Turkey Day 2011

Bill and I celebrated a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family this year, and as always, I ate to my heart’s content and woke up yesterday morning still feeling full from 4 days of eating rich, delicious foods. It was by far worth every bite and calorie!

However, my favorite moment of Thanksgiving this year did not even revolve around eating food (shocking I know). It happened in between everyone finishing the meal and waiting for a little room to open up in our stomachs for dessert. As all 20 of us sat around the dining room table, my dad got out his bible and shared an inspiring devotional.  I’ve always admired my dad’s passion for the Lord and his gift of being able to teach and preach the Word, and this particular moment was no exception.  He spoke about the importance of being thankful in all circumstance… not necessarily for all circumstance, but in the midst of all circumstance. Life will always bring the high and low moments, but even during the difficult times we can be thankful for Christ and what he accomplished on the cross for each of us.  As Christians, we have been called to be bold in our faith and in sharing the good news with those around us. We can be thankful that we can be used as God’s vessels while on this earth, and for that reason, we should be making the most of every precious moment God’s given us here.

For me, it’s satisfying to go to church on Sundays, read my devotional in the mornings, pray throughout the day and then often feel like that is enough in my spiritual journey. I believe those things are all wonderful and crucial to our personal walks with the Lord, but at some point it can’t just be all about me and feeding my own spiritual appetite. There’s a lost world that desperately needs to be loved and to hear the good news! I am praying that the desire to reach out to others would penetrate my soul like never before so that I may be moved to act and not just talk about how great it would be. I am eternally thankful for Christ’s forgiveness and saving grace, and now I desire to walk the walk so much more than just talking the talk. As I reflect on just how much I have to be thankful for, I’m reminded of the verse in Luke that says “to whom much is given, much is required.”  There’s certainly a lot of ways to reach out to others throughout this holiday season, and I look forward to finding ways to do just that.

And now back to what we did during the remainder of our break.  On Saturday, we went to the Baylor/ Texas Tech game at Cowboys Stadium, where we got to watch in pure delight as Baylor beat Tech 66-42. It was definitely a sweet victory considering the fact that Baylor hadn’t beaten Tech in 15 years. Everything just seems a little brighter in the world when Baylor wins. J

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and now it’s on to enjoying every moment of this Christmas season. The holiday music, food, decorations, cooler weather, lights, hallmark channel movies, Christmas cards, and cozy fires all contribute to making this my absolute favorite time of the year. In the midst of all the glitz and glamour of Christmas time, I also want to reflect on what makes this season the most spectacular of all… celebrating the birth of our Savior. I’d say that’s something pretty amazing to be thankful for both during this season and every other day of the year. Merry Christmas season everyone!

The beautifully decorated table at Aunt Tina and Uncle Roy's house

All my siblings together again! It had been too long.

Mom and Dad :)

Thankful for Erin's bundle of joy due in February!

RG3 at the Baylor/Tech game

The whole fam at Cowboys Stadium