Double-barreled Thanksgiving

Will and I sat in our family room talking about the coming week. Mother and Cleo arrive tomorrow for 8 days. Francis, Cat and Elizabeth will arrive on Thursday. I will meet my granddaughter for the first time. It's all exciting. I will write more after they get here. Oh, yes, the non-Texans want a report of our first Thanksgiving in Texas. Here it is. I will be honest that I was very sad that Thanksgiving was coming and I was not among old friends and family. I insisted that we buy a 20.5 pound turkey and all the trimmings to go with it. Will being such a good husband (at times) did not fuss at me. He went along. I started inviting people at the church and everyone had a plan, of course - what was I thinking? They don't even know me or how I cook yet. Paula Parson and her husband said "yes." So, it was Tuesday evening, I have 20.5 pounds of turkey and everything else and the 4 of us to eat. At the end of the session meeting at night I asked Melisa Johnson if she and Dave would come to eat at my house. She said "yes, if we may bring my father". I was so happy I almost cried. I felt like God was hugging me. Her father is 91 and they are having their family thanksgiving feast on Friday. I went home so happy now that there would be 7 us at our table. On Wednesday I went by to see Mark Jenkins and asked if he would like to eat what I would be cooking the next day. He said, "Sure." So, I delivered a meal to Mark and his friend, John. And the 7 of us had a great time eating, talking, laughing and getting to know each other. Roy, Melisa's father who is 91 years old, graced us and blessed us with his sense of humor, wisdom and presence. We got to know Mike for the first time and we enjoyed learning more about Dave. It was fun to socialize with Paula and Melissa outside of Stephen Ministry stuff. On Friday, we had invited a missionary couple - the Rev. Ron and Evelyn Oglesbee - who recently returned from Thailand. Of course their son Steve and wife Kendra and their grandchildren, Alena and Luke, were our guests too. Just like back at home in India and Myanmar we started the evening with tea at tea time and then some of us talked and some of us cooked. The kids cooked our main dish - none of us had ever had as delicious coconut shrimp as we had then and whoever thinks teenagers can't cook don't tell the truth! We had a wonderful time. We ate, talked, and laughed and got to learn more about one another. We enjoyed the stories of Thailand and mission work and stories in general. It was just like our second Thanksgiving dinners with the Jonssons back in Louisville. After all, God does love us and gave us our usual double-barreled Thanksgiving. So, we continue to give thanks to God for his love endures forever Psalm 118:1-2. Here ends my report on our first Thanksgiving in Texas. We missed you no less, old friends and family, but we were blessed by new friends who do not replace you in our hearts but are given their own places.