Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Dinner celebrated on Friday night after work. Hormel Compleats Turkey & Dressing with Gravy, awesome powdered mashed potatoes, and canned corn. Wasn't quite the fried turkey and homemade stuffing I'm used to on Thanksgiving, but I'm thankful I at least could sort of celebrate.

But Thanksgiving Day is a lot more than eating turkey and watching football. It's a time to spend with family. It's a time to be thankful for what you have. While I didn't have my family here in the middle of nowhere, I had a box sent with love to remind me to be thankful for them. I'm thankful that I get care packages from home with Pumpkin Pie Cliff Bars. I'm thankful that I got to Skype with my cousins after they finished eating dinner. I'm thankful for my family back home who is so eager to see me in less than a month.

But I'm thankful to be here too. I'm thankful to live in the most beautiful village in the world filled with the kindest people. I'm thankful for a chance to live out my dream--to work in Japan. I'm thankful for new friends and new adventures. I'm thankful for a year of meeting God every single day. I'm thankful for the peace and quiet after living in South Central for 4 years. I'm thankful for a chance to really appreciate everything and everyone I left to come here. I'm thankful for opportunities to share my faith and to share my God with everyone around me. I'm thankful for the chance to take a leap of faith, to follow God to the middle of nowhere, and to be met by a faithful Father. I'm thankful to be here with Him.

I'm blessed beyond measure. I don't deserve what I have at home. I don't deserve what I have here.

"All of my life in every season, You are still God and I have a reason to sing, I have a reason to worship." -- Desert Song by Hillsong