Family Together 2012

FAMILY!!! What a wonderful word, filled with such precious thoughts and memories.  Each "family" has a story to tell.  Each story is connected.  Each connected story brings us back to God, the giver of all good things. 

 We were so blessed to be together this Christmas.  Our 3 kids, their sweet spouses, and the Magnificent Seven (grand children) were all here.  It was so great to see Nate, Christy, and Jonathan still 'picking' on each other.  It made us all laugh when Meggie was talking to her 'friends' while the rest of us were playing a game.  My Mom thought a tv was on in the other room.  It was Meg using her many voices!  It was great to see Steven, Nate and Jonathan play soccer with the older 5 grand kids.  Silas was walking all around the house (loved when he opened my cupboards!)  

Jerry loved going to Christina's 'winter' home (The Hilton) to swim with the kids.  Rachel and Jonathan made the BEST BURGERS any of us ever ate!!  We all want the recipe.  Christina and I went shopping with Meggie, and oh that little one loves to talk.  I just enjoyed it all.  Christy had a long walk with her Dad just to talk.  She put three pkgs of meat in our freezer.  Grace, Faith, Aiden and Hudson could hardly wait to shop on the 26th to use their gift cards.  It was so great to see the sales they got, and the joy on their faces!  Steven and Christy brought a new game, Wits and wagers.  Wow, what fun!  The entire family loved it.  

We hope you all had as much joy and laughter in your family gatherings as we did.  It was great to hear the kids say this was one of the best times together ever.  We agreed!  

A New Year

"I know the plans I have for you; plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

    What precious words from Jeremiah 19.  As Jerry and I walk into this year, our eyes are upon God for His mercy and grace.  As we walk with God we know we must seek His face with an open mind .... 'and be transformed by the renewing of your mind'.  We walk with the assurance that we have NEVER walked alone in this path.  For the past 40 years God has led us.  What an huge Blessing!

   This year we walk hand in hand facing cancer.  Jerry was diagnosed with prostate cancer in November.  Since that time we have been in contact with 3 cancer doctors, read books about all the different types of treatment, have asked our church and shepherding group for prayer, and have hugged each other a lot.  No day is taken for granted.  No moment together is wasted with anger, or sadness.

   We know God's plans for us are not to harm us, but to give us hope.  In Christ we found  hope.  We have a supportive family and are very thankful for that.  We begin a bone scan, more blood work, and other tests on January 7.

   We anticipating a wonderful year as we walk day by day with our wonderful, awesome God.  We are trusting Him.  We want to be used of God in any way He sees fit for us.  We give Him Glory.

   Each day will be new because God's mercies are new every morning.  We thank you for your prayers for us.

Little suitcase is full

Yes, Silas really did crawl into my suitcase!  He saw the book I brought for him and ended up playing with my hair spray.  He is so cute and we are anxious to see all 7 grandchildren this Christmas.  

Can Kids learn to be thankful??? YES!

As I began, with great anticipation my November Gratefulness Project with my friend Brenda, I was praying for my 7 grandchildren.  I am so thankful for them.

As I thought of children I remembered how difficult it was (at times) to teach our own children to be thankful for the family, friends, and things that they already have.  Then I looked over my project chart and thought, "Children could easily do some of this!"  Here's my thoughts:

For those pre-school age children, help them pick someone from the months list to thank.  They could print their own name or maybe even copy the letters from Mom's paper in their own words.  Or just send a color drawing they make themselves.  The key is to teach at this early age to be grateful and to express it in a tangible way.

For early elementary age, have them choose 2-4 people from the months list to thanks.  Their own words may not be perfect, but the recipient will love just being remembered in a grateful note.   Some children this age are very good artists and an original painting or drawing would be so appreciated.


For the older child through teen, just encourage them to take 1/2 the months list of names and write, or call or even e-mail their "attitude of gratitude" .

Maybe this project from "Petal from the Basket" by Brenda Strohbehn can be used by your entire family!  Why not just try?  Ask God to use this simple act of teaching thankfulness to your children to bless and encourage others.




http://www.petalsfromthebasket.com/please-join-me/

The November Gratitude Project

as promised, Brenda posted the 30 days of gratitude 2012 chart.  I hope many of you will print off a copy and begin this wonderful blessing with us.  

