Winter dropped. Not gradually, but in one day, we went from sweatshirts to ski pants. Here we are, beginning the Christmas season with snow and cold. Hopefully, you were one of the prepared and put those Christmas lights outside before the storm.
Tomorrow, we gather with family and friends for a Thanksgiving feast, followed by Advent Family Fun Night (at our church on Sunday evening) to prepare for Christmas by kicking off the Advent season.
It is a fun event, featuring cookie-making, craft-making, eating lefsa hot off the griddle, and then enjoying a meal as a church family.
The past two weeks have not been without sadness. Not one, not two, but three former members of our church family passed on to a new celebration of life with Jesus.
One of those members has been an influential part of my life for some 40 years. I have known very few people so dedicated to a life of faith and prayer as Bob. He will be missed. I can hear his calm voice in my head. Not without a sense of humor, don’t ask Bob to refill your coffee cup. He carefully filled your cup to the brim so that picking it up required a steady hand or a few slurps while it was on the table to provide some room for sloshing.
Bob leaves behind a woman who helped me through one of the toughest challenges of my life many years ago. She listened, prayed, and counseled me through my first divorce. Lola was an integral piece of pie in my spiritual growth. I have no words for her loss as she begins a new chapter in life without Bob.
We all experience change, loss, grief, and loneliness. Thanksgiving is simply that. A time to focus on things we do have to be grateful for.
In all the sadness, rejection, grief, and unknowns of the past five months, I have only this to say.
I am so very, very grateful for you, my readers. My friends. My prayer support. My encouragement to believe God has something greater planned for my life.
Winter in North Dakota seems harsh to many folks out there. But it is a time of peace. Shorter days mean more time at home, hopefully cozy and warm. In this day and age of independence, it still brings out the best in people as we all need help now and then with stalled cars, snow to shovel, or sharing a few warm meals.
We stick together in North Dakota winters to survive. WE are family. For that, I am most grateful today.
Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with food, family, and fun. God bless you as you remember to share the gifts that God has blessed you with, so in return, you can bless those around you.
INDYchildrendotme 
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