Thanksgiving: Lydia

This was Lydia's first Thanksgiving. In fact, this was her first major family holiday (sorry love, I don't consider Groundhog's day as a major holiday). Holidays are always more eventful than normal vacations. The stays are a little longer. It is a more lively around the house and this Thanksgiving was no different. Except it is was different in that Lydia was there. For Mandy and I, going to family holidays are no longer coming as individuals or even as a couple, but as a family. What a great blessing to be thankful for to the Lord. Furthermore, having a baby around wherever you go makes things different.

One of the best "different" parts of this past Thanksgiving was watching Grandma and Aunt Kelly play, adore, and smile with Lydia. It was neat to see my sister warm up and become closer to Lydia more and more and laugh with her.

However, there is one confession which I will make on Lydia's behalf. She missed her first Thanksgiving feast. Well, kind of. Lydia needed to take a nap right about the blessing and toast. Actually, it was a great blessing for daddy and mommy as we were able to enjoy the feast and conversation with our family unhindered. For those who might be disappointed with Lydia's Thanksgiving siesta, I want to inform you that she did wake up at the tail end of the feast and ate some mashed potatoes and squash. Here are a couple of snapshots of Lydia's meal:

Daddy's getting Lydia ready for the Feast -

Lydia thinking, "Look at all this food... why did I take a nap?" -

Thanksgiving: The Feast

Everyone knows the three elements of a good Thanksgiving: the Feast, watching Football, and hangout with the Family. Mandy, Lydia, and I were at my parent's house this year. We arrived at my parents house a little after five on Wednesday. We were both surprised at how light traffic was during the busiest travel day of the year. This early arrival was very important as my mom made her famous homemade spaghetti sauce with Italian sausage and meatballs. I love spaghetti and my mom's is the best. We can call this our pre-meal to the feast like preparing for a road race the next day.

Our Thursday, with the Macy's Day Parade in the background, every in the household had a job to do. For hours, there were potatoes peeled, casseroles mixed together, tables and chairs arranged, and of course, the turkey with stuffing in the oven. The family didn't go hungry during these hours of cooking. My dad, the day before, had cajun-seasoned/smoked a turkey for us. OH MY! It was delicious! Juicy. Flavorful. Mouthwatering good! Also, my mom, in her normal motherly-good fashion, had orderves of shrimp and cheese-in-crackers. I want to highlight one kind of cheese we had for a moment. I don't know the brand of this cheese, but it was a pepper jack cheese. Why does one pick a pepper jack over, lets say, a medium cheddar? Spicy. You want the cheese to have a little punch. Sometimes, may I say, most of the time, you don't get that spicy you were looking for in the pepper jack. Well, this cheese which my mother put out was perfectly spicy. It brought the punch I was looking for in a piece of pepper jack cheese.

Getting Ready to Feast:

(my brother and my dad having a little laugh; my sister and her friend enjoying the day)

(Mandy sitting down to give thanks)

I turn to the Feast itself. The Feast at our house was especially delicious this year. I don't think I can remember of having a tastier Thanksgiving. Here is the 2010 Stock Thanksgiving Meal Menu:

1 Juicy Brine Turkey

1 Out-of-This world Cajun Smoked Turkey

1 Spiral Ham

Stuffing

Oyster Stuffing (a family recipe)

Home-grown vegetables from my Uncle's garden in Maine:

Potatoes (mashed)

Acorn Squash

Brussels Sprouts

Green Bean Casserole

Sweet Potato Delight (with the big mash mellows)

Biscuits (my Dad made them)

Pickle/Black Olive/Banana Pepper Tray

Two Cranberry dishes

Pineapple

(just finished!)

Giving Thanks Together

Fourteen adults and one toddler...in our little townhome!

At first I (Mandy) didn't think this feat possible for a sit-down pre-Thanksgiving dinner we hosted for our Bible studies. Somehow, with a little maneuvering and a lot of "excuse me"s it worked. These brothers and sisters in Christ pictured here really made our house feel like a home to start off the holiday season a few weeks ago.

We are grateful for the influence, encouragement and accountability they all have provided us this past year. We look forward to growing together as a church family for 2010.

(Pictured from left to right: Jeff, Jennifer, Amy, Ben, Erika, Michael, David, Rachel, Brian, Mandy, Amanda, Dana, John, Amy, and Stacy)

28 Thanks!

A season of thanks! I have so much to be thankful for! As I am 28 years old, here are 28 things that I am thankful for from the past year. God is so good.

