Giving Thanks!!!

So in a couple of days most of us will be sitting at a table to break bread with our loved ones. We will have be seeing our families. Some might end up watching some football or sit by a fireplace laughing about stories we share with other members of our family and friends. Even though your eating, you are already thinking about the late night snack of maybe a turkey sandwich or the last piece of pumpkin pie. We talk about how big the kids have gotten over the last year.

I know that it is my wife's favorite holiday. it is not because of the food, but it's everything that thanksgiving offers. The weather is not to hot, not to cold. The family all gets together and we laugh, or in my case since we are going back to the in laws, so I cry. Just kidding! We will call the family in other states and it will end up being a perfect day.

So, saying all that, I start thinking of our friends on the streets. It ends up being the opposite of perfect. They will find if they are lucky a church that is serving some sort of food. I have seen the eyes of children standing in a food line. They don't care if it's a holiday, they are just happy they get something in the belly's for the night. This day is like every other day. The family will consist of the friends they have in there camp. The know that the next meal available to them will be two days later, only if a church group decides to bring them food. The leftovers will be something left over from days before.

Granted I will be along with most you and I will be enjoying the day with family. I will be missing some of the ones that are no longer with us or the might be in other states. However, I will be warm and full of food. I understand that we work all year long in helping, feeding and providing some of the basic needs of our campers. We stand in circles of prayer groups every Saturday and this Thursday we will be standing in the circle with our families. This is where we get our needs met. The love and joy that make us who we are.

I want to say now I am thankful for so many thinks. Our group is not just a group of concerned citizens, we have become a family serving Christ. We hear thank you so many times by our campers, and I know that they so appreciate what we do. I don't think they understand that it is I that am thankful for them and you. I have learned so much about my love for Christ through everyone. Whether you are a volunteer or a camper, I cannot tell you how much I am thankful for. I wouldn't know where to begin.

You and the campers mean so much to our family. You have given Thanksgiving a whole new meaning to our lives. When I pull up to the storage on Saturdays, my heart is complete. we have surrounded our family with CChristians. This is not a name that I use lightly. We serve Christ together as a group. How can you not be thankful for all of this. We have seen God in action, and that might happen allot for many people, but when you can actually see it happen, then you know that you have been blessed by the Holy Spirit, and I ask you again, how can you not be thankful for all of this.

So, enjoy your Thanksgiving and enjoy your families. And remember that you have made a difference and have had huge impacts on many lives.

God bless your family, and Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!