Giving Thanks
Hello dear friends! I imagine many of you are busy preparing to travel or to host family for Thanksgiving. We too get to celebrate Thanksgiving with our family in the U.S. this year, and are so excited! We arrived in Minneapolis on November 12. Here are some quick highlights:
- Getting to spend time with each of our kids – especially with our granddaughter, Sylvie!
- Worshipping with our MN church family, Cornerstone Community Church. And Jonathan getting to preach on the Great Commission.
- Attending our family of church’s Pastors Conference in Orlando, FL with our friends from Cornerstone. Not only was this an amazing time of singing God’s praises together with over 800 pastors and wives, and being edified by great preaching, but it was also like a huge family reunion!
- Spending time with extended family – acting as judges for a “cousin bakeoff”, and celebrating Lilli and her twin sister, Vicki’s birthday with many friends and family.
- Enjoying unusually warm late Fall weather in MN at a local tree farm to cut down a Christmas tree with the family.
- Sitting in on a UNW choir practice preparing for their annual “Christmas at Northwestern” concert, which both Josh and Sophie are a part of, and getting to meet several of their friends.
- Getting the first snowfall of the season the day before Thanksgiving!
On Thursday we’ll sit down with all four of our kids and son-in-law, our granddaughter, Lilli’s dad, Jonathan’s mom and sister, and reflect on God’s goodness to us, and eat smoked turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, peach cobbler and more. What a blessing that will be!
We have so much to be grateful for. Fostering a thankful heart doesn’t mean we gloss over the difficulties, the disappointments, the heartache, sickness, and suffering. If we have breath in our lungs at this moment, we will be aware of some trial in our lives. As Christians, the reason we have to be thankful is God’s sovereignty over it all. It means that nothing comes into our lives randomly, without purpose. No part of our lives is wasted. No trial or messenger of Satan has the final word. How hopeful that is!
One of the seven shaping virtues of Sovereign Grace Church Nairobi is gratitude. Every good thing we experience in this life is a gracious gift of God (life, salvation, family, work, etc.). As we consider all that God has done for us by common grace and in Christ through the gospel, our response should be feelings and expressions of thanksgiving (Psalm 86:12, 1 Tim 6:17).
We’ve recently been reflecting on some specific ways we’ve experienced God’s faithfulness in our lives over the years that have caused us to respond with thanks and praise:
Jonathan
- The love and example of my parents, living out faithful involvement in the local church, for my dad’s hard work and selfless giving, for mom’s forbearance, never complaining, servant heart, and praying for her family. And for my sisters’ putting up with a brat like me!
- For Teens Encounter Christ 19 – where I indeed encountered Christ through so many. That weekend left an indelible mark on my life.
- For all those involved in the Salt Cellar in Atlantic, Iowa, especially Hal and Judy Stevenson. Only now do I realize how shaping those years were to my understanding of Christ and the gospel.
- To Connie and Jean Sorenson for pouring their lives into hundreds of young people at Okoboji Lutheran Bible Camp. While the denomination was moving away from the Bible, they remained committed to helping kids stand on Jesus and his unchanging truth. Many years as a camper and one as a counselor was enough to impact my spiritual life.
- The guys of Holstad House. While my overall experience of St. Olaf College was not necessarily faith-building, these guys helped to anchor my soul in Jesus and pushed me out of my comfort zone and into greater Christian community.
- For a conversation with Steffen Johnson one Saturday night in the Fall of 1992 when I lived near downtown Mpls. I was searching for a church to visit the next day and he told me about a guy who he heard at a recent missions conference that pastored a church nearby. The next morning I went to John Piper’s church, was given a free copy of Desiring God, and had my view of God’s glory exponentially expanded! That morning definitely set a course for our lives we are still on today!
- Being introduced to a cute girl from Africa at St. Olaf College in MN, and God bringing her to California (while I was attending Fuller Seminary) for us to actually get to know each other. She’s my friend, my lover, my helper, my amazing partner in ministry. SGC Nairobi wouldn’t be what it is without her, and neither would I.
- For an invitation to join a Sovereign Grace church plant in Stillwater, MN with no guarantee of employment. Another invitation a year later took our family to Maryland for ten months to attend Pastors College. Life-changing community. I started to understand what it meant to apply the gospel to every area of life. But it was in the midst of some very difficult years to follow that the penny actually dropped – and the gospel-centered life moved from slogan to reality.
- For a conversation at a conference in 2022 where we learned about the Sovereign Grace Church in Ethiopia. That led to a short trip to Addis Ababa that December where we met Brian and Julia Kiama and the dream of planting Sovereign Grace Church Nairobi was born!
Lilli
- The impactful legacy of 3 generations of missionaries to Madagascar (in my family), and their perseverance through suffering… for the sake of the joyful spread of the gospel and the common good.
- Born and raised in a Christian home and Christian boarding school, shepherded and taught about the love of Jesus for as long as I can remember.
- The love and example of my parents, living sacrificially on the mission field… for God’s grace they received that brought about obedience of faith for the sake of Jesus’ name among the Malagasy people.
- The blessing of a twin sister, Vicki, who was a constant comforting, loving presence in my life through all my years and even now, despite the many miles that separate us. The blessing of two older siblings, Glenn and Cindy, who have consistently communicated their love for me and for Jesus. The blessing of a godly friend, Rebekah, who faithfully and joyfully walked through life with me, showing me the unconditional love of Jesus, through all the ups and downs of middle school and high school.
- God bringing us to Bethlehem Baptist Church 30 years ago, where God deepened my love for Him and trust of Him through giving me more spiritual understanding about His character, His precious gospel, and the worth and greatness of His glory, under the preaching of John Piper.
- The blessing of a godly husband who consistently points me to Jesus, and the blessing of 4 wonderful children, son-in-law, and granddaughter! How can we be this old??!! 😮😀
- God bringing us to Kenya and giving us the blessing of serving missionary families for 7 years and now the great blessing of serving at Sovereign Grace Church Nairobi!
Thanks to Jesus, our great Savior and Treasure! And thanks to all of you – for your prayers, finances, notes of encouragement, visits, and innumerable ways you provide practical help! All glory to God!
More praise and prayer items here.
