My Thanksgiving thoughts and prayer

Picture by Ken Roosenberg

There is nothing better than being a Grandpa! These are two of my grandchildren, Rachel on the left and Annabelle on the right. We have been together Friday and today. We just got back from going to their favorite place for breakfast, Panera Bread. I wish we lived closer, but it could be a lot further than 3 1/4 hours away. Thanks be to God that we are not that far from any of our kids and grand-kids.

Thank you Lord for showing me some of the real important things in life. You have blessed me so richly with good friends and a wonderful family. I have so many things to be thankful for and here are just a few of them.

I am thankful that Janine and I and all of our children and grandchildren and all of our extended family members have  good homes, good jobs, and do not have to worry about housing or where we will get food or water. I am thankful for my life changing trip to Swaziland, Africa and for all the missionaries that we met. I am thankful for all of the children and adults that I met in Swaziland. My heart aches for these people. I pray Lord, that you will keep the people safe and that you provide for their needs. I pray that more people from the U.S. will want to get involved, either personally traveling there to help, or financially supporting the efforts in Swaziland. I pray that with all of the hardships and obstacles that there are in Swaziland, that the missionaries there on the ground be able to keep their upbeat  positive attitudes. I pray that the young adults that are either training to be part of a Discipleship team or those that are already part of one of these teams, continue to see the positive roll model positions that they are filling. Their mentoring, and counseling, and teaching your word, is so very important. They and these children are the future of Swaziland. I pray that you will financially reward these Discipleship team members, so they can continue to do this important work without struggling to provide food and shelter for themselves. I pray that more of us will want to personally travel to Swaziland but for many different reasons. They need people who are willing to help train the the Swazi's to build adequate housing, people to teach and train young adults to fill key roles, and they need people who are willing to teach Swazi's basic hygiene. They could also use help from people who have medical training and skills. I pray that many will feel your call.

I could go on and on forever. You have given me so many things to be grateful for and blessings beyond belief. You are the awesome God!