Dear friend,

 

American Thanksgiving is this Thursday; I have been assigned the green bean casserole and a salad. We are shipping hundreds of packages from our winter collection the two days before and day right after and Thanksgiving sits, like a restful pause, within the rush. I have always loved Thanksgiving – it was one of my favorite holidays as a child. The Michigan air is crisp and cold but there isn't much snow on the ground (usually), the trees are purple-gray, leaves entirely gone for weeks now; and the smell of coffee mingles with the scent of stuffing and pie and all the delicious things my grandma cooked.

 

My mom tried hard to keep the focus of Thanksgiving on actual thanksgiving – not football or Black Friday. I think she generally succeeded (though we do still tease her about her obsession with the Pilgrims, and I had my Pilgrim placemat for longer than I care to admit).

 

Thanksgiving makes me think of this 90s worship song, a song I remember hearing as a self-conscious ten year old who wouldn't sing in church, plucking the plastic chair tops in and out of the seat in front of me:

 

But when I was chronically ill, I couldn't give thanks with a grateful heart. Be grateful for skin that blisters and peels? Be grateful for more elimination diets, more doctor bills? Be grateful for a pregnancy marred with pain – again?

 

Or when Josh lost his job when I was pregnant with Eva. Be grateful for the sinking numbers in our bank account? For the boss who dismissed him without a care? For the terror of living in a city with no industry to support my husband's career?

 

I really like that worship song. But sometimes we have to give thanks with an ungrateful heart. We have to give thanks before we feel grateful, before things change. 

 

But there's another important piece here: God isn't asking us to give thanks FOR the circumstance. He told us to give thanks IN all circumstances (1 Thess. 5:18). There is a difference! And that is why… I actually LOVE how that worship song ends:

 

When I was chronically ill, I did not give thanks for my illness. I thanked God for a healthy baby despite my risky illness. I thanked God for friends who supported and cared for me. I thanked God for answers when they came. And I learned to say “I am strong” in a season of deep weakness.

 

When we were unemployed and afraid, we did not give thanks for the job loss. We thanked God for the church who cared for us. We thanked God for every little bit of provision. We thanked God for His provision in the past. And we learned that we were very rich in Christ, even though we were very poor. 

 

Maybe you don't feel grateful this week. Maybe “thanksgiving” seems far off. Dear friend, you can - and should – give thanks based on who God is, not the circumstance you're in. You don't have to be grateful for what is happening; but there is something IN what is happening for which you can be grateful: God sees you. He loves you. And He is not far off.

 

 

 

 

I think this is a bigger question of discerning God's voice in general! God speaks: that is the beautiful thing about being a follower of Jesus. We follow the Living God who not only loves us but personally guides us. And: there are some decisions God grants us perfect freedom within. We might pray and ask for leading, and He gives us both options, willing to use either for good. This was the case when Josh and I left Pennsylvania for Michigan. We fully believe we could have stayed and been in God's will, but we chose to leave and were also doing God's will. Ask yourself: Have we prayed about this? Have we made a pro/con list and prayed over that? Are we making decisions from peace or fear? Have we sought wise counsel? Here is a resource on hearing the voice of God. I also talked about it at Verity Conference. 

 

 

There are so many! Here are some I love:

The ones I use repeatedly: I like to read Light Upon Light on Sundays of Advent; it's not a daily devotional. I read this privately, not with the fam. Journey to Bethlehem would be my daily choice this year, but I also love The Greatest Gift because it covers the whole biblical story leading to Jesus. Ruth's and Asheritah's are shorter, daily, and easy reads. 

 

Sara's writing is always beautiful – like sitting down to stare at a landscape painting, breathing in the loveliness. But this book? It's not just beautiful, it is necessary. When she sent it to me the title didn't grab me at first. I didn't really “get it” until I was two chapters in with tears in my eyes, realizing it's exactly what I needed. If you ever feel like you're kicking against the goads of your life, like you're trying to get back to “how it used to be”, this is for you.

 

This is not a trade book but a bible study on the I Am Statements of Jesus. I love these statements and I love Crossway (the publisher of this study) so I am excited to explore with Courtney and Joanna have created!

 

I recently read and endorsed this new one by Jennie. I think Jennie's gift is writing in a casual, friendly tone on topics that simultaneously practical and relatable. My biggest question was how she dealt with the “impassibility” of God and His emotions (some people believe God has no emotions; I personally disagree with this. I think He can have emotions and also be fully in command of them). Those who like formal or lyrical writing would probably not enjoy this book, but if you like something more casual or something to discuss with a newer believer on the topic of emotions, this would be a good choice!

 

For Thanksgiving week we are doing something different! Though we had co-op on Monday, I'm bumping week 11 of our core studies to next week and doing a Thanksgiving deep dive this week instead. Kind of like a unit study… except I compiled everything myself! Here is what I am using.