THROWBACK and THANKFUL THURSDAY

This picture was taken a couple of years ago at a birthday party for my son Patrick. Ain't he cute? Flanking him are his two Gammill cousins, one of which is having a birthday today. (Hint, the one looking spiffy in a faux bow tie

So in honor of Christian's, and because I love Patrick and Hunter as well, I'm posting this picture. All three are getting closer and closer to adulthood and before we know it, just like their big sisters, they'll be leaving home and starting lives apart from their parents. I'm thankful that God gave cousins to my kids. They just make all the holidays and family get-togethers a little bit more fun and a lot bit more loud. We never lived in the same town as our extended family members, but despite that, their closeness in ages and their level of awesomeness meant that when we did see each other, it was a good thing.

We are going to miss all the cousins when we move to Africa. Guess they're just gonna have to roadtrip to see us. And airtrip.

THANKFUL THURSDAY

There are so many things to be thankful for. Some of them are big, like the healing of David's eye yesterday. Some of them might not seem as big but are still a very sweet gift.

Today, my Laura received one of those sweet gifts. A woman with a mission team from Massachusetts had shown the attendees at our Saturday children's ministry outreach some hula hoop tricks. Laura was especially fascinated and had expressed to the woman how impressed she was with the performance and with the special, hand-made hula-hoops. Julie had brought them to use and give out at a Vacation Bible School that their group was leading this week at another inner-city ministry. When she ended up having a couple of them leftover, she brought one by for Laura.

Laura was thrilled, her sister Merry wanted to try the hula hoop stunts, too, and this missionary mama's heart was warmed to see my girl blessed in this way.

Big or little, I am filled with thankfulness today at the sweetness of my Lord and of His people.

THANKFUL THURSDAY

You just never know what surprises await here in downtown Jackson living at We Will Go Ministries.  Sometime it's a friend you haven't seen for years showing up with a donation or a team.  Sometimes it is a raccoon climbing out of a nearby storm drain.  Sometimes it is the last neighbor you'd expect standing up and reading the Word of God out loud during a Bible study.

Tonight?  

Tonight it was a totally unexpected firework display based just a few blocks from our house which meant we had a great view right from our own home base.

True, we miss our cats and the laid back days of our farm life, but I wouldn't trade this life for that one.

God has us right where we're supposed to be and tonight was just a tangible reminder of the unexpected blessings He has in store for us when we follow His will.

And for that, I am very thankful this Thursday one week before the 4th of July.

THANKFUL THURSDAY

While eating big, beautiful salads today, I was reminded of yet one more thing I'm grateful for here at We Will Go.  I am thankful for our ministry's community garden.   The city has given us permission to use two lots that used to basically be neighborhood dumps full of beer bottles, cans, wire, and other rubbish.  Now, thanks to the generous donations of ministry supporters and lots of hard workers -- missionaries, volunteers, and neighbors -- we are picking gorgeous squash, salad greens, peppers, strawberries, and more right from those former trash heaps.  And I and the other missionaries aren't the only ones who benefit from the produce, anybody that wants or needs food can freely pick from the garden.  The collards are especially popular in the 'hood.  I personally can't wait for the peppers and eggplants to be ready for  eating.

Thank you, God, for this life you've given me. Once again, You've shown me that when I follow you, I'll never cease to be amazed at the goodness that comes from it. Sometimes, it is even tangible, able-to-be-tasted goodness.

THANKFUL THURSDAY

Often since my trip back to Swaziland five years ago, I have felt out of step with this American culture. I miss Africa and find myself feeling all sorts of muddled up emotions. I have cried about things that would have barely registered on my radar and sacrificed for people and causes I didn't even know existed six or seven years ago. I have many times felt like an alien in my own country.

Tonight, we spent the evening with Jim's sister and her family. Deidra and her husband Michael have also ministered in Africa. They have also found their lives radically changed by God as a result. There is a wrecking that can go on as a product of mission trips that is almost impossible to understand if you've not experienced it yourself.

I am not glad that others experience the pain that can occur when God rips open hearts on behalf of the lost and the least, but I am thankful that not only can we now walk through this journey together, but that God is turning the hearts of more and more of His children toward the orphans and widows of Africa.

THANKFUL THURSDAY

My heart is overwhelmed with joy and thanksgiving tonight. Where do I even begin to start enumerating all the blessings? I don't have the time nor the space to list all the ways God has gifted my life so I'll settle for listing just a sprinkling of them tonight.

