Thanksgiving

We are celebrating a wonderful Thanksgiving this year...and there is truly so much to be thankful for. I am so thankful that the Lord has been kind and gracious and blessed us with His presence in our lives. We don't always "feel" blessed....with circumstances that tend to just continually be up and down like a roller coaster; but, beyond our feelings.....the truth is evident.....we are blessed because we have a Father that was and is willing to sacrifice it all for us to have a relationship with Him.....that through Christ, we can be found righteous, and have confidence of an eternal life with Him....one that we cannot see today, but, hope in with confidence. That is a blessing indeed.....something that is solid rock.

We are blessed because we are celebrating Thanksgiving with my parents this year and celebrating Thanksgiving for the first year with our son, Wolasa....also sometimes known as Sammy.

We are blessed to get the priviledge of raising three children - Caitlin, Carly and Wolasa. Many people talk about "how lucky or blessed" Wolasa is because of our adoption....it is funny - before we adopted Wolasa I would respond..."well, we are the lucky ones".....I meant it - but, didn't really know if that was true.....I had enough fears inside of me about the unknown of it all - I really "hoped" that was true...but, didn't know for sure.

Having Wolasa home for now almost three months....it really is true. We are the blessed ones...because it is amazing to just see how God is so kind and gracious to give me a love for my son that I wouldn't really think possible. Now.....we are just getting started....and I don't "feel" very loving often....I don't really want to do somethings....but, I have continued to love Wolasa the best that I can...which is through my actions of treating him how I would want to be treated....and through this, my feelings are also starting to follow.

That is a blessing......a blessing that gives me a glimpse of how much God, our Father, loves me.

So much to be thankful for.

I am also so thankful for Sarah. I have a bride that is so good to me.....she has stuck with me through many trials....and has been so faithful through the years. She is honest when she struggles...and that helps me to struggle better with my own issues.. She also allows me to lead our family......that is a blessing indeed. Being able to lead my family really is a joy....knowing that I'm not in a competition with Sarah, knowing that I have the room and freedom to lead.....allows me to truly think long and hard about how well I am leading.....and how well, more importantly, am I serving. I am blessed to know that the best way I can lead my family is to serve them. Thank you Lord for being gracious in showing me this......please help me remember this!

I am thankful for my two girls....they are precious and teach me much. I am thankful that they are so spirited, I am thankful that they have kind hearts.....I am thankful that we get the opportunity to sharpen them...point them to Christ, and trust in Him along the way. We are definitely in a phase right now where things are hard....but, as I have recently been meditating on some Psalms....I know where my trust needs to be.....not in how well things go for my girls.....but, in the fact that my Lord is good, He loves them more than I do, He is aware of everything that is to come.....and He promises us to be in our midst......that He will be singing over us.......that is comforting to know......Help me Lord to remember this....for when I do....I know we are blessed.....and I am thankful for You.

I am thankful that there is a little girl on another side of an ocean that I really care about. I don't really know why this little girl, but, I do. I'm thankful that I get to pray for her, and I am thankful that she is in an orphanage and not where she was before. I am thankful that Sarah and I are both praying for her....and thankful that we are both open to adopting her. I really count it as a blessing that we can even process this.....that we even want to process this. I am thankful for Gladney....and how they are helping us process this sweet little girl.

I am thankful for community. We are surrounded by friends that love us....and are our family here in Dallas. I'm thankful that our friends point us back to the truth of who Christ is in the midst of life....I'm thankful that when some things are just plain hard; and they have been really hard with our oldest recently, that our friends and community have loved us and just encouraged us....that they have tried to take some of the burden off of us with just words of affirmation and love......we are blessed that the Lord was gracious in putting people in our lives to encourage us to continue to move forward and trust in Him.

Thankful for so much this Friday after Thanksgiving........I'm thankful I have leftovers today!!!!!

Cary