(send me a note if you do, I'd love to hear from you) cheryl

"Petals from the Basket"

by Brenda   Strohbehn

Gratitude Chart for November

As promised in a recent post, this year’s spreadsheet for the Thirty Days of Gratitude is now available! For those who have joined me on this in past years, you’ll see that there are two new items listed: a suggested set of chapters to read from the Bible each day and a list of the names/qualities of God to ponder each day. If you don’t feel that you can read all of the suggested chapters, I encourage you to just read the chapter for that day which contains the name/quality of God to ponder.

For now, just begin thinking about the people you would like to thank for each of the days listed. Also, please invite your friends and family members to join us for this special month of gratitude. During the month of November, I will post a short devotional each morning that will go along with the point of gratitude and name/quality of God to ponder for that day. Subscribers will receive these directly in their email Inbox early each morning. If you do not already subscribe, you may do so by clicking the envelope/”subscribe by email” button in the upper right corner of this blog.

I look forward to a great month together! But first, let’s continue faithfully walking by His grace throughout the month of October!

Thirty Days of Gratitude 2012 (PDF version – Recommended version – This will be visible by clicking the link and can be saved to your computer and/or printed for easy use during the month.)

Thirty Days of Gratitude 2012 (Excel version – This will appear as a “download” for your computer and may be saved to your computer and/or printed. If you have an older version of Excel, the formatting may change.)

Time for Thanks!

I am getting ready for the Gratitude Project in November.  Remember this??  I posted about it last year and I think the year before.  My friend Brenda started this many years ago.  I jumped on board the project and have been truly blessed.  

This is Brenda's post from "Petals from the Basket".  I hope you will join us this year and begin your own Attitude of Gratitude project in November.  Brenda has a new twist for us this year and I am anxious to read about it on the 21st of October.  

If you decide to join us, please drop me a note.  I'll pass it on to Brenda!  I promise you will not be sorry for the time and energy you put into this.  

"Let's Give Thanks to God" together!

Get Your Gratitude Ready…

…because starting November 1, 2012, we will observe thirty days of gratitude! I wanted to give you an early “head’s up” so that you’ll have the option to join the month-long fun and plan to join us in some unique posts here and on our Petals from the Basket Facebook page.

Several years ago now, while living in Minnesota, I began using the month of November to demonstrate either verbally or in writing my gratitude to those who have touched my life in one way or another. Don’t get me wrong, I think we should be grateful every day of every month, but I think sometimes it’s important to acknowledge it in either verbal or written form—partly for the sake of the one who may be wondering at that moment if what they have done or what they have taught you REALLY mattered.

I did this little exercise in gratitude for many years and then sort of set it by the wayside until 2007. At that time, I decided to create a “gratitude spreadsheet” that others could use, and posted it publicly so that we could encourage one another in focusing our thoughts on our blessings! It has become an annual favorite for many of my friends. I would LOVE it if you would join me this year!

The brand new gratitude spreadsheet will be posted this coming Saturday, October 21st, but here’s a little more information on how it works: Every day in the month of November the spreadsheet will help you select someone who has impacted your life. This is not about giving gifts, making fancy handmade cards, or giving empty flattery—it is about demonstrating gratitude with your heartfelt words! You can email them, call them, send them a card that day, or talk to them in person. But you do it EVERY day in November—regardless of how much time you think you have. It takes mere seconds to say, “Thank you for the yummy cookies you bring me every year on Valentine’s Day. Your kindness encourages me and reminds me I am loved.” Then you hit send, lick the envelope, say good-bye or give them a hug—depending on your method of delivery!

I will add here, that as a Christ-follower, I will also take a brief moment to pray for the same person that day. If you don’t know someone in the listed category, go back and repeat a category from before— just choose a different person this time!

So be sure to come back on Saturday for a brand new gratitude list to use this November. I’m going to post it as a downloadable PDF on this site and on the Facebook page so that you can invite others to join in on the fun, print a copy to post on your refrigerator or hand them out to your book club or Bible Study group! This list is very different from the ones used in previous years, and I’m eager to share it with you on Saturday!

Enjoy every moment you’ve been gifted in October but start now to get excited for November and our “Thirty Days of Gratitude!”

Grand Children and our joy

We love the "hey, guess what I know" look that Silas has here.  He is getting so big!

This ball cap is too small for him now, but he looked so cute and funny with it on. Love when he gets excited and raises his eyebrows!

Such a serious face Silas.  Christy is so happy to be playing with child #5. 

Yes, he did open up the cupboard, and crawled inside.  He loves it in here. 

Christy is one busy Mom!  All five are lively, fun, challenging and a blessing.  Praise God for the joy of family.