This Thursday before Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for:

*A houseful of kids that call me Mom

*A husband who works hard to love and support us

*The neighbors that God has brought into my life here at We Will Go and the chance to love on them and minister to them like at tonight's Bible study

*My son Patrick's willingness to go to Swaziland this summer and serve on an AIM team

*The homeless man who wouldn't even hold a conversation with me when I saw him at the library on Tuesday but then came with a beaming smile tonight and told me when he saw me what scripture passage I'd be talking about tonight, proof that he did listen to me even if he didn't verbally communicate

*A Heavenly Father who wants to use little ole, imperfect me to take His light and love into some very dark places

God is so good to me. So very, very good.  His love is extravagant and knows no bounds.

THANKFUL THURSDAY

Today I am thankful to the Lord for sweet times with my funny, beautiful Betsie Joy.

I would be thankful anyway for our good relationship and the chances to just hang out together, like we did this past Monday at Brent's Drugs diner with our friend Amanda, but I'm especially thankful because these times are limited. This time next year, she'll be in college, I'll be in Colorado at missionary training school with the family, and three months later, Jim and I will be moving the five youngest kids to Africa while Betsie and Anna stay here in the States.

So yes, I am very, very thankful for sweet times with my darling girl.

THANKFUL THURSDAY

I have so many things to be thankful for tonight.

I'm thankful for the Freeman Family, a smalltown family who was willing to say "yes" to God and follow His call to Ecuador where just this week, they are settling into ministry at a children's home, Casa de Fe.

I'm thankful for the Sims Family. Another regular family from here in Mississippi who is also willing to say "yes" to the call to go and minister. Laura, Jay, and their girls leave in just a few days for ministry school in Mozambique, a missions outreach in Brazil, and then after that? They have no idea but they are trusting God to tell them what they need to know in just the right time.

I'm also thankful for God moving on behalf of them as needed. Just this week, what needed to happen for their house to sell, happened. They've sold "their American dream", as Laura describes it, because they are that in love with Jesus.

I'm thankful for friends who last night and today spent time helping us get our "American dream" ready to sell. Our small group leader from cburch, Janine, came last night and helped me pretty up things. The pictures that have been lurking under my stairs and the mirror that was hiding in my closet are now looking good on our walls. My handy and handsome hubby also helped us by hanging up that hiding scrumptious but heavy mirror. And another couple of friends from church, Rosa and her daughter Kailey, came over and worked like crazy. With their efforts, we got more clutter done away with plus a whole lot of cleaning got done.

I should also thank my children who worked so hard today, too. What a blessing they are to me every single day.

And on top of all those blessings, there are still more things to be thankful for.

I am thankful for a daughter who has successfully completed her homeschool education, will be graduating this weekend, and is also saying "yes" to God's call as she leaves for Africa next weekend.

And last, but certainly not least, I am thankful for all our family and friends who have been so supportive of Anna during this time of transition. Whether it is a graduation gift, a donation towards her ministry trip, or faithfully praying for her, your support is being used by God to make this special time in my girl's life even more special.

Thank you all and thank you, Lord. Y'all --- and He --- are so much better than I deserve.

Truly, He is a good God who pours down blessings upon His beloved children.

THANKFUL THURSDAY....HEADING TO THAILAND!

As most of you know, our daughter Betsie leaves in less than two months for Thailand. She'll be living with missionary friends and working primarily with orphans, English-as-a-Second-Language students, and street kids. Because of her age --- she is still only fifteen --- none of us felt very comfortable with her flying there and back by herself.

Several weeks back, Jim was able to purchase tickets for him and Betsie to fly out there together. But the price for mine to go and get here were much, much higher. And they seemed to go up and up and up...thousands of dollars higher. The possibility of me getting to go to Thailand didn't seem very likely unless God did something.



We kept talking about it and praying about it and even discussing the trip with others who have made it before and just couldn't get a peace about her returning by herself. So we coveted prayers from many and kept watching the travel sites. Yesterday, the price dipped down by over three thousand dollars and we snapped up tickets for me.

What a big "praise God"!



Now I'll not only be able to accompany her back from Thailand, but I'll also be able to spend a week in Northern Thailand getting to know the folks that Betsie will have grown to love, seeing all the places she'll have frequented, eat some of the unique dishes that only can be found in the culinary adventure known as Thailand, visit and love on our missionary friends, and hopefully get to bless a whole lot of precious Thai children and their caregivers.



I've got a huge heart for orphans, but up until this point, all my efforts on behalf of orphans have been primarily focused on African orphans. It is going to be such a huge joy to get the chance to shower the love of Jesus on the street kids and orphaned children that I will meet there.

