took something to trigger the memories or to bring up family.  So....as you can see, we had a lot to be thankful for this past week and continuing on each day. Even when life is hard and not the way we would choose, there is ALWAYS lots of reasons to praise God and give Him thanks. Thank you, God, for all these blessings!

Tomorrow I am going to head to Fayetteville for a short visit. I hope to see many friends, but time will go by quickly, I know. I kept hoping Mike and I could get down there, but we'll continue to hope for that in the future. I just decided it's been too long and was time to go. I believe Mike is where he needs to be for now, and we will continue to trust God for direction and a more homey place at some point. Who knows? Maybe some day we will be together again in our own place and able to travel around to visit friends. With God there is always that possibility. Never give up hope.