Thanksgiving

 The Americans are celebrating thanksgiving today. Canadians celebrated Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October, and although I am neither Canadian nor American, I am going out to eat a thanksgiving dinner with good friends tonight.

I know that my beautiful, American friend, Lauren, will ask us all what we are thankful for.

Here's my list:

I am thankful first of all for my Lord and Saviour. The fact that He died for me will never cease to amaze me. His grace has been sufficient for me in the past, and it will continue to be so in the future.

I am thankful for my wonderful family - my husband whom I love more than I can express. He takes care of me in every way possible.
I love our 3 daughters, all beautiful and sweet and giving us less to worry about than could have been expected.
I love our extended family - every niece and nephew, every aunt and uncle.

I am thankful for good friends - both close and far away, friends who have supported me, encouraged me and sometimes even lifted me up in prayer when I really needed it - often before I even knew to ask!

I am thankful for having a job - although I moan and whine about it. Considering the number of unemployed teachers, I am thankful that I still have my job.
And least, but not last, I am thankful for my church family. They challenge me, support me and continually love me. I am a blessed woman.








Check out Lauren's blog (if you dare) on: www.ladaisi.blogspot.com

It's tough being a woman

... that's the subtitle to a Bible study on Esther, by Beth Moore. I would love to do a real study on it sometime, but right now, I am just breezing through it, sniffing up whatever stands out and seems to call to me.

And yes it IS tough being a woman, but I really don't like whining. Whining will get you no where in my book. I tend to be the "suck it up" type of woman, but time and time again, I fall into the whining pit myself.

I honestly think that being alive is tough. Being a human is tough. Whatever path you are on, life will be tough on you every now and then. And tha't why a study on Esther could come in handy. It could be enlightening to hear from some else how they got through tough times. And believe me, Esther knew tough times.

So far, the study has talked to me about standing in the shadow of other women - how hard that can be, trying to live up to someone elses standards and merits. And it dawned on me slowly that often, I stand in the fictive shadow of others. I never ask about their expectations, I just assume that I know what they expect of me. I assume that others expect me to be like so-and-so, but I never ask if that is true.

What a sorry burden I put on myself, and I have a feeling I am not the only one to do this. Take a minute or two to reflect on this... whose shadow are you in? Is it real or just based on your own assumptions?