I am so excited! And my heart is just overflowing that God is giving me this amazing gift. I'm also thrilled that I'll get to share this with my girl. It is always hard to come back from a mission trip and the folks around you just don't "get it". Now I will, in part, "get it".

And as Betsie said, now she won't have to spend the first few days answering a million and one of my questions about where she lived, who she met, what she ate, etc. etc.

God is so good and for this special Thai blessing I just want to give Him praise this "Thankful Thursday".

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!”
~ Psalm 100:4 (ESV)

To read more about the ministry that Betsie will be involved in and I'll get to visit, go to: http://gontim.org/main/

THANKFUL THURSDAY

My very talented, wordsmith, friend Lisa wrote this good reminder regarding blessing and gratitude:

THANK GOD by Lisa Samson

I'm not one of those rabid Oprah fans. I love some of the stuff she does but I don't hang onto every word she says like it's God's or even quotes by Mother Teresa. But Oprah taught me one thing years ago that has been revolutionary in my life and honestly, she ripped off St. Paul and formulized it a little bit. Hey, the Bible is a book for all times, right?

I don't even remember what she called it, I'm sure it had a more zippy title than, "Today's List of 10 Things I'm Thankful For," but that was the concept. Each night before you fall asleep, write down ten things you're thankful for. Now, me being the rebellious underachiever that I am, I bastardized it and figured God didn't need the formality of pen and paper and neither did I. So I just say, "Okay God, here's today's list" as I lay my head on the cool side of the pillow. Then I start with the morning and go through the day. At least ten things, but some days it's, "Whoa!"

At first it's a little hard. We're not used to giving Someone else credit for the specific good things in our life . . . and . . . if you're like me, you might tend to focus on the negatives, the have nots, the she/he-so-did-not-just-do-thats. But after a while, it just rolls on out of you. In fact, and this sounds corny I admit it, when I lay down it's like, "Yeah! Let's get the list going!" Even on days that wouldn't look to be anything special, it's amazing how many things there really are.

Gratitude is a muscle. The more you exercise it the easier it comes. And you remember your blessings, you remember that God is with you, you remember that he will never leave you or forsake you, and you see him everywhere.

Gratitude is a fuel. When we're steadily thankful for the blessings God has poured out on us (and these lists usually don't include winning the lottery or a fancy car), we suddenly KNOW what we actually have, and when we are in full awareness of our gifts and resources, we know what it is we actually have been given to share with others.

Gratitude is the down comforter. When we're truly aware of God's goodness in our lives, we understand a little better his great love and care for us. We're not as apt to ask where God is in the tough times, because we know exactly where he is. He's in the fact that we slept under shelter, he's in the eyes of others he honors us to serve, he's even in that great burger.

Gratitude is also that too tight shoe on a journey we must keep traveling. Because sometimes life brings challenges and sorrows and in those times he draws us to himself, in those times we grow and change and transform into something a little gentler, hopefully a little wiser, and kinder to those who are as fragile as ourselves. We can even be grateful in the suffering because we know God will use it. He even redeems the pain if we let it. The old Catholics have a saying, "Offer it up!" when you are suffering. Our pains, when dealt with patience and love, like Christ dealt with the pain of the cross, can be offered as a sacrifice to our Father in Heaven.

So, this morning, I'm really thankful for my cup of tea here, another rainy day even though I don't feel like having one, friends for the journey, a loving family, my readers, a fuzzy black sweater that's keeping me warm, rousing conversations, my chickens, my faith community that encompasses many people and many forms, a husband that loves to cook . . . that's ten right there and I could go on.

Wanna play?

THANKFUL THURSDAY

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I'm thankful for living in Graceland with cute kids and copious amounts of kittens.
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THANKFUL FOR SWEET MOMENTS
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Despite the hard and sad things touching my life right now, I'm thankful for those sweet moments that minister to my heart in such beautiful ways. One such moment happened this morning. I was in the kitchen and looked out our big window to see my two youngest daughters, both blonde headed and almost twin-like in appearance, walking across the driveway on the way to the compost pile. Big sister L had a kitten in her arms while Little Miss M carried a bucket in one hand, walking almost tippy-toed, while our black and white border collie pup frolicked around her. Big sister has decided it is time that she start teaches her baby sister how to do the jobs she will one day grow into. And Little Miss M thinks its all a wonderful game.

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It wasn't anything incredibly complicated. This farm scene won't make all the world's woes go away. But this precious scene of two darling, beautiful girls brought joy to my heart and a smile to my middle-aged mommy face and reminded me yet again, that life is beautiful...despite the pain.

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