Thanksgiving 2009 (meal #3 post #1)

Every year my in-laws' family gathers at their hunting lodge on the Black River on Thanksgiving. It's the perfect rustic setting for Thanksgiving - see what I mean?

We typically have 100-200 relatives there. And each year the family tree is posted and updated. It goes all the way back to the early 1700s. (PS. We have an early ancestor named "Napoleon Bonaparte Barefoot." I know, right?)


(It takes multiple large charts to post them all.)

(The green sticky notes represent updates by way of marriage, birth or death. They'll be incorporated on the chart before next Thanksgiving.)

I took close ups of our part on the chart but then thought better of posting our full names, birth dates, etc. on the Internet. (Duh.)

Given the size of the crowd, and the possibility of rain, we often rent a large tent to gather in and eat, in addition to the house. But this year the weather was perfect.

The boys always play football.



Some of the crowd gathering by the outbuildings.


Here's the view to the river from the back porch.

My daughter was shocked to recognize the lady in the vest as one of the teachers at her middle school. Remember when you thought your distant relatives didn't have real lives ... like they only materialized out of thin air on holidays? :)

Remember too when you simply could not resist skipping a rock when standing at the edge of smooth water?

I'll post more pics in the next post.

Wine into Water

On the heels of my last post, I came across this article today about a barkeep who partnered with Samaritan's Purse to meet people's needs for clean water.

Jesus turned water into wine to serve some wedding guests, this guy is turning wine into water to serve thirsty third world countries. I think that's pretty cool.

May I be so bold as to ask, what are you doing to serve others?

It's a rhetorical question asked in love, so no need to answer or feel guilty. Just take it in as fuel for inspiration - that's what I'm doing with it.

Serving the least of these

Thanks so much for stopping by today after my devotion A Thirsty Woman. That encounter in that cafe touched my heart deeply, and compelled me to look for more ways I can bless Christ by blessing those "less fortunate" than me.

If you're feeling that tug on your heart today too, here are a few ways you can respond.

Samaritan's Purse is known as the Operation Christmas Child ministry. Each Christmas they gather donations of shoe boxes filled with toys and supplies for poor children. You choose if you want to prepare a shoe box for a boy or a girl, and what age group. And then they use the giving of the gift to the child as an opportunity to tell them about Christ. It's a simple and fun project you could do today. If this interests you, Follow this link.

But Samaritan's Purse does so much more than Op. Christmas Child. Year round they provide for the needs of impoverished communities across the world. They provide everything from food for the hungry and clean water for the thirsty, to medical care for the disabled, and teachers for those who don't know how to read or write. You can choose what you want to donate towards. Following my encounter with the thirsty woman, I couldn't hardly make donations to Samaritan's Purse fast enough! If you're interested in learning more, follow this link.

I attended Regent University, on the grounds of the Christian Broadcasting Network. They have a similar relief ministry called Operation Blessing. Their purpose is to break the cycle of suffering, and you can participate by following this link.

And if you've been around my blog long at all, you've heard me talk about Compassion International. They're a Christian organization that works with local churches through out the world, and donors like you and me, to lift children out of poverty one at a time. With $38 a month, you can sponsor a child of your choosing. I sponsor a little boy in Ecuador. His life will never be the same because of it. Mine is different because of it too --we write letters to each other every couple of months. It's a precious thing. If you've ever thought about sponsoring a child, explore it further by following this link.

If you're like me, you've done quite a bit of shopping this weekend for loved ones. I'm hoping you'll also take time to pause and spend a little time or money serving the needy - and thereby serving Christ. These three organizations I mentioned are all Christian-based, all help the needy, and I've had personal experience with each of them. I believe them all to be trustworthy and effective. But don't underestimate the simple gift of noticing someone around you that needs a hand -- needs you to reach something at the grocery store they can't reach from their wheelchair, or needs you to help them open the door, or just needs a drink of water ... or four.

Sweet Blessings!

Thank You Power

Let me say "Hey Y'all" to eveyone visiting from my devotion published today. Glad you stopped by.

The research I referenced in the devotion comes out of an academic journal. However, if you'd like to read more about it, follow this link. I'm also reading a research-based book called The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want. It's not a Christian book - a group of faculty from the university I teach at is reading it in a book club - but it's not a typical "self-help" book either. The well credentialed author focuses on the scientific study of happiness. I've found it's findings to be consistent with what God's Word teaches. Plus, I'm finding it quite interesting!

For instance, did you know that we each have a genetically determined set-point for happiness? It represents 50% of what determines our general level of happiness. It varies from person to person and is the level we'll tend to return to over and over, even after major setbacks or major triumphs.

Even more fascinating is the fact that our circumstances only represent 10% of what determines our level of happiness. How often have we assumed we'd be happier if we could get a better job or a better spouse; a prettier body or a prettier house? Research shows while these things can provide a temporary happy-boost, even those who win the lottery or get total body makeovers return to their happiness set point ... often within a year or so. All life circumstances put together only account for about 10% in how happy we are. Is that as eye-opening to you as it is to me?

But that still leaves 40% of our level of happiness determined by something other than our genetics and our circumstances. Guess what it's determined by? Our thoughts and behavior. And there are several intentional behaviors we can do to boost this 40%. One of them is cultivating gratitude.

Grateful people are more likely to help others, and to build social bonds. They are better at coping with stress and trauma. Grateful people tend to have more positive self-awareness and are less likely to compare themselves to others. And, it turns out, gratitude has the power to dissolve negative feelings like anger, jealousy, fear and defensiveness. All these things result in greater daily feelings of happiness.

Gratitude journaling is a great way to get intentional about developing a mind set on gratefulness. Journaling (about once a week on average) has been reliably shown to boost happiness in repeated research studies. (Particularly for those who enjoy reading and/or writing.)

However, if you count your blessings in a journal every day in the exact same way, you may become bored with it, and it could lose its power. So change it up some weeks. Try calling a friend to tell her what you're thankful for. Try writing a letter of gratitude to someone who has positively impacted your life. Send more heart-felt thank you cards. Buy a gift, create a piece of art, or cook for someone as a way to express your gratitude for them. Giving is a great expression of gratitude. Just don't make it so hard or so involved to pull off that you won't do it.

A letter of gratitude would be a touching, inexpensive gift this holiday season. And likely to be cherished longer than any trinket you could buy. Or maybe you could just purchase them a copy of the happiness book and a blank journal. Just a thought for all of you uninterested in braving the after-Thanksgiving sales crowds. :)

Meanwhile, feel free to start chronicling your gratitude in the comments on this post. What are you thankful for today?