Giving Thanks and Getting Festive

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday.  Not only does it kick-off the holiday season with some delicious once-a-year kind of food, but it also doesn't involve the stress and headache of scrambling to buy those perfect gifts for every single family member.  And it's a time of giving thanks. A time to reflect on your life and actually recognize all the things that you truly have to be thankful for. Each day I take so many aspects of my life for granted and spend way too much time focusing on the things that I wish were different.  I recognize my blessings throughout the year, but rarely do I take the time to soak them in and truly "give thanks" to my friends, family and most importantly to my Savior.  

"Not what we say about our blessing, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving."      

                                                                                                                                       W.T. Purkiser         

I find myself saying "I am so blessed" or "Thank you Lord for all the blessings you have provided me" very often, but what is more important than verbalizing my thanks is to act upon these blessings to better serve Him and reach out to those who are longing to be loved.

This was my first Thanksgiving as a married lady, and my first Thanksgiving to live in a different state from my sweet family.  As Alan and I packed up the car to head to Alabama, I realized more than ever how thankful I am for our families.  I felt so much warmth and love just being in the car knowing that we were about to spend quality time with the ones we love so dearly.  Living 5 hours away from my parents and 3 1/2 hours away from my in-laws has been challenging. But I am thankful for our life. I am thankful that God has placed us where we are and I can already tell that He is doing great things through us here in Mississippi.  Not only is God strengthening our marriage through this transition but He is working on each of our hearts individually, making us better servants for Him. And for that I am grateful.

Here are a few snap shots of some pretty sweet blessing....

Now, it's time to ring those bells and sing those carols because it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the Cease house!  We did something that I swore I would never do....decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving. However, we did have a pretty decent excuse. Alan had the weekend before Thanksgiving off and would be working night float the entire month of December (which makes for a very sad, lonely wife might I add). So really the only time for me to have Alan's help in putting the Christmas decorations up was before Thanksgiving.  So we did just that and hoped that our neighbors wouldn't think we were the new "crazies" on the block! 

I wish you a very Merry Christmas!