Much to be thankful for {Thoughts for Thanksgiving}

As the turkey bakes, the pies are cooling, the stuffing getting ready to be served... Priscila will be cooking rice and beans for her 4 children on this:

We have so much to be thankful for.  So much.  And if you ask Priscila, she'd tell you she has much to be thankful for also.  She is surrounded by her 4 beautiful children.  They share life in their tiny tin home.

But they are happy.  It might be a very hard life, but they are thankful for what they do have.  They know that God loves them.  He has taken care of Priscila during hard nights, hungry days, and tough TOUGH times. God is good, and she is thankful for that.  She can teach me more about being thankful than I could teach her.

:)  And guess what?  This year she has something else to be thankful for...

She is finally getting a real home.  Its not yet finished.  We are working as fast as we can, shoveling, hammering, mixing, pouring, and building.  She is helping us build it too.  Priscila and her children are all helping.  Priscila is what I am thankful for today.

May you soak in all the things that you have to be thankful for.  May you realize just how much God loves you.  May your Thanksgiving be absolutely wonderful!

How it was intended to be...

As I sit here in Nicaragua, reflecting on a day spent in a small community of 15 homes, I have to wonder if God intended us to live like they live.  15 homes, 1 family.  A man named Segundo had 8 children, and they have all grown up, married, had children themselves, and moved out around him.  Some even brought their new in-law families to live nearby.  15 homes.  1 family.  All the little boys played baseball while we spent a day with them.  The little girls held hands and played together.  Families raising families together, helping one another.   Sharing life together.  It was beautiful.  They didn't have much.  They slept in one or two family beds in each home.  They had dirt floors.  They shared a handful of out-house bathrooms.  They showered at one single community well.  They had chickens, pigs, and dogs running around everywhere.  But they were happy.  Joyful.  Loved.

It.  Was.  Beautiful.