Thanksgiving Tree....

Psalm 100

A psalm of thanksgiving.

Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness.    Come before him, singing with joy.
Acknowledge that the Lord is God!    He made us, and we are his.    We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise.    Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good.    His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

 Thanksgiving tree... Each leaf has a verse printed from Ann Voskamp's, author of 1000 Gifts, website aholyexperience.com.  I've been so blessed by the Joy Dare this year to list daily gifts from God that I am thankful for, so this month Ann Voskamp posted a blog about making a Thanksgiving tree and this is mine.

 There are so many gifts that I could list from the year, but here are the few I placed on my tree....

Celebrating Thanksgiving in Costa Rica... Never would I have thought I'd have more dinners to go to in Costa Rica on a holiday than I do in my own home town, especially with having so many families.... But this year I was able to celebrate Thanksgiving with three different groups of people that are all so special to me!  I started Thanksgiving off with Mere wearing silly turkey hats and playing with her cousins.. 

 Then I took an hour long taxi ride across town with my friend Laquin to end the night with my staff team at the Suwyn's.  I was really sad I missed the festivities and delicious turkey but I am glad I got to end the day with these wonderful souls that bless my life so much here.

 Notice the leaves.... We are throwing and celebrating what we're thankful for by tossing these leaves into the air.  The Suwyn's tradition is everyone writes what they are thankful on a leave each year and then they hang up around their house for Thanksgiving.  I love this tradition and think I will steal it one day with my family!  

This is our YL team with Kevin and Michele Suwyn our Regional director and his wife.  My last Thanksgiving meal was actually on Friday with a group of US and Costa Rican friends eating a traditional Thanksgiving meal and sharing what we're thankful for from the year!! 

So blessed...

 " Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18