I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We sure did. Most of the Noble side of our family came down for a few days, and it was a great time of reuniting and fellowship. Many pictures were taken, mostly by Mom, so to keep things simple I’ll share some of them here with a caption. :)

Aunt Kathy put together a lovely hot cocoa/tea/chai/coffee basket. YUM!

The guys did skeet shooting while we ladies prepared the Thanksgiving meal. It was fun, and a blessing to have so much wonderful help!

We put several tables together beforehand in our living room!

Pie, anyone? :) Each family brought a pie to share, and they were all delicious. And yes, I did taste some of each kind. You know, just to make sure they weren’t poisonous or anything.

After the meal, everyone wrote down what they were thankful for, and shared it over pie and tea. Here’s some things I put down: God’s incredible grace and new mercies every morning. My drivers license and safety driving thus far. :) My family. Graduating in December. Dear friends. The things I so often take for granted: an abundance of water, food, clothing, comfortable home, etc. I could go on and on…I have so much to be thankful for!

We played some games after the meal. :)

The next morning, everyone did various things:

Wesley, Mom, and Aunt Kathy did “computer stuff” (from my non-geeky perspective) :)

Andrew and Jonathan shot BB guns together.

Annie and I played piano, and worked on some duets together.

So I’ve been practicing a Christmas duet on and off with Wesley for several months. Anna sight read the entire thing, and was able to play it with me! In fact, she get ever further into the duet than I could! She’s amazing. :)

Anna and I got our annual Thanksgiving pictures, taken by our own personal photographer (thanks Wesley!). :)

And of course we took some family pictures to end our special time together!

My brother has been writing a Thanksgiving countdown on our family whiteboard: now there’s only one day left! Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year, not only because of all the delicious food there is to eat, but also because it’s a wonderful time to praise the Lord for His faithfulness. It’s staggering to really stop and think about all He’s given to me and blessed me with this year.

We read this wonderful devotional with a hymn a few days ago. I hope you are encouraged by the words. Have a very happy Thanksgiving as you praise our Lord for His “countless gifts of love”!

With the exception of A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” this is the most widely sung hymn in Germany. Like many other great hymns, it was forged in the crucible of the Thirty Years’ War.

Martin Rinkart was the only pastor in the walled city of Elinberg. Many refugees fled there, hoping the wall would protect them, only to see the city overrun by Swedes, then by Austrians, and then by Swedes again. In the crowded conditions, hunger and plagues were chronic problems. In 1637 Rinkart conducted funerals for five thousand residents-including his wife. So when he prays, “Guide us when perplexed,” he is not talking about minor inconveniences.

Yet thanksgiving erupts from this stately song. The tune, by Johann Cruger, was introduced with the text in 1644 while the war still raged. It has a majesty and a resolve that few other works can match. We can thank God even during the most trying ties. We can know that God is with us “in this world and the next.”