The Giving of Thanks...

On Saturday night, I had a Thanksgiving dinner at my house and welcomed around 16 people here. We had a great time eating Turkey, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and other goodies. It is an amazing celebration that I have been able to share with my American friends over the last few years, and since I was not in the States I just wanted to be thankful for the people that I call family here in London. We had a tree that we decorated with leaves of thankfulness, and I asked each person to write a thing or two that they're thankful for. It ended up being such a beautiful celebration, and a real way that we could count (and see) our blessings and our friends blessings. so I wanted to share a few of the things that were written:

I am thankful for my awesome jobs, wonderful friends being in London and my BIG God.

I am thankful for a great year, wonderful people that I share it with and a great holiday ahead.

I'm thankful for my friends, my family and my church, as well as the gifts JC has hooked me up with.

I am thankful for God choosing me to do and share his work. I am thankful for Him not letting me go in the past and I am thankful for my family abroad and so so thankful for my new family here.

I am thankful that God has transformed my life and and future and that I have hope.

I am thankful for my health.

Those are just a few of the beautiful things written, and for the most part, written by people that are here, away from their families, making and starting a new life. It's because of church and connection with Jesus that these people are in my life and in each others lives. We are so thankful that we have people to trust in, rely on, laugh with, cry with, be mad with, have fun with, to pick us up, to hug and be there for us through thick and thin, and especially so important as our families are on the other side of the world.

I just wanted to share that precious night with you as I sit here the next morning, in my clean lounge because people washed up the dishes for me, because I sit here just pondering how amazing our God is.