November 1st-Thankfulness

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. 

He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. 

Psalm 145:18-19

I have witnessed how He has fulfilled our desires and how He has saved us

and I can't think of a better time than 

November 1st 

to share some of those ways.   

It is my goal to share a short blog post each day in November 

to document some of the ways God has blessed us 

and encourage someone to cling to Him 

if you are waiting for your desires to be fulfilled. 

It has been a hard lesson, and one I am constantly learning, but I 

am realizing that God generally does not fulfill our desires 

in our time frame or in the exact ways that we expect.

Oh, but His ways are far higher than our own

and He has far greater plans for us than we can ever dream. 

November has always been my favorite month of the year, mainly because it is my 

birthday month and also because I love fall more than any other season.

Fifteen years ago November became ever sweeter 

as we were blessed a few days before(Oct. 27) with our precious baby girl and foster daughter.

Then,  one year later we were beyond blessed by the miracle of adoption on

November 18, 2000

which was the 2nd annual National Adoption Day 

What a day of celebration it was!

The joy in the courtroom was abundant and I can still remember the huge smile on the 

face of the judge who graciously donated his services that day 

for every child who was adopted. 

November has always continued to be such a special month.  

Not only is it my birthday month, it is also the birthday of 

The United States Marine Corp.

On 

November 18, 2005

Justin graduated from boot camp and became a 

US Marine-Semper Fi!

Even though he only served in active duty for four years, our family gained 

a new sense of pride and love for our country and for 

those who daily serve us and fight for our freedom.

For that lesson, and new sense of pride we are forever thankful!

Today, we got to celebrate once again as Justin returned home after fighting 

forest fires in California for the past seven months with the 

US Forest Service. 

I thank God for bringing him home safely!

There isn't much of anything better than a huge bear hug 

from one of my kids;  after so many months away it was 

a special moment when he surprised me today and brought tears to my eyes this 

afternoon as he arrived home. 

I'm sure I will continue to think of so many more reasons why 

November is special and I can't wait to share those over this next month.

So today, in honor of the many blessings I have received 

and the fact that it is 

National Adoption Month

I would like for others to join me in sharing our abundance with 

others who are less fortunate.

I encourage anyone reading this to commit to sharing your abundance with someone this month. 

If you need a way to do that feel free to join me 

in giving away some extra warmth to 

kids in need. I would like to collect new or gently used coats, hats, mittens

socks and blankets to share with kids in our local CPS custody. 

These precious kids don't deserve the difficulties they must endure and

if we can provide them a little extra love and warmth maybe 

that little bit will put a smile on their face.