thoughts and musings from this girls heart: November 2009

As I write, the table from our Thanksgiving meal has long since been cleared. Leftovers have been properly stored and await several meals to come; dishes have long ago been carried to our 3 deep sinks to be soaped, rinsed and sanitized under proper Camp kitchen procedures; and I think at least five pies and a giant tray of gingerbread sit on the other side of my office door on a piano-top turned counter. My Grandparents, Aunt and Uncle packed up several hours ago to make it back to Austin in time for the big Texas vs. A&M game. Dad unhitches the horses from the trailer and unloads blankets and canvas chairs from our horse-drawn ride down and around the lane. The girls are finishing up a ride on matching palominos in the arena. I fell asleep listening to Travis Cottrell singing praise and worship. It seemed fitting that he do so today. :) Thanksgiving. It’s been such a busy day. Yesterday I was denying its nearness. Tonight I ponder its memories. But at some point during thanksgiving, I always want to try to pause and take some time to be thankful. And to praise the Lord for His goodness! It’s been rolling around in my head now for a couple of days that I should post a blog entry with some of the things I am most thankful for in my twenty-five years of life. (note… I was going to try to list 25, but by the looks of the length of this, I’d be better off sticking to 10!) :)

1) My incredible family. Of course we’re not perfect, but we sure love each other. My parents have been so great to encourage me in every stage of life. To raise me in a way that is godly, honoring and pleasing to the Lord. My brother and sister-in-law in Dallas. They have many, many times been there for me on the other side of my phone, listening, encouraging, counseling. And the bond I have with my sisters is one I am sure is near un-matched. ;) They are always there for me, always listening… ready to be silly or serious, ready to laugh or cry with me, ready to offer their thoughts or just to sit with me and see what’s next. I SO love you. You know that!

2) My wonderful friends. I want to name all of you, but my list would be entirely too long and I’d probably still miss someone! - You all know who you are! You encourage me to be who I am and so much more! Whether you know it or not, the Lord is and has used you to keep me accountable in daily life. I’ve seen it over and over again as time passes. Thank you for that!

3) The ministry we have as Seale Sisters. I cannot tell you a time we have been sometimes more stressed before and yet so much more blessed after, then when we are taking a trip together to sing to, serve and worship our Savior with families and bodies of believers… sometimes non- all over Texas! What an honor it is!
4) The Camp ministry we have here at Camp Winchester. So much blessing is wrapped in serving. I cannot begin to tell you how much. I treasure the times we have with our girls at girls’ retreats, the dizzying heat and yet lifetimes of memories made at summer camp and the friendships found and relationships built in our family camps.
5) My King’s Daughters! God knows how much I love these girls! Precious, precious lives. Sweet times together in discipleship… learning and growing together. – because I am most definitely doing both of these things right along with ‘my’ girls!

6) The twenty-something trips I’ve taken into Houston on a Tuesday night for a Beth Moore Bible Study and time of um-matched worship on this wide of Heaven. I’ll always be thankful and always keep these memories as some of the sweetest. <3

7) My INcredible Pastor and his wife, Ellis and Jerrie McKenzie. What a Godly, Godly couple. Some of the most caring and loving people you’ll ever meet. I have counted on my Pastor so many times for prayer when a request burned on my heart, but I know he prays for me even daily. That is something to be most thankful for.

8) Our wonderful friend and voice teacher, Blake Northam. The nearly roll-on-the-floor laughter we’ve had over the silliest of things. The serious talks we’ve had, over more than music. The counsel he’s given; the music and harmonies he’s taught us. I love you so much Blake!

9) Times of struggle and testing that have shaped me to who I have become and am becoming. We all know how painful they are… but looking back, oh, how thankful I am.

10) My God, who’s allowed all of these people, all of these circumstances to come my way. He’s writing my story. He’s got a plan and a purpose in mind. I sincerely pray that I will never stand in the way!

And these are my Thanksgiving reflections!

Love & blessings to you all!
Hannah

We have been studying missions and countries around the world this semester at King’s Daughters, our twice a month girls’ ministry. (www.sealesisters.org/ kings_d_home) I had come across a notebook at a resale shop at some point last spring and became super excited to use it as a launching for the curriculum I am putting together and calling “Pray 4 Kids”. We’ve been talking about the environment and culture children around the world live in, eating some of their food, playing some of their games and making crafts specific to their country; learning more about them so that we can learn more about how we can pray for them. The notebook I found was written by Franklin Graham, president of the “Samaritan’s Purse” organization. It’s a prayer journal and he asks that we pray for these children that we’re learning about. But this Christmas I challenged our girls to become more involved. We decided to participate in “Operation Christmas Child”. This is a ministry branching out from the Samaritan’s Purse organization. Their focus is to deliver gift-filled shoe boxes and Christian literature to millions of children around the world each year. I thought it would be a huge thing for us, as the King’s Daughters club to come together and be able to send shoe boxes this Christmas with Operation Christmas Child to help make a difference in some child’s life. So last Tuesday we did just that. The girls had been collecting shoeboxes and items to fill the boxes for several weeks and during our meeting this past Tuesday we turned on the Christmas music, pulled out the wrapping paper and construction paper and prepared boxes for children around the world. That in itself for me was a beautiful thing... just seeing 13 girls' happy faces as they packed gifts and wrote cards for a child who needed a merrier Christmas. But the most precious thing was, just before we began, I gave instructions and then asked if we could all pray for what we were about to do. Pray for the boxes; pray for the OCC organization; pray for the children who would receive the boxes; pray that God would use us to bless other precious little ones. Thirteen little girls bowed their heads and a few of them volunteered to pray. My own throat was constricted with emotion. I am so grateful to live in a country and in a family where we can celebrate Jesus and His birthday. I am so thankful that I know about Jesus and I so want to be used to share Him. We all wanted each box to meet the needs of each child who recieved them and for them to see Jesus' love through ours. That was our prayer and still is.