Last week, we filled shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child, a ministry of Samaritan's Purse. We've done this every year for the past 3 or 4 years, and I think we've added a box each time. This year we made two boxes for girls, and two boxes for boys. Kathryn prepared the girls' boxes, and Lindsey prepared the boys' boxes. They wrote notes and included a family photo, and we're all hoping the kids write back. Collection day at our church was last Sunday, but it's not too late to send a shoebox yourself, if you're interested! (Click that link above.)
As we get ready for our Thanksgiving feast, we are making a point of realizing how much we have to be thankful for. Our thankful tree is getting quite full, and I've been writing a few verses on the tree trunk that remind us what the Bible has to say about being thankful. A few I added today:
- Psalm 89:15 -- "Happy are the people who know how to praise you..."
- Psalm 118:1 -- "Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good..."
- Ephesians 5:20 -- "Always give thanks to God the Father for everything..."
I'm very much looking forward to a different sort of Thanksgiving this year. We've never hosted at our home before, and there will be less of the extended family than usual, but we've extended an invitation to quite a few friends who don't have family in town, and I'm delighted that a few of them have accepted. I'd love for it to become a tradition, this inviting of an assortment of folks. Seems to me like what Thanksgiving is really about.
Are there any holiday traditions you'd like to begin?
Are there any holiday traditions you'd like to begin?
