Grateful People

Is anybody else asking where November went? Time surely is flying by for this young elderly person. That sounds like an oxymoron to me also but I didn't want to say elderly, not just yet, but when I don't know. How about giving me ten more years when I will be almost 80? But saying that reminds me that I have no guarantees I will even get that old. My great dad died suddenly at 69 which is what I will be in 19 days if we count today. This past week we celebrated our two daughters' birthdays which are three days apart. I won't give their ages as they are at that point in life where their age is a sensitive matter or so I perceive it to be. They are both realistic though and know the goodness of God in their lives and that God's plan for them is good and right. Joyce's sister Dorothy and her husband Mike joined us in Holland for Thanksgiving. They made the long trip from the Sioux City area and should be getting close to returning home about now. They left early this morning. We had a great Thanksgiving dinner at our house. As most of you know Joyce is very good cook and organizer. Leah, Kurt, Juliana, and Emma joined us for a fun day. That reminds me to tell you that we also celebrated granddaughter Emma's 13th birthday. She doesn't mind people knowing how old she is. We did play a number of games Thanksgiving afternoon which some of our family members really enjoy doing and others do them because they know the joy it brings to the first mentioned group. On Friday afternoon after a tour of the Holland area we journeyed to Grandville to see the movie St Vincent. We enjoyed the movie and the story line but can't recommend it to you because of the language and sex scenes in it. So be warned if you go see it. In December we have a number of Christmas concerts to attend and are looking forward to them. Oh boy, that reminds me there is a Christmas letter that needs to be done and perhaps a picture to pick out to accompany it. Joyce at the moment is busy doing some Christmas decorating. We did put some lights outside on bushes in front of the condo but we will win no prize for them.

Now some thoughts for your soul.

The call to joy is a call to worship, to friendship and to sabbath rest. And as such it is a choice we are invited to make. This means that we begin with the choice that is very much a part of biblical spirituality: we rejoice. Joy in the Bible is a way of being, a way of acting and responding. We choose to rejoice as an act of faith and an act of defiance against the fragmentation of our world. In so doing we refuse the self-absorption of self-pity; we refuse to mope and live in despair.
We choose to be a joyful people. We resolve as we grow older that we will grow in our capacity for joy. We will not become bitter old people who are cynical about life, about the government, about our children or about God. We will choose to grow in our capacity for joy by cultivating day in and day out, our faith in the risen and ascended Christ. [Now hear this in connection with the special holiday we just enjoyed.]
And for this, nothing is so crucial -- -- nothing -- -- as thanksgiving. We can state it very simply; holy people are grateful people. Nothing so expands our capacity to know the joy of God as the insistence that we will give thanks. And while most assuredly this means we give thanks for the big things, the broad strokes of our lives, as a rule those with the capacity for thanksgiving are those who offer it daily and often. [from Called To Be Saints by Gordon T. Smith]

Thanking God for each of you and praying for God's joy to fill your life no matter the circumstances!