thanksgiving

There are so many things to be thankful for; I'm still giving thanks!
We had leftovers from the holiday meal... I love leftovers!  Now, how do we deal with an abundance of gratitude?  The Lord has brought some really amazing people into this world!  It is a boost to see the comments you leave.  Friends, I need to tell God how I feel about you, and I want you to know as well, that you mean a lot to me.

consistent compassion

This picture is from last year, but the Jewel food store in Bolingbrook is once again donating a bunch of complete meals. My wife and I have the pleasure of passing these along to people who need a little help.

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These are hard times for a lot of us, but it is great to see people exercise kindness on a regular basis and show compassion in a bunch of different ways. We see donations from KFC, Olive Garden, Panera, Red Lobster, Pizza Hut, Famous Dave's, Chipotle, Longhorn Steak House, and I'm sure I'm forgetting somebody. There are local businesses that donate other items, such as grocery bags and produce bags. There are groups like Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and elementary schools that have taken special collections. Lots of anonymous donations fund the purchase of regular stock from the Northern Illinois Food Bank.

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I am especially thankful for the regular volunteers who give up their time week after week and do their work in such a way that our guest are not compromised of basic human dignity. We typically serve 65 families every week.

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There are other food pantries and other organizations that serve in similar ways, and it is cool to see what goes into these acts of compassion and to learn how people are motivated to such things. Ultimately, the motivation comes from the same source as the provision. And that source is so great that it (he) eclipses the channels. That is truly something to be thankful for.

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Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

-James 1:17

of thanks and giving

The skin on my knuckles is broken from fighting -- in church. Wait; let me explain... Our family had time to waste while waiting for people to arrive. My youngest son and I rolled up newspapers to use as swords while waiting. I am an amazingly proficient warrior when fighting children who weigh less than one hundred pounds. I am less proficient when my hand slams into a heavy wooden door. Especially when said wooden door is being kicked open from the other side. I forfeited the match, and we drank hot chocolate instead.

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You might already know that Mrs. Craver and I are the directors for a food and clothing pantry. A manager from our local Jewel food store contacted us about donating precooked meals for people in need. I think this is the third year they've done this. There were twelve meals the first time, and eight the following year. This time he said they would give away TWENTY NINE meals!! I had to take the seats out of the van to fit them all, and we just made it with the meal boxes going wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling. They actually gave us thirty-one boxes, not twenty-nine. Way to go, Jewel!!

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This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for many things. And that includes all those people and organizations like Jewel who sacrifice a little to help a friend in need. I pray a special blessings for those homes who find themselves having a hard time this season.

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Above, we see Mrs. Craver, Brother Greg and D2. Normally, we like to deliver these to peoples' houses, but this time it was just too much, so D2 did a marvelous job of calling people to come pick up their meal boxes. Greg and his kids helped with distribution.

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Oh, and the idea for swordfighting with newspaper came from Greg and the kids. Only, he managed to come through it unscathed.

where credit is due

There's a funny story about this photo. We were on a ten-minute drive to visit our blogging buddy, Brother Greg. This view begged for a picture, so I pulled over and stood out in the middle of the street to get the shot. There isn't much traffic here, but every once in a while, my kids would shout out the warning: "Car!" It felt like a total role reversal.

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Thanks, Kids for keeping me safe.

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A photography tip: David says no matter what he's photographing, he always makes it a point to look around, to make sure he hasn't missed out on anything else [here's his post]. I have not made this a habit, but I should. On this particular day, I DID happen to look for a different shot, and caught this image only four minutes after the first. Maybe you already saw it a few days ago on the post called "A Sunset for Coco."

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Thanks Dave, for the good pics I will capture on account of your wisdom and experience.

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And thank you Lord, for the rising and setting of the sun. Amen

passed your appreciation

The little boy often told him, "You're my favorite pastor."

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That's cute and all, but what do little kids know about it? Seriously. What can a little kid know about the fervency with which this man prays. About the integrity to biblical text, hard studying and deep richness of his expository preaching. Meeting the needs of the poor. Racial reconciliation. What about the passed-up opportunities for a bigger church or cushy (well-deserved) living? All these things and more. I expect that there's a lot that the little kid didn't know.

