Thanksgiving! All sorts of images, scents, and voices come to mind.
A few days to Thanksgiving! All the food excitement wafts through Mom's kitchen.
The pies were cooling on our huge freezer, along with Grandma's pumpkin pudding. Mom's sisters appear with some special dishes, and the cornucopia fills the table. The eating is legend.
All the post dinner stuff starts. My own sister and I are in the sink duty. This will last for an hour or more.
The pumpkin desert is cut and handed out to the adults. Our cows gave us cream, which mean whipped cream. Good stuff.
Next year? Who knows what will fill our plates then?
When people think of their most favorite thing ever, I wonder what those things would be. Here is a young man, Jackson, who is a farmer at age 8.
Most 8 yr. olds have no idea about life, let alone tractors. Jackson is tremendous. Many seasoned farmers talk with him, ask about different tractors. The old guys take off their caps, rub their faces, and say something like "By golly, fellers. This here boy knows more about tractors than any of us old gaffers."
Maybe it is just me, but I love tractors. And pick-up trucks.
God amazes me all the time. Not just some of the time, now and then, but all the time. His creation and miracles are undeniable: God amazes me.
Why Jeremiah 29:11?
His love never fails. He sees tomorrow or centuries. God does not own or use a wristwatch. God gave this verse to me 1985.
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.[b] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
In 1985 we had decided to sell/give every item in our house, save particular gifts the children owned. We condensed important items and toys into a crate 4ft X 5ft X 4ft. We shut the door of our house, giving the keys to its new owner.
BUTI rush ahead.
We (husband's family company) bought and operated a hotel in Ireland. It was a mansion/manor owned by a Lord Barrymore who was granted the property. In 1769 the Lord built and lived in it.
Somewhere in the course of Irish History the hotel w/20 acres of wooded land became a hotel. It was more work than we expected.
When we decided to take this adventure, we lived in a city in the Mojave Desert. Moving with our 3 children was indescribably awful. I was distraught.
That is when Jeremiah 29:11 appeared. First it was in a drawer in the kitchen. The second time I found it was in the a stack of papers I was collecting to recycle. God revealed so much to me in these two times.
We lived in Ireland for 4 years, sold and returned to California. God guided us through some difficult times and choices
