Thanksgiving

Hi there, folks! Some of you readers must have thought I died and went to heaven, but no, I'm still here on earth. I have been inspired to start up my blog site again by one of my granddaughters, who is challenging her readers to blog about things they are thankful for. I decided that it would be good for me to do that, so here I am.

Thanksgiving. Indeed we all should always find things to be thankful for, and not just at Thanksgiving time. Joanna's challenge is to post three things every day that we are thankful for. For suggestions of what "things" means, check out her blog site here. This "project" was to start on Nov. 1 and continue through the month, so we're already late getting started. I may or may not try to catch up.

1. I am grateful that God has accepted me into His family, made me a part of His eternal kingdom. God has redeemed me from a life that could have been much different, and saved me by His grace through Jesus. God has called me to a life of service for Him, and He has been faithful in providing for my (and our) needs through the years. I know that I am loved by the Lord and am grateful for the years of service I have been blessed to have given.

2. I am grateful for my wife, Clara, and for the wonderful family God has given us. Our four children are a rich blessing to me, and our 11 grandchildren and 4 great grandsons (another on the way) enrich the blessing of our family. My wife is my lover, companion, nurse, cook, and many other things which I appreciate so very much. But I just love her for who she is and would be lost without her. I wish I could see our children and their families more, but such is the result of marriages, jobs, God's calling and other circumstances. My prayer is that all in our family will be a part of God's eternal family in glory.

3. I am grateful for the place where we live, Schowalter Villa in Hesston, Kansas. Of course I was born as a Jayhawk in Harper, Kansas, about 90 miles to our southwest. I never ever thought I would end up here (I guess that's where I'll be, but who knows), but here we are. We decided to come to the Villa for a number of reasons, which I'll not enumerate here, but we are in a place where we know we will have a place to live for the rest of our lives, and where we know we will have the care we need for that time as well. I am thankful for the beauty we are privileged to see here, for the particular living unit we have which is so well located, and for the many friends we have around us - people who truly care about us. I am indeed grateful for the opportunity to engage in hobbies and other activities available to us. We are happy here even though we are many miles from our dear loved ones. When you are ready to think about living in a retirement center, why not consider Schowalter Villa - you'll like it!

That's all for today. I'll do my best to keep up with my "thanksgiving posts" the rest of the month.


Pilgrim on the way