Happy Thanksgiving

Today is the day all brave turkeys fear. This brave turkey, however, is just glad to be here.

I've had a special affection for Thanksgiving for a long time. I trace it back to 1990. Kelsey and I had been married just over a year and were houseparenting at a boys home in Williston, North Dakota. At a special thanksgiving service, the pastor asked people what they were thankful for, and a fellow in his 40's who had been unemployed for months was the first to stand up and talk. It had a huge impact on me to think that this guy, who'd been down on his luck for a good while, had the presence of mind to be thankful in the midst of it. I've tried to emulate that ever since.

• I'm thankful that our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. Perspective is everything. I can't tell you how many times the 6am worship team as rocked my world with this verse.
  

• I'm thankful for an amazing year of adoption. God put us in connection with the right peopleat the right time. Friends and strangers rallied around us to help us do what God called us to do. The process - which many describe as horrific in detail and length - was relatively painless and fast (exception being a few nail-biting hours in Las Vegas...). Our adoption benefit dinner may have been the bash of the century.

• I'm thankful for the french toast I'm going to hoark down with Loux family as well as the copious amounts of turkey I will consume later at the Roberts' today.

• I'm thankful for God's amazing provision. We have completed our third year living as intercessory missionaries...as a family of six, that's simply amazing. During this time we have lacked for nothing that we needed, and in many cases, have been blessed beyond the need. With no extra money, we managed to vacation in Dayton and now drive a the perfect vehicle for a family of six (You can afford to buy more gas when the truck is free...) We live in a weird tension of having all we need, having little to know idea who next month's provision will come through and yet knowing Who provides it. I know this sounds terrifying to many (and occassionally, it is to us!) but I am thankful we live this way. I feel like we've seen His hand move in an immediate way over and over again.

• I'm thankful for our community. My kids are growing up in a culture where 20 year olds are skipping the keggers and other 'rites of passage' to lead 6am prayer meetings and lead fasting teams. Who knows the long term affect this will have on the generation who grows up in it and knows no different.
  

• I'm grateful for the 150+ that we baptized a few weeks ago. We tried to watch in on the webcam, but it looked so amazingly fun that we loaded our family in the car and raced over to party in person with the others. I eagerly look forward to the day when our kids can't remember baptisms with this few because we're seeing thousands at a time...

• I'm thankful for my team(s). I work with some very fun peeps.
  

• At the risk of sounding a little overly-Hallmark, I'm thankful for good friends. We have been a pretty mobile family...meaning we know people all over the country, but for many years didn't feel well known by anyone. God is shifting that. While I'm grateful for the 682 contacts in my phone (no joke...) I'm really grateful for the few that I can truly lean on as friends.

• I'm thankful for my amazing family. I am convinced that no family on earth has as much fun as we do...not that fun is the measure of all things, but it sure helps lubricate the machine when the gears of circumstance are grinding. Obviously, I'm thankful I married 3 rungs up the genius ladder. I'm thankful that it's ok to be bushy haired at nearly 14. I'm thankful that my 9 year old loves justice. I'm thankful for a rock and roll 5 year old, and of course Savannah Zoe, whose life was saved from a barren field. I'm thankful that my mom is with us and healthy - it's a great connection the memories of my past and the cinnamon rolls of my future.
  

• I'm thankful we don't have to wait for film to get developed anymore. I remember having rolls of 12 exposure film. You treated those shots like they were your last twelve bullets and you were about to land on Iwo Jima. Now, digital pics flow like water and you get beauties like these.