Gotcha Day!

"Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name; make known among the nations what he has done.  Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts"  

(Psalm 105:1,2)

Today is "Gotcha Day"!  Three years ago, Deborah was in our arms!  I will never forget that joy of that long anticipated moment.  I am so thankful for the challenge to adopt that came from a minister many years ago!  We have been blessed beyond words with the addition of Deborah in our family.  She never fails to make us smile or laugh.  She fills my heart with so much joy!

 Our celebrations included KFC dinner and an attempt at a family photo!!

One Thousand Gifts (continued)

"Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget no all His benefits...The LORD is compassionate and gracious...As a father has compassion on His children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him...Praise the LORD, O my soul." 

 (Psalm 103:1,2,8,13,22)

What an amazing evening of praising the Lord!  We had the honour of being part of the 50th anniversary of Compassion Canada.  We were so richly blessed by speakers from around the world who gave thanks for the work of Compassion and the spreading of the Gospel.  We were also  blessed by some inspiring artists and song writers.  We were also blessed by the people we met at our dinner table and all of the 600 Christians who filled the room.  

The theme of the evening was "Impact".  According to the Oxford dictionary, "Impact" means, "to have a strong effect on someone or something".  Synonyms for "Impact" include:  effect, influence, impression, footprint, touch, shape, transform, change, and alter.  By sponsoring a child through Compassion, you are spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ and releasing a child out of poverty "In JESUS' name"!  That's a pretty big impact!!  What a blessing that we have the opportunity to bless others and be used by God, because of the impact of what Christ has done for us on the cross.  Praise the Lord!!

Continuing to give thanks...

#3971-#3988

-being inspired to share our love- which is what Compassion is about

-talented artists

-inspiring and talented musicians

-being united with 600 fellow believers

-an inspiring man, Wess Stafford,  with an amazing story 

-a wonderful, Christian leader, Barry Slauenwhite (the President of Compassion Canada)
-his dedication and commitment to Compassion and his love that he shares
-his surprise visit from his sponsor child from Honduras

-Ethiopia, one of the 26 countries that Compassion works with

-the opportunity to sponsor children in Ethiopia and the opportunity to be a part of the ministry of Compassion Canada

-the impact that each sponsor has by sponsoring a child and how that impacts many more lives

-meeting wonderful, committed Christians

-spending time with friends at the dinner

-being blessed by the stories of others

-spending lots of time with Paul (on our long trip to London!)

-singing hymns with two thousand other believers at the Getty concert last Thursday

-the work of EduDeo ministries and the inspiring concert that they presented

-celebrating "Gotcha Day" today (celebrating three years of being blessed with our baby girl)

One Thousand Gifts (continued)

 "Do everything without complaining or arguing" 

(Philippians 2:14).

They grumble.  They complain.  Pulling them away from the comfy indoors is like pulling teeth.  Yes, we had to force our children to come on a hike and enjoy the beautiful fall weather and fall colours.  However, as it turned out, we all had a wonderful time together!  How often life is like that.  We grumble and complain or worry about things, but by God's grace, and with His help and strength we are able to get through our circumstances, whatever they may be (and the result is often better then we anticipated)!  It shames me to think how often I grumble or complain.  With all of my MANY many blessings, there should be no room for complaining!

Continuing to give thanks...

#3952-#3970

-the beautiful fall colours

-the gorgeous fall weather

-the changing of seasons

-finding a tree with some leaves on it

-hiking together as a family

-having fun racing through the leaves

-our family

-how she takes care of her baby sister

-how he looks up to his older brother

-kind strangers allowing Deborah to walk their dog

-a beautiful park to walk, run, bike, hike and enjoy-right across the road from our house

-God's intricate creation

-her posed smiles

-a hubby who very rarely grumbles or complains

-bedtime preparations (pile of stuffies)

-pets sharing their space

-their giggles and excitement after coming back from their walk and collecting 8 caterpillars!

-how they always have fun together

-her love for animals, both big and small

One Thousand Gifts (continued)

"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

"Too blessed to be stressed" is one of my favourite lines that I hear when I am listening to "The Message" on satellite radio.  Whatever the circumstances that are causing me to be stressed, I am that much more blessed.  As our pastor reminded us this morning in church as he read from 1 Thessalonians 5:18, we are to give thanks in all circumstances.  I like how he pointed out, not "for" all circumstances, but "in" all circumstances.  Because of Christ's love for us and His sacrifice for us on the cross, we have so much to be grateful for, in ALL circumstances.  This is "God's will for us".

Continuing to give thanks on this Thanksgiving Day...
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A-apples, apple picking

 B-Beppe; her joy for living

C- Curtis; his sincerity and affection

D-Deborah; the joy she brings into our lives

E-exercise

F-family/ immediate family and extended family

G-games with family

H-husband; his love and the fun he loves to have

I-imagination/ how she loves pretend play; listening to her play with her sister and her cousin

J-Jesse; his kindness and helpfulness

K-kin; so blessed with such a great family

L-leaves and their beautiful colours

M-marriage; our love for each other

 N-Nicole; her fun loving personality

O-October; October weather, celebrations, fall colours

P-pumpkins; two given to them from their uncle

Q-queen and others in position of royalty and ruling

R-reading; how he LOVES to read

 S-smiles; how she lights up the camera

T-Thanksgiving dinner; the loud dinners (with my family) and the not so loud dinner (Paul's family)

U-unburdened; how we can take all of our burdens and concerns and lay them at the foot of the cross

V-vacations; our one night get away as a family at Great Wolf Lodge

W-weather; the changing of seasons

X-xenophilia/ our attraction to foreign peoples, cultures, and customs (particularly Ethiopia!)

Y-yard; so much room to play and beautiful leaves decorating the grass

Z- zany; her fun, zany character