Gratitude

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Have you taken the time to count your blessings? The Pratts are a blessed family. Every night for our family prayer time, we thank God for his faithful provision and protection. He continues to give us more than we need. He has given us our health. He blesses us with friendships. He gives us each other. He shares Himself through his Word and Holy Spirit. He offers us opportunity to invest in others. He chooses to NOT leave us where we are. He travels with us on our faith stretching journeys. He loves us....always.

This year we will be spending Thanksgiving day with cousins Sue and Mike Brown who live near Myrtle Beach. We are looking forward to sharing the holiday with them. Friday we will travel to Amelia Island, FL where we will get to see the Kamienski family who we haven't seen since my grandfather's funeral two years ago. We are looking forward to meeting the newest members of the family: triplets Ansley, Jack, and Noah, who we've been praying for every night since they've been born. John and Lizzie both are excited to meet their new miracle cousins!

SO much has happened since last Thanksgiving....so many things that God has uniquely planned for our family. The journey has not be "straight" or easy, but it has been ordered by God, the one and only Creator of the universe....so if He can create the universe, certainly he can order our steps. As we begin looking forward to the next steps (buying a home, continuing job search, launching the church...) it is so easy to let the fears and unknowns take over. But I've got to look back and remember...and see all the steps in which God has faithfully carried us. He is not afar off, or unaware, or surprised. He knows us, he sifts us, he gives us the opportunity to put our faith into action.

We hope that this week holds a time of reflection for each of you too. I hope the memories of the blessings (and struggles) from this past year flood your thoughts and you can't help but express your gratitude to our Almighty, faithful, and trustworthy God.

"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord."

Whatever He's Doing Inside of Me...

I love how God uses a variety of things to get my attention. At times, it's His creation (particularly the ocean, sunsets, and the amazing detail of his created), at other times it's His people who share their experience. I am amazed as He speaks to ME through Scripture (written years and years ago, but still living/applicable to me!!!!) and then He ordains and inspires music....played at the MOST APPROPRIATE moments. I love the music. It speaks to me like nothing else. It moves me. It makes me think. It often gives me a different--eternal-- perspective. It reminds me of His everlasting love. It encourages me in my faith journey..to not give up. It teaches me to look beyond the present circumstances and to look beyond myself. It proves to me that He's still in control.

This song by Sanctus Real is one of those songs that God is using to get my attention:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06AgY5Xoavw

Just a few lines that HIT me every time I hear it:
"Whatever you're doing inside of me, it feels like chaos, but somehow there's peace. It's hard to surrender to what I can't see, but I'm giving into Something Heavenly."

"Time to begin again, reevaluate who I really am. Am I doing everything to follow your will? Or just climbing aimlessly over these hills? SO show what it is that you want from me, I give everything, I surrender...to whatever you're doing...."

"Time to face up, clean this old house....time to release all my held back tears. Whatever your doing inside of me, it feels like chaos, but I believe: You're up to something bigger than me, larger than life, Something Heavenly."

I hope it's an encouragement to you today :)

Seasons

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Certainly, the difficult part is contentment/gratitude during each season in which God has placed us. And the truth is, as the 'seasons' change, God does not. He is the same, He is stable, He is true, He is the Rock. I am finding that focusing on these truths, even in the turmoil of all that is happening around me, that is what calms my heart and encourages my efforts.

Our family is currently experiencing many seasons....some are building our unity, at the same time 'tearing down' selfishness, ourselves as individuals. We think back to our seasons of rootedness and stability...but now...still...we're also experiencing the "uprooting" and transplanting necessary for new growth. Furthermore, I am still in a season of searching, as even yesterday I interviewed AGAIN, for a full time teaching position...but today I am required to "GIVE UP"...give up my control, my desires, my expectations, and submit to God's Sovereignity once again while I wait the decision. Yep, seasons are inevitable and even painful at times.

Mark has been working in Myrtle Beach for the last few weeks on a construction project. He has a few more weeks left, so we're trying to keep a routine here on the homefront, missing him...awaiting the time when we can return to life as a family. He is working hard on his studies in the "extra" moments he has. We have to keep reminding ourselves that this time is just "a season" and that God continues to be faithful to us as individuals and as a family while we are apart.

In the meantime, we've had the pleasure of having my parents in town this week. They arrived on Halloween to surprise John and Lizzie...both couldn't stop talking for the first few hours after their arrival. We enjoyed a fun and beautiful weekend...attending a festival, a soccer game, church, and even spending a warm NC November afternoon on the beach! Who would have thought??? We've also visited the Fort Fisher Aquarium and the Cape Fear Museum this week as the kids had Monday and Tuesday off from school. We've returned to routine today...and Mom and Dad will head north this weekend to return home.

We still covet your prayers. Our transition continues...I often find myself missing "home", our church, school, and you, our treasured friends. God is growing us through this season. He is teaching us to rely upon Him, particularly in the face of all this uncertainty. Still...we miss the relationships, the heart talks, and the sharing of life that we experienced with so many of you.

We hope that you will drop us an email to update us on the 'seasons' you are in...or give us a call...we'd love to hear your voice! BETTER yet, we hope you'll come to visit! Come experience the seasons here in North Carolina!