Giving Thanks

It’s been a while since I updated you all on whats going on. Things have been really crazy at work and at home so I haven’t had time to sit down and write to you all. Here is a short update.
HOME: Things are going good at home. It is SUPER busy with two kids in the house. The regular breaks we used to get are no longer available so once they both go down for the night we can finally relax…. OK, so we don’t relax we clean up and eat something. Typically its 11PM before get to bed. Oh well, we love our kids and are enjoying watching them grow up. Ruby is SOOO big and is a great big sister. Titus is a very happy baby and loves to smile a lot. He has started to laugh/giggle lately so when I hear that it usually makes my day. We are looking forward to all the Schmoyer’s being around for Thanksgiving. It’ll be crazy and fun all at the same time! I’ll let you know how it all goes when it is over.

WORK: I created a simple and quick website for Chaska TreeHouse (www.chaskatreehouse.wordpress.com) so the kids can keep up to date on whats going on, when events are scheduled to start and end, and what is coming up. Tim (my brother) has been helping me look at some other options for a more user friendly and interactive website for the youth here. It should be pretty sweet when it’s all done.

Over the past few days I’ve been asking kids what they are doing for Thanksgiving. The responses have varied. Some have talked about going to relatives houses, others have mentioned their house as the “host” house, and a good number of kids have said they are not doing anything at all. No special dinner, no relatives, no change from the ordinary. Each time I’ve heard that I’ve felt so sad inside because the family get-together holidays are always a lot of fun. For me, it has been the only times I get to see my cousins. It has also been a time to just relax and talk with family. For so many of the kids here “family” isn’t anything important of special to them. They’d rather be with their friends or alone than with their family. I would be so mad and full of bitterness if our Thanksgiving dinner was sitting at KFC. I know that sounds like a joke but I know it will happen this year for a few of the kids here. It’s just another day. Nothing special. No family to enjoy and laugh with.

I have so much to be thankful for and yet I take it all for granted. I don’t know if any of you relate to what I am saying or have noticed that despite all we have and all we can do (physically, financially, and many other ways) we don’t take time to give thanks. I think about the nation of Israel in the book of Judges. They would experience awesome blessing and grace from God and would begin to trust themselves and wouldn’t recognize Him as their Jehovah Jira. As a result they would fall into deeper sin and suffer the consequences of their actions. Only when they hit rock bottom would they return to their first love and repent.

This is a cycle I do not want to fall into. I want to be thankful always. It is super hard because I get so distracted with my own thinking and selfishness. I think I had something to do with the amount of money we made during the month or the way we were able to put money into our savings account. But when I look back over the past year I can see that God has TOTALLY blessed us in huge ways and I have yet to fall on my knees to praise and thank Him for being my Jehovah Jira.

We have so much to be thankful for this year. I want to challenge and encourage you to take some time today to think about how God has been your Jehovah Jira. Have you properly thanked Him for His awesome blessings? Don’t let another day pass without doing it!

Psalm 95:1-6(KJV)

“O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.
The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.”

Psalm 107:1(NIV)

“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.”