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Me? I don't care to list favorites among my mentors and brothers, but I'll tell you this: You'd be hard-pressed to find another man of the same caliber. (His wife is also exceptional, but I'll let him do all the bragging about her.)

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We were blessed to be under his shepherding for a while, and Sunday night we said goodbye as he is being called to a different ministry location. We held a great event in his (and his wife's) honor, thanking them and telling them how much they mean to us.

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Who knows? Maybe that little boy showed wisdom in that he openly expressed his appreciation in the pastor's regular, daily life. (By the way, October is "Pastor Appreciation Month.")

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Who do you appreciate? When and how do you intend to express it?

tanks a lot

Thanks for the kind sentiments. I feel much better today.

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Great news! S2 got baptized Sunday!! Plus, I was the one to dunk him! I was filled with all kinds of good-feeling mushy stuff inside. Since I couldn't take a picture AND do the dunking, I grabbed a shot from the inside of the booth, before going into the big tank. It was tempting to say Delmar's line from O Brother, Where Art Thou? "C'mon in boys, the water is fine."

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While we're on the subject of tanks, I tried to capture a decent shot of illuminated fish tanks at the pet store, but that was tougher than you might think. The room was not bright directly overhead, but there were plenty of distant lights that reflected off the glass. Plus some tanks were smudgy.

cornucopia

Speaking of cornycopia... Q) Why can't you take a turkey to church? A) Because they use such FOWL language

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I hope your Thanksgiving plans are a success. When's the cutoff time for thawing a gobbler? I'm sure that time is long gone. Hey, a lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store, but couldn't find one big enough for her family. She asked the stock boy, "Do these turkeys get any bigger?" The stock boy answered, "No ma'am, they're dead."

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I'm going to take a little Thanksgiving break. In the meantime, would you please leave a brief comment, describing something for which you are thankful.

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I'll start by saying that one of the most precious reasons for me to be thankful would be my dear wife. She's something else!

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Cornucopia image by: His Daveness

Craver Couple image taken by a friend... with my new camera.

holiday eating

Turkey Pants!

My mother trained me to always eat everything off my plate. To this day, I chomp down every single grain of rice as if she could come in the door and check whether my plate is thoroughly cleaned. That, combined with age-related issues…

An aside: I’m not getting fat; I’m becoming more fuel-efficient!

Okay, where were we? Oh, I just can’t put away as much food as I used to. And it’s hard when you want to make sure Aunt Frannie sees how much you like the candied yams, or glazed ham, or biscuits, or whatever she brought to our gathering. Then, there’s the loooooong wait while the ladies scurry about the kitchen laboring intensively while we have to have either a remote control in our hands or some kind of food or beverage. What else is there? Talk?? Pah-leeeze! Talking is for ninnies! Gimme that remote and let’s pretend we can only communicate by grunting! What’s that?? Someone else already has the remote control? Aargh! What else is there to do but… eat. Oh, there’s all kinds of snacks, and if you’re nice, the iron chef competition might let you try a sample of what’s being prepared, but even if you have to grab a box of Alpha-Bits, get something! ‘Cause if you don’t, you will be forced into a conversation and man, that’s hard work! I’d almost rather be cooking!

If I could do whatever I wanted, I’d hibernate ‘till dinnertime. My wife only let me do that once, but it was great! We went to visit my parents, and Mrs. Craver stayed in one room chatting with my mom. They get along great; it’s so nice. Meanwhile, I went in the other room to be with my dad. There was a game on telelvision. We uttered the obligatory greetings and there may have been a comment about the weather or how the grass is growing, but our appreciation for each other grew by leaps and bounds, when he got comfy in his recliner and I kicked my feet up on the couch and soon we were both engrossed in a snoring competition. Aaaah, sweet fellowship. Mom and Mrs. Craver made fun of us, and thought we were silly, but that’s okay.

So, the holiday day rolls around and there’s all this munching going on, and Mrs. Craver won’t let me unbuckle my belt and get more comfortable in front of “company.” Whatever. But last week, I saw a scene from Friends, where Joey discovered that maternity pants make great turkey pants. Hmmm... why not? TURKEY PANTS!!! How excellent! I think I need to go shopping now. Later, folks. And don’t forget to give thanks to the Lord.