enter his gates with thanksgiving

How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you.

Psalm 31:19

We began a new tradition last night - a special dinner for just the 4 of us.

It was a lot of work. But maybe because I didn't prepare anything in advance (not even the grocery shopping). I was in the kitchen for over 3 hours, add the Walmart trip on top of that - it was nearly a 5 hour project. Ending with a really fast shower so I was presentable for our special night.

Our Mom2Mom group at church has been focusing on the theme of the "aroma of your family".

We have been focusing on ways that we can show our family our love using all of the senses.

Sight, smell, sound, touch, and taste all unite together to bring my kids and husband a certain aroma within the walls of our house.

And it's my duty to make sure that that aroma is one they love.  One that will make home their favorite place to be, and a place where they will ultimately see Christ's love modeled to them in many many ways.

So last night I incorporated all the senses into our very own Family Thanks Dinner.

Sight  - well, you can SEE in the pictures.  And for a 2 and 4 year old, this sight when they walked into the house from being gone for the day was INCREDIBLE!  They are definitely not used to the table being set like this. The first 20 minutes they were home, I got to answer lots of questions over and over again about what we were doing.

"Do we really get to use those glass cups?"

"Can we drink that same drink as you and daddy?"

"When will the restaurant open?" (as Dave and I were finishing up showers and getting dressed before dinner)

"What's this?" (referring to the napkin and napkin ring)

"Will we eat these pumpkins?"

Smell - I had been cooking for 3 hours - so there were lots of smells going on.

Sound - Christmas music in the background, plus the sharing together of what we are thankful for.

Taylor was thankful for her Bitty Baby, her bed, and her family

Mason was thankful for his blanket and monkey.

And then there was the sound of praying....which was interrupted by a certain 2 year old saying "say Amen!"

Here we were trying to make sure we really let God know what we were thankful for - and I guess Mason thought the prayer was too long. 

Touch - oops, I think I forgot about this one.

Taste - Pioneer Woman's Ribeye in Whiskey Cream Sauce and Creamy Rosemary Potatoes, spinach salad, rolls and sparkling grape juice.

It was a perfect dinner for my steak-loving family.

I found so much joy in working my tail off for my family like I did today.

It was kind of exhausting.  But totally worth it.

The kids loved it. And Dave said thank you many times throughout the evening.

It was perfect.

There were no spills, no fighting, no fussing.

Even though our prayer got interrupted, and a dump truck made it's way to the fancy table - even those little details were just perfect.

Definitely a tradition I think we'll hold onto!

**********************************************

After dinner, we continued celebrating Thanksgiving at a Thanksgiving Celebration Service at our church.

I always need that time to just sit and take in all that God wants to reveal to me, when sometimes everything around me can seem so busy and rushed.

God has been revealing a lot to me lately about His desire for unity with me, His desires to walk hand in hand in an intimate relationship with me.

Something that is so hard to grasp sometimes.

So at this time of thanksgiving, I want to be most thankful that He pursues me even when I am not pursuing Him. I am thankful that He wants to know me, that He wants to provide everything I need, and that He loves me more than I can even possibly begin to understand.

I am thankful that even as undeserving as I am, He offers me grace.

And I am thankful that His grace is all that I need.

So as thankful as I am during this season for my husband, my kids, the rest of my family, my home, my friends, my church, my security...

I pray that if it were all taken away, I would still be thankful.

For I would still have his grace.

And His grace is enough.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

2 Corinthians 12:9

I pray that each of you know the gift of God's grace - and truly understand that without it, we would have nothing.

Happy Thanksgiving!