Thanksgiving rest

This year Thanksgiving looked a little different for the Sharpmack family; the theme of our thanksgiving could have been something like, 'rest in our thankfulness'. While I am sure we could have gone to a friends house or even crunched numbers to figure out how we could travel to be with family, instead, we chose to rest.


It is interesting how the hustle and bustle of the holidays; the excited emotions and the focus on tasks, such as who is cooking what, keeps us from focusing on the simple. Instead of all those distractions we chose to focus on a simple day of rest and thanksgiving. It is because of my opportunity to rest (literally laying on the couch, looking out the window with no distractions insight) that I was able to truly reflect on all that the Lord has done; health, love, friends, family, memories, future goals, and security. Of course, things are far from perfect and so often my mind is overwhelmed with the distractions of situations I cannot control...but on this unique Thanksgiving, I realized why the Lord emphasized the importance of rest so much that he encouraged an entire day to be filled of it. It is with the resting of our mind, our body, and our spirit that we are truly able to focus in on the beauty of our saviour and the blessings only He can provide.


So why might God have encouraged a day of rest? Perhaps it was to encourage us to leave our worries behind, to leave our self centered thoughts behind and to truly acknowledge Him and to encourage a thankful spirit.




Exodus 31:15 "For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, holy to the Lord."

Family

Family has been the theme for Sharpmacks these last few weeks. My mom and sister came to visit at the end of October. How awesome it was to be able to show them around a once familiar town. Memories came flooding back as we drove by our childhood home, school, and church. And to think, my sister and I are now grown with "adult" lives; so much time has come and gone- lessons learned, friendships made, marriages legalized. I am so thankful that the Lord's hand has been on us as we have taken over the driver's seat and followed the signs into adulthood.

In addition to my mom and sister visiting Boise, we also had the rare opportunity to travel to Washington where we were able to surprise my Grandma for her 80th birthday. What a special time of reflecting. We looked back on where our family came from and why we are the way we are based off of many generations of decisions made before us. What a testament to generational faith.

One day after I left my family at the airport to fly home, Mike and I returned to pick up Mike's mom. Mike's mom had never been to the midwest so, needless to say, we had so much fun showing her Boise, taking her to the foothills, and finally exploring the beautiful mountains of Idaho. Showing her our new life felt so fulfilling and she was gracious to hear and learn all she could about our new home.

As Mike and I grow older and as we live further away, we cherish our family all the more. While 'family' may show signs of craziness, be difficult to live with [at times], or not always see eye to eye, we do know that family will always love each, offer grace and mercy inlight of each other short comings and will always stand by each other.

So go hug some family!