1. I am thankful for God’s sovereign love for me. Oh how He loves me. Oh how he is jealous for me so that I might be jealous for Him. His relentless passion for His glory is my satisfaction.
2. I am thankful for chocolate milk. 3/4 milk and 1/4 chocolate. I like it thick.
3. I am thankful for having a great family. I have great parents, good in-laws, and fun siblings. I hope this coming year I will have more

time with them as we always have a good time together.
4. I am thankful for Cheetos. During the first trimester of wife’s pregnancy, she was very sick to the stomach. The only thing that kept her stomach settled was Cheetos. Imagine that!
5. I am thankful for running. In some way, it is my “sanctuary.”
6. I am thankful for the blessing of a little daughter who will arrive in this world this coming February. I can’t wait to meet her and love her. I already love her so much.
7. I am thankful for MTW’s wisdom to slow down our timing to the missions field. The past three months, we have grown in grace through and by their decision.
8. I am thankful for the book of Psalms. For about a year, I have been mediating upon one Psalm a week. They have taught me how to sing better, have given me grace to cry, and pointed me to Christ every time.
9. I am thankful for my Proverbs 31 wife. I remember a couple of weeks ago in one day she cooked dinner, went to the bank, did the laundry, and putty and painted the wall. She is truly a treasure to me.
10. I am thankful for sweet peppers from the garden. Though they weren’t what I expected, it was really fun picking (a lot of) them, figuring out what they go with, and giving them away to parents and friends.
11. I am thankful for the three gentlemen in my covenant group. They have a desire to change to Christ. They want to study the Word, memorize Scripture, and learn from godly books and each other. I am glad we are walking this season of life together.
12. I am thankful for having two opportunities to preach the Word of God this past year. One of those opportunities was at CCC which was very special. It is truly a blessing to herald the great Gospel of Jesus Christ.
13. I am thankful for Reinhardt College and my job. I love my job and I love hang out with the guys I work with. What fun we have!
14. I am thankful for the God who works out all things for those who love him. This year has been crazy with so many things. Yet, all these things are bring Mandy and I closer to Christ and His image.
15. I am thankful for old and new friends. It was awesome spending time with the Fishers this summer. This year it has been great getting to know new friends like the Goodrichs and Andersons.
16. I am thankful for my church family at Christ Community. Every Sunday it is a joy to join together in worship of Jesus. It is great that we can sing, laugh, listen, and break bread together.
17. I am thankful for marriage counseling. This was recommended by MTW to Mandy and I. It has been so good. I feel more connected to my wife and I know that I so much to learn about her and myself.
18. I am thankful for John Calvin. On July 10, 1509, Calvin was born and this year we celebrated his 500th birthday. Calvin has taught me two truths: the majesty of God’s Word and the centrality of Christ in all things.
19. I am thankful for spaghetti. The greatest meal ever. I can eat so much of it.
20. I am thankful for music especially music directing my heart to Jesus. There is nothing like it. It stirs up my heart to the highest joys to glorify Jesus.
21. I am thankful for a long drive to work. I have so much time to think and pray. I get to drive through the North Georgia Mountains every morning! It is beautiful.
22. I am thankful for God’s love is better than unconditional love. This refers to one of the sermons I preached. The text was 1 John 4:8-11. God’s love is active, sacrificial, intrusive, and covenantal.
23. I am thankful for playing cards. This is one of the fun activities Mandy and I do regularly. She probably wins more, but that is because I let her (j/k).
24. I am thankful for 24. It is so good and intense! Jack Bauer does it again.
25. I am thankful for the Palmer Home in Mississippi. This year I was able to spend two weeks helping build the Oak Ridge Home for children. The Palmer Home has such a great ministry loving on the unloved.
26. I am thankful for men who preach the Word of God. I am thankful for Pastor Mike who week in and week out, preaches the Gospel to my sinful and needy heart.
27. I am thankful for the men and women who serve this country overseas to protect this country and fight for freedom. May justice, truth, and mercy prevail!
28. I am thankful for the Christmas season. I absolutely love it! The anticipation! The Incarnation! The songs! The joys! The feast! The festival atmosphere everywhere! There’s nothing like it.