Thanks and Giving....

"Ok Mom...time for a new post. I am anxious to see what new and interesting things you have to say!! Love you!"

This is the message I received from my daughter several days ago..So good to know that someone is missing my posts, and especially my dear ol' daughter.

Truth be known, I don't have any new and intersting things to post.  My days are usually filled, but not with stuff that might be interesting to others.

I will tell you though that my calendar is filling up with delightful Christmas gatherings.  To me, this is one of the most heartwarming  times in the month of December.  Christ is born and the preparations are filled with joyous excitement, but it is also a time that we set aside for rich conversations and closeness to those we love.  I can forgo all the gifts and the commercial pomp and circumstances, but give me a chance to sit across a table with a dear friend(s), and I'll rise to the occassion every time. 
We had a group of friends in our home last night and the question we focused on was "giving" and "did our parents model giving to us as children?"

Often times we forget that "giving" involves the giving of ourselves. I love it when people give themselves to one another because it brings instant joy and warmth deep within the soul and the blessings we give to others are immediately returned to us.

A few women were gathered in the entry hall of our church yesterday and before long  someone's need and pain surfaced.  It didn't take long before we all responded with hand holding and prayer, and I am reminded again that this is part of giving.

Our number one grand-child invited us to her Thanksgiving grandparent's day at her school and it was filled with Thanks and Giving.  Both she and her brother were so excited to have us by their side; a blessing for them and a blessing for us.  This is also giving...

Giving is also filling Christmas boxes for Samaritan Purse (for children all over the world), which our church did yesterday.

Hubby and I, daughter, son-in-law and grand-daughter are heading to the Oregon coast for Thanksgiving and what I am most looking forward to is enjoying the relationship between all of us.  The fun, the laughter, the time of breaking bread together (yes, turkey and all the trimmings), the beauty of nature and the roaring sea and the time for rest and calm......

We have, in the past, had many holidays without all of this, so this is a time to be thankful and oh, so grateful...It's a time for Thanks and Giving..