Being Thankful With Our Families

Asking the family what their thankful for has been harder than I thought. I have heard a bunch of “I don’t knows” and simple answers like, “I am thankful for my house!” Which is a good thing but I am trying to get a little deeper here. So here is my attempt to draw out my family and their responses :)


- Aydan – I am thankful for my house (yes, even after drawing him out) and food to eat.
- Carson – I am thankful that dad is home this Thanksgiving.
- Kelsey – I am thankful that I am able to spend the holidays with my family and that I have the freedom to worship God.
- Lauren – I am thankful that throughout this year I have had many challenges. The reason I am thankful for them is because it has brought me closer to Christ and made my relationship with Him much stronger.

Craig, my husband, had this to say: Although there is much for which I am thankful, by mentioning only one thing I am not excluding all others. I am thankful that I have the privilege of being employed during this economic downtrend where as many others are suffering layoffs. I am at least privileged to have a job which can pay the bills and support my family. This may sound cliché or trivial, but in this day and age of economic turmoil, it is even more precious to me.

So there it is. There has been much laughter tonight as we went around asking this question about thankfulness. Laughter and silliness is fun and it reminds me to be thankful for my silly family! ~ Sharlyn Eddy

Being Thankful With Our Families

A Thankful Limerick by the Olsens
(Read aloud in a rollicking, playful way- it makes it much better and I need all the help I can get when it comes to poetry!)



There once was a family of seven
who loved their Father in Heaven.
Each night before bed
they sang and they said,
“We’re thankful for where we are headin’!”

Andrew said he was thankful “for eat.”
Ben too, any “appetizing treat.”
When they asked Timothy
he said, “Mom and Daddy
are, in my mind, quite hard to beat.”

Lauren was not quite so easy.
For two days she was whiney and wheezy.
Her funk went away
and that smile’s here to stay.
She’s grateful for Mom, Gran and Kreezy. (That’s Aunt Krissy aka Aunt Bob… but it had to rhyme)

Daddy’s thankful to God for the ocean.
And for stinky “Gulp” bait potion.
It fools all the fish
to bite, and then wish
they didn’t fall for his smooth reeling motion!!

Each day we are thankful to God,
who receives all the glory and laud,
for five little ones
who obey and are fun-
if they’re not, we just pull out the rod!

~ Allie Olsen

Being Thankful With Our Families

Grandparents hold a special place in my heart. When my husband and I first began dating almost twenty five years ago, I took him to meet my grandparents soon after he met my parents. They were an integral part of who I was. While both sets of grandparents were believers, my mother’s mother had patiently modeled and shared the gospel with me as a child and led me to Christ. Through the years she had been a source of encouragement to me as I learned what it meant to follow Jesus. She was a faithful pray-er, and she lovingly challenged me to pursue the things of God. As I left for college, she reminded me of the importance of quickly finding a church home as well as a Biblically sound college ministry. I treasure a photograph from my wedding of my two dear grandmothers standing with me in the church. And I had the holy joy of being with my grandmother when she quietly slipped from this earth into the arms of her Savior.

God has carefully placed individuals along life’s path for each of us. Sometimes it is a family member, and sometimes it is a friend or co-worker. Looking back, you can see people who have planted seeds of faith in your life and friends who have watered them. The timing of these divinely appointed friendships is not coincidental. Even in the midst of sin God’s purposes have been carried out. Even relationships that we would not characterize as “positive” can be used by our sovereign God to sanctify us. An irritating neighbor can be used by God to expose sinful pride and self-righteousness. A demanding child can show us our laziness and love for ease. We can be thankful to God for using others as instruments in His holy hands to point us to Him.

As we enter the season when we celebrate Thanksgiving, look with eyes of faith at those around you. You will certainly see the hand of God. ~ Adrea Thomas

Being Thankful With Our Families

This week we will be hearing from family members concerning what they are most thankful for. Today we will hear from Landon Calabello.
~ Rhonda Calabello

Thanksgiving, originally a day farmers celebrated the fruitfulness of their harvests for that season, was a day the Pilgrims celebrated with the Native Americans for their help in teaching them to plant crops and hunt wild life (1621). Formerly established as a national holiday by George Washington, Abraham Lincoln later changed the date to the third Thursday of November in order to lengthen the Christmas shopping season. This was an attempt to unite the nation in an effort to show thankfulness for all the good things we, as a nation, have.

Christians have many good things to be grateful for. Two things that I am grateful for, apart from my family, are freedom to walk out my faith and the opportunity to glorify God in my future career.

Firstly, it is easy to take for granted the freedom we have in this nation to worship the one, true God. If we were only to remind ourselves daily of the persecution Christians face in hostile countries everyday because of their faith, I believe we would truly praise him all the more for the wonderful blessing he has given to us by allowing us to live in this wonderful country. I have recently read stories and seen pictures of attacks on Christians in India. I saw a picture of a girl who was burned to death. In the ashes, you could make our her head, hair, and nose, but the rest of her body was completely charred. One girl, who was probably once beautiful, had a marred face after she was tortured. I ask myself, “Would I still follow Christ if I had to face such horrific persecution?” I am thankful for the freedom I have to praise God, but have I truly been tested?

Secondly, I am thankful for the opportunity to pursue a college education that will aid me in my future career, whatever that may be. God calls us to work. It is my desire to work hard in my career, and not only to work hard, but to be successful. Many argue that the pursuit of money is wrong and hinders us from glorifying God and giving our entire selves to Him and His service. I would argue that it is God’s desire for us to pursue this very thing. Not everyone is called to great success. But it is my desire, God willing, to be successful in order to further the kingdom of God. I can be poor, become a missionary, and serve God by reaching the lost. This is a good thing, something that God calls many to. However, I can also be relatively well off and give money and support orphanages, children, the poor, the oppressed, and so on. If I can further the kingdom with what God has blessed me with, then I can hopefully impact more lives than if I had not worked hard and taken an easier path in life. I want business to be my mission, where I will have the opportunity to glorify Him through hard work and charity.

I am thankful to live in the U.S.

Landon Calabello