Thankful

My son painted pumpkins and branches to decorate our table.

We were at home for Thanksgiving this year, and invited some friends to share a meal with us. This holiday provided a lot of bonding time with my kids, especially with my son, who I put in charge of designing the table decor. We had a great time shopping for cool stuff, and then he went to work painting branches and pumpkins, and so on. He loves putting his artistic talents to work and combining them with our family mission of hospitality.

We used river rocks as place cards, with each person’s name written on their rock. After we ate, we went around the table and shared what we felt thankful for. Each person had to write some words on their rock, then share about what they’d written with all of us.
We piled up the rocks, to create a sort of altar. I shared the story from 1 Samuel, where Samuel builds an altar and names it Ebenezer, which means “stone of help,” to commemorate how God had answered prayer and helped Israel.

Stones of gratitude

These rocks were a remembrance of how God has helped us thus far. It was a precious time, with laughter and tears. We feasted on turkey and apple pie, but we also feasted on the sweetness of community.