Thankfulness

The VanEvera Family November 12- 18

An Attitude of Gratitude: Thanksgiving 101

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" John 3:16

That verse is the the heart of Thanksgiving in the VanEvera house! It is one of the first verses my girls memorized and have taken to heart. What a great thing to be thankful for: a God who sent his ONLY son to the world to die for my sins!!! Without that sacrifice I would have nothing to be thankful for: no salvation, no family, no husband, no children. My life as I know it would not exist. I literally have nothing if I did not have Christ!

It makes me think of those movies like It's A Wonderful life where the main character has an accident and wakes up only to live their life after making choices different than the ones they made in their reality only then to realize that what they had was what was important to them and now that it was changed or taken away they don't want to live like that. I don't live in a fancy house, take expensive trips all the time, drive a fancy car or two, buy extravagant things that I don't need just because but that is okay because I don't need it. I have all I need: Salvation, my family, a roof over my head, the ability to pay my bills, happy and healthy children with food in their bellies, and so much more!

This is Audrey's first Thanksgiving season since being saved and boy is she celebrating and being thankful to God for her salvation! She is an attitude of gratitude state of mind this Thanksgiving and it brings me to tears!! Even Ian at two years old when asked what he was thankful for said "God". What a blessed mommy I am. Even if I do everything else wrong as a mother, I know I am doing one thing right, raising my kids to know, love, and serve HIM! That is one of the things I am most thankful for.

Here is just a short list of a few things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving season:

1. GOD and my salvation
2. Being raised in in a Christian home and now raising my kids in one.
3. My Family: parents, grandparents, Paul, and my kids: Audrey, Allyson, and Ian
4. The storms God has brought into my life and steered me through, making me closer to HIM.
5. The gifts he has blessed me with that I use to serve and honor with.
6. Paul's job and how it provides for our family
7. My Pastor and church family
8. Friends: past, present, and future
9. Answered prayers, even when they are not the answer I wanted.
10. Hugs, kisses, cuddles, and memories with my babies.

Looking at number ten, remeinds me that the kids were in a Thanksgiving play at church last night called An Attitude of Gratitude and boy was it adorable but it was also just the simplest, truest, form of praising and thanking God for all he has blessed us with. Ally and Audrey were some pretty cute Pilgrim girls and did an excellent job on their first ever speaking lines. Ian was a pepper shaker but should have been a little ham! He was all over the stair, and kept waving and pointing to me. I thought it was pretty cute but of course I am bias, he is my baby boy. He kept saying when it was over that he wanted to do it again. That boy has no fear! I can only pray that he uses his boldness and courage as a tool for the Lord's army. With the play behind us we are looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving Day with our family, enjoying all we have been blessed with and more!


Pslam 118:1 O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good!!
Happy Thanksgiving from The VanEvera Family: Paul, Lisa, Audrey, Ally, and Ian