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."