1st Thanksgiving as Mr. & Mrs. Austin!!

I’m so excited to share my childhood-favorite holiday with my all-time-favorite man! ❤️
Here’s tomorrow’s menu; will post pics & recipes later....

For breakfast:

• French toast muffins with candied bacon,
• Sausage & apple stuffing, 
• Coffee - but I’m afraid I don’t have enough pumpkin purée to make both pumpkin pie AND pumpkin spice lattes, so we’ll have to try that out next year 😉

For lunch:

• Turkey, 
• Cranberry sauce, 
• Creamed corn,
• Mashed potatoes & gravy, 
• Homemade croissants,
• Sweet potato pie with spiced walnut streusel

For supper:

• Dinner at Cracker Barrel with my mom, Little Bit, and her bio-mom & bio-grandma 

For Saturday’s family get-together:

• Pumpkin spice latte pie, from the pumpkin that Little Bit helped carve & purée yesterday 

Do We Have Santa All Wrong?

What if Santa was never about getting after all? What if he was always about GIVING?

Read  the real story of Santa Claus here.

So as a family, will we be Santa for our kids or not? Well ... I think that question is the wrong one to ask. Because Santa was never about the rich parents of the world giving gifts to their own already-rich children. No - on the contrary, Santa was always about giving out of his own abundance to bless the poor people around him.

And therefore, if we really want to do Santa Claus and get into the spirit of Christmas, why would we even think about “being Santa” for our own very-blessed children? Why not encourage our kids to instead “be Santa” for the poorer/unhappier children around them?

Yes, my family will probably always do Santa Claus. We will spread that tradition of blessing the needy around us; and through that medium, hopefully we’ll also be spreading the love of Jesus - Immanuel - the truest meaning of Christmas, which the original St. Nicholas was always about anyway!

How to Get More Blessings?

When we sit down to Thanksgiving dinner in a couple weeks, will we enjoy the meal more if we think of ourselves as blessed recipients of a fine meal or if we see ourselves as food critics?

When we sing songs at church, will we have more joy in them if we bask in the love and glory  of God or if we see ourselves as worship critics?

When we hear the pastor’s sermon, will we get more out of it by listening eagerly for a word from the Lord or by listening critically for errors?

When we play games or read books or hang out with friends or shop for groceries or watch TV or whatever we do, will it be more fun if we expect to have a good time or if we have an eagle’s eye for the problems that come up?

Yes, we’re supposed to “test the spirits” (1 John 4:1). But that’s just talking about times among people who profess faith - otherwise, God sends us TO the people with bad spirits, as His witnesses. And with Christians, if we know we’re in the presence of the Holy Spirit rather than demons that need to be cast out, then let’s love our brothers & sisters and seek the manifold blessings of God! I think we can get more blessings by opening our eyes and hearts to them!

Thoughts on Divorce and Amputation

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about my friends who are married, those who are divorced, and those who are considering divorce. And thanks to my husband’s  more relaxed temperament, my own thoughts and feelings are starting to become less rigid also.

My question is, how’s divorce like cutting off your own hand? Well, neither is ever okay - right? God says we are all fearfully and wonderfully made, with no reason to engage in self-harm. Then why did Jesus  tell us that we should cut off her own hand sometimes to avoid being consumed with sin? And isn’t amputation sometimes medically necessary to  avoid being consumed with germs? So there are definitely good reasons to cut off your hand! Jesus and science agree on this, just as they do on everything else (since God created science, after all).

But what about divorce? Let me say first of all, and unequivocally, that I will never divorce my husband for any reason. God hates divorce as much as He hates it when His creatures commit suicide or other forms of self harm. Plus, I know my husband and I know that he’ll never EVER give me a reason to need to get away from him! He’s the most wonderful person I know! ❤️ There are a couple of hypothetical reasons that would lead me to divorce him though - purely hypothetical since Christopher’s just not that kind of guy and since I know without a shadow of a doubt that these kinds of things would never happen.

#1 - I would have to divorce him if I discovered that he was physically or sexually abusing someone. But he would never do anything like that! He’s far too good hearted. ❤️

#2 - I would have to divorce him if he repeatedly cheated on me. One affair? I could forgive and heal from that. But a pattern of affairs? Yes, I would still love him and forgive him; but how well could I heal from that? Only to have my heart crushed  again and again in the future, with no end in sight? My main focus in life would be always trying to do a little more to earn his love and loyalty. My self-esteem would be wrecked, my confidence would be on the floor, and even my sanity would become dangerously questionable. I doubt I’d be much of a blessing to anyone until after leaving him to protect my own heart; but even after leaving, I think it’d take considerable time for me to heal from all that. At the same time, I’m sure I’d still always care deeply about him - just from the safety of a little emotional distance....

But - hallelujah, thank You, Jesus! Cause my beloved - my sweetheart - my Christopher? He’s not the kind of person to ever cheat on me either. So I can boldly, proudly, joyfully say -
I am my forever my beloved’s!
And he’s forever mine!
The two of us are beautifully attached ... FOREVER!!! 🥰