And I Was Thankful

"Are you going home for Thanksgiving?" was a common question asked of us this month.

I'm beginning to understand more than I ever did before the "home" dilemma in which many missionaries and MK's (Missionary Kids) have found themselves.

Coming from a Military Family, I was somewhat familiar with moving and changing schools and making new friends. But, for the most part, I was quite content and rarely shaken by such changes. Now, on the contrary, I find myself struggling more and more with "home."

Well, my answer to the question "Are you going home for Thanksgiving?" was "yes." We were going to Iowa, and for the past many years, Iowa has been my home. But, no one asked the question which would reveal a more accurate answer, "Are you going to family for Thanksgiving?" Then, of course, the answer would be "no." We just left Jim's family in Detroit and my family is all over the country. Although my dear step-dad and his cheerful wife were in the area and we were kindly invited to join them in the evening, we had also recieved an invitation to join my Super Wonderful friend, Gina and her family in the Dutch City of Pella, IA and a second invitation from my Wonderfully Super friend Rose Marie to join her in Itty-Bitty Cambridge, IA. With so many options (and lots of feeling like we were loved), Jim and I decided by way of Rock, Paper, Scissors (best out of three) with whom we were going to spend our Thanksgiving Holiday (I'm terrible at decisions).

And I was thankful. God knew where He wanted us. I was very encouraged by our time with the Van der Molen family. Our conversation was blessed and our laughter, bouyant. Thank you for your hospitality and your constant example of friendliness. In the end, I realized that my answer to "Are you going to family for Thanksgiving?" would be a resounding "yes!"


And to my dear sister in Christ, Gina - I love you!

The Work of A Champion by Deborah Engle

Today I read an entry my Mom-in-Law wrote for Faithwriters.com. It is a truly inspiring story about how God uses a young boys fervor for God's word to soften his grandma's heart toward Christ and salvation. This story is a beautiful picture of God's promise that His Word will not return void and a beautiful picture of sweet surrender to the truth.

The swirling wind created mounds of colorful fall leaves across the sidewalk. Oliver shuffled through and then circled around to do it again. He laughed as a bushy squirrel scolded him for coming too close. From the window, Laura watched him make his way toward her house. He’s such a ray of sunshine. Life without Vance is lonely, but Oliver always brightens my day. Happily he skipped up the driveway, towards the open door where Laura waited for him. With a grin he called out “Hi, Grammy!”, then wrapped his arms around her with an enthusiastic hug. “Welcome, Little One, you got here just in time.” Laura took his backpack and jacket while she talked. “The last batch of peanut butter cookies just came out of the oven. Let’s have some.” “Yea, my favorite!” Oliver helped himself to a warm cookie, then settled himself at the table, while Laura poured two glasses of milk. “Mmm... this is yummy good. You’re the best cookie maker ever, next to Mommy.”“That’s pretty high praise from a cookie fiend. Thank you!” “No homework today, Grammy!” Oliver jumped up and raised his arms in celebration. “Well now, that is nice. What will you do this afternoon?”With hope shining from his eyes, Oliver looked up at Laura. “Well, tonight is CHAMPS at church and Mommy said you would take me.”“Yes, I told your Mommy I would drop you off.”“Drop me off? Umm, all right. Will you help me study, too?” “Study? Why do you have to study? Isn’t CHAMPS a kid’s club?”“Yeah, it’s neat. We do fun things, but the best part is we get to learn God’s Word. If we do a good job, we earn awards, and I want to earn all the awards!” Dancing about the kitchen with a big grin, Oliver spread his arms wide in a circle, pulling in all his “earned awards”.“Well okay, then. Let’s go study,” laughed Laura. Bible verses can’t hurt him. Vance sure got a lot of comfort from them in his last days.“The first one is Romans 3:10. As it is written, there is none righteous...”**********“Grammy, I passed my test last week! I’ll get another star for my badge now and this week I start the next book.”“Oh, are there more books?”“Sure! There’s lots of verses in the Bible and I didn’t learn all of them yet. I have to keep studying. And you’ll keep helping me, right?”“Sure, honey, if that’s what you want.” As much “helping” as I’ve done, I could probably qualify for those awards. Vance used to quote some of those same verses. If I could only believe what they say.“Thanks, Grammy. I’ll go get the book.” Hesitating for just a moment, Oliver casually asked, “Do you want to come tonight?”Laura only shook her head no, and turned away.***********“... and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1John 1:9.”“Oliver, you amaze me every week. You learn these verses so easily – it’s almost as if you have them memorized before you get here. You must really like this club!“Yeah, Grammy. And do you want to know why?” It’s because Gramps told me getting saved made him real happy. When he got sick, he said it was okay because God was going to take him to His house. Gramps said that’s in the Bible and a lot more good stuff. So I figure everyone should read the Bible and get saved. Then if they’re sad, they can get happy, and one day, God will take them to His house, too.”Stunned, Laura wondered at the words she had just heard. In a primitive sort of way, they echoed the very sentiment her dear husband had told her on more than one occasion. That little Oliver has always been just like his Gramps. I can’t deny that Vance was a happier man after he got saved and he treasured his Bible. Somehow, as young as he is, little Oliver heard the message I refused to hear.Blinking away the tears from her eyes, Laura leaned over and gave Oliver a long hug. As they headed out to go to CHAMPS, she said, “Maybe I'll just stay for the service tonight.”As they backed out of the driveway, a bushy squirrel scolded them from the bare branches of the oak tree, but Oliver didn’t notice. In the back seat, he smiled and quietly whispered, “Did you hear that Gramps? She’s coming!”

Smucker's Caramel Pecan Pie

This is one of my favorite Fall Recipes! If you don't like Pecan Pie, then you should try this! This pie totally changed my opinion about Nutty Pies and now, I look forward to baking it for Thanksgiving every year! I've been told, it's a Party Favorite and it's been enjoyed by Pecan Hater's themselves! Seriously, try this! There are other Smucker's recipes on
www. smuckers.com. This year, the Caramel Pecan Pie is right on the Homepage! Must be that good, eh?


INGREDIENTS
1 9 inch unbaked pie shell
2/3 C sugar
1/4 C butter, melted
3 eggs
1 Jar Smucker's Caramel Ice Cream Topping
1 1/2 C halved pecans


INSTRUCTIONS
In mixing bowl, beat eggs slightly with fork.
Add sugar, stirring until dissolved.
Stir in caramel and butter, mix well.
Stir in pecan halves.
Pour filling into shell.
Bake @ 350 degrees for 45 min. or until knife inserted off-center comes out clean.
Cover; chill to store.