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Happy Belated Thanksgiving from Loveland, Colorado! I am enjoying the holiday weekend here with two of my siblings and their spouses, my parents, and a niece or nephew who is on the way! Doug and I flew out yesterday, and my parents made the long trek from Ohio in their motor home last weekend.Yesterday evening we enjoyed a feast together at my sister’s house and just talked and laughed and caught up. It’s been over two years since we’ve all been together. Today, after we braved a few stores for Black Friday (which really wasn’t bad at about 9AM) we journeyed up to Estes Park and browsed through countless touristy shops. When it grew dark, we stood shivering and watched the "Catch the Glow" Christmas parade.
Tomorrow and Sunday will hold more family fun. I’m thankful for time with my family, no matter how few and far between these moments are. I wish we could be together more often, but it’s hard living on opposite sides of the country. And as the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder.... In our family, we might not all be so fond of each other if there weren’t long times apart. :)
But seriously, I miss my family when we’re apart, but missing them reminds me what I’m most thankful for this Thanksgiving and every second that I’m alive—salvation. And I don’t say it to be cliché. It can never be said too often that if we accept Jesus Christ as Savior we are made perfect in God’s sight and are given the peace and assurance of eternal life in heaven. I am blessed to know that my family will spend eternity there with me. So no matter how little time we have together here on earth, we’ll have forever in the place Christ is preparing for us. What an incredible hope to be thankful for!
Most of you reading this are authors, and I encourage you that if you are thankful for this same hope, please never forget the awesome opportunity you have to use your words to point to Jesus and His salvation. It doesn’t matter if you are ever officially published or not. If you are writing for Him, He will use it one way or another. If just one life—one reader, one critique partner, one family member you have coerced into proofing your latest draft—is changed or encouraged in Christ by your words, you are not working in vain. If God has given you a way with words, then He wants you to use that talent to spread His Truth. Write for Him and His glory and He will give you amazing things to be thankful for!
"Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father." Colossians 3:16-17 NLT
3 comments:
It sounds like you had a good Thanksgiving weekend. Your words of wisdom to authors pub and unpub were heaven sent. Thanks for the reminder that we don't just write, we write for Him. Good job!
The nicest part about spending eternity with our families is that there will be no more dissention. Imagine that! That's something to be thankful for. :o)
Along with being thankful for my salvation goes God's grace. It's His grace that carries me through each day. I can't imagine life without it.
Ohh. I love Colorado and Estes Park holds special memories since that's where I honeymooned. Did you get to the glass blowing shop? They had incredible pieces! At least they did ten years ago :-)
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