Monday, November 20, 2023

11/20/23








Dear family,

 

            Anticipation gives joy even before an event has begun.  We are shopping, planning, and getting ready for Thanksgiving.  The stores are experiencing so much activity and I enjoy the hours I get even when not scheduled.  Thankfulness is a skill to be practiced year-round.  I enjoy the focus now though – we are so blessed. 

            Tuesday night I enjoyed the joking during lesson time.  Bobby asked what people are most thankful for when getting together for dinner.  Some people said family, “I get to see my grandparents.”  That was super sweet!  I also enjoyed it when someone said, “I like the turkey”.  Bobby’s retort, “So ---- is visiting!”  Wa, wa, funny. 

            One question was about the word conform.  Bobby asked someone, “What does the word conform mean?”  They were at a loss for words, so Bobby said, “You know playdough?”  Rich retorted, “Yeah, I know Plato, he was an interesting guy.”  Bobby, “Yeah, you were alive when he was.”

            Bobby rested and cooked ham and bean soup on Thursday.  It was super yummy, and I enjoyed the meal after a full shift at work.  How blessed we are with food, shelter, and love.

            Because pastor Lon said he enjoys reading our library book, “God’s Answers to Prayer” I have enjoyed delving into the last couple years of prayer requests to find out if our church members are willing to go on record about their requests.  I enjoy seeing God at work. 

            Bringing my cat to the vet reminds me of God and the hardships we endure.  Our cat is not comfortable when the car drives.  She is scared, meows a lot of questions, and wants to hide under my feet.  She doesn’t enjoy the view at all.  I believe this is just like when we go through hardships.  I feel so out of control, want to hide, and feel uncomfortable.  I don’t enjoy the view even though nature cries out a testimony of God’s grace, beauty, and joy.  Our cat also doesn’t like the vaccine shot.  It hurts, they poke and prod her – so much discomfort.  Sometimes we wonder why God has us go through hardships.  He is clear, James 1:2Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, a whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”  His ways are not our ways, we have no clue what is going on – but it’s for our good, maturity, and God’s plan. 

            Adriel visited on Friday, and chatting with her and her longtime friend Zander was fun.  They were sweet and then off they went to a concert.  How fun. 

            Seth agreed to accompany us on our yearly Seattle visit.  Yay for doing homework ahead of time.  He also drove Adriel to the bus station.  I am glad he is willing to go out of his way to help his sister, He even asked her, “Do you want me to wait with you?”.  Because I was on my way to work, I thanked him, “I would have just had her get out and, “Go, go now.”  He was like, “She’s your daughter!”

            May you find joy in the view even when there are difficulties in your life.  May you be kind to those around you who also have their own difficulties.  May we be kind as we go through this testing ground which we call life.

Love and hugs,

 

 

 

Cristy

PS, the picture is of the massive amount of birds in the sky 11/19/23.  Anyone have an explanation for that?  It was creepy!

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