The Gentrys

Well.....this is the first time I have ever posted on here, but I read a devotion this morning from a friend who is on a year long mission trip to Paris. He writes a devotion every week and emails it out and I thought this one was perfect for Thanksgiving Day. Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.


“…in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. “1 Thessalonians 5:18

When you are studying a new language, you begin to notice every single word that you try to say. With me, I have begun to think more in terms of ideas with English and French words popping into my head here and there thus making me all mixed up. However, this does make one think more about language and the process of communication, and this served me well when I approached this verse.There is one little word in this verse that can sneak by you if you don’t pay attention. It is not a short word, but it can be overlooked. It is this word “everything.” Christians are supposed to give thanks. Of course! We should definitely give thanks. That should go without saying. God has given us so much, we should definitely give thanks. In fact, we have an entire holiday set up to do this called Thanksgiving…Stop. I left out the word. The period should not come after “Christians are supposed to give thanks.” The sentence ought to read, “Christians are supposed to give thanks in everything.” That changes it. That makes it much more radical, much more bold. This changed Thanksgiving from something everyone can do to something that only a Christian can do.This is an intense verse because of what the word “everything” means. There is never a thing that is not included in everything. Things happen to you. Sometimes we call those things good. Sometimes we call those things bad. Regardless of what we call them, we are to give thanks to God for those things, because those things are included under the heading of “everything.”You have had a bad week. Give thanks. Your week has been the best you have ever had. Give thanks. You have a huge family to celebrate Thanksgiving with. Give thanks. You will celebrate Thanksgiving alone. Give thanks. You have enough food to feed an army this week. Give thanks. You go to bed hungry on Thanksgiving. Give thanks. Give thanks in all things, in everything. Why? Because you can know that in all things, God is working for the good of those who love him.Thanksgiving is an exercise in trusting God. It is an opportunity to do something the world cannot do. It is an opportunity to give thanks in everything. No evil force can overpower you when you thank God for what He will do with the worst it can do. Such a person could only be hoping in the eternal. This Thanksgiving, don’t forget to name the hard times you have had this past year, and thank God for them.

We had a beautiful view of the Charles River from the balcony of our hotel room.

After we arrived, we walked a few miles to Harvard to have lunch and explore.

On our way back from the conference one day...it was sooooo cold crossing the bridge!

Later in the week, we walked the Freedom Trail. It hits all of the historic places in the city and is marked by two rows of bricks in the sidewalk.

Phil at the beginning of the Freedom Trail in Boston Commons.

Throughout the whole walk, Phil continued to repeat the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere...yes he still remembers the whole thing!

On a tour of the USS Constitution.

My favorite place in Boston - The Public Gardens. It was beautiful! These are the ducklings from the famous Boston book "Make Way for Ducklings" - I read it as a child and bought it as our souvenir from the trip.

We were so happy to get to spend some time with our friends that moved up to Boston! They took us to the Harvard vs. Yale game...it was an experience we won't forget!

Our trip was wonderful...by far the best week of "work" I've ever had!

This family is absolutely precious and I was so excited about being able to spend the afternoon with them! My sister babysat for these quadruplets all throughout her undergrad years here and they are too cute! I haven't had time to retouch any of these yet, because I've been busy packing for my trip, but I wanted to post a few before we left since we may not be able to post again for a week or two. Here are a few of my favorites:

Aren't they precious?! More to come once I edit. Have a great week! I'm off to Boston!

I am heading to Boston next week for work so it will probably be awhile before I can post again. Have a great week!

Happy Happy Birthday Amy! Hope your day is wonderful! We are so blessed with your friendship!!!

Brant, I am so sorry I forgot to wish you a happy birthday on the blog (I did call though!)...I've added it in the post below!

Look at the detail in that saddle! The pictures really don't do it justice! It was amazing! They are custom made so if you want one built especially for you, I'll get you in touch with him. The only down side is because they are so well built, each one takes approximately 40 hours to build, they cost $600!

Here is the kitchen with half the floors replaced.

And the living room with new subfloor.

And finally, I had to post this, we actually have a toilet on our front porch (thankfully it is more to the side and you can't see our house from the road!) I thought, "You might be a redneck if..." Oh goodness! This has got to get back inside asap! We have to install the tile in the bathrooms before it can go back in so we need to get to work on that!

Happy 25th Birthday to my absolutely perfect, completely wonderful, adorable husband! This picture was from last year when we spent his birthday working at our house in the yard and this weekend we were doing the same thing! It's hard to believe by his next birthday we will have been living there for 6 months!

I won't do a long tribute this time, but Phil, you know I love you with all of my heart and I hope I've been able to make your birthday special! I am so blessed God brought us together and I pray he gives us 75+ more birthdays to share together!

I am playing with some different effects so I may post some more later. Sadly I only have photoshop at work right now and I don' t have much time to use it there. Hopefully soon we will be able to get it at home (hint hint Phil)!

I love the open shelf and the subway tile. Also love the contrasting upper and lower cabinet colors.

Great idea to move those cabinets up to the height of the ceiling...unfortunately I am so short I think I would have to have a step ladder to reach them!

This butcher block is beautiful! I would love to have that on our island...wonder how hard that would be to make myself???

I LOVE the fabric behind the glass doors and that chalk board is precious! Cool light fixtures too!

This is a lovely kitchen makeover! Update on our house - we are headed there this weekend and the contractor said he should be working on the kitchen floors by Friday. I'll be sure to take pictures to post!

I know there are many who read this blog who may have different political opinions than I do and I do not want to debate them here, but my heart is burdened by the importance of this election and the state of our nation. My heart is heavy as I think about what a different world we may live in only a few years from now, what a different world we are bringing our children to live in.

Our Father tells us not to worry that he is in control, this is true, but it does not give us an excuse for being lazy. "Matthew 6:33-34 "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today." He tells us not to worry, but he also tells us in that verse to seek HIS kingdom. He calls Christians to pray for our nation in 2 Chronicles 7:14 "If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land." I truly believe Christians, myself included, have an obligation to pray for our nation and I am the first to admit I have failed to pray as I should.

As it has gotten closer and closer to the election and today especially as I realized and tomorrow it will be here, I have felt the Holy Spirit nudging me to pray. Of course, my day at work was swamped and I ended up working late and have to leave in a few minutes to be gone for the rest of the night, but I was determined to post my heart before it was too late. I doubt this blog has a huge audience, but I do believe with all my heart that the Lord hears the prayers of his people. Please encourage your Christian friends to join us in prayer.

If you will, before you go to bed tonight and throughout the day tomorrow, be in prayer for these things:

1. Those running for office nationally:
Instead of praying for specific candidates or political parties, pray that the person of righteousness, the person of God's choosing, would be selected in every congressional district, every senate race and for the office of President.
"Godliness makes a nation great, but sin is a disgrace to any people." Proverbs 14:34

2. Those running for office at the state and local level:
Pray that the person of righteousness, the person of God's choosing, would be selected in every elected office at the state and local levels.
"When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan." Proverbs 29:2

3. Those voting:
Pray that each person voting will be convicted to vote for the person of righteousness, the person of God's choosing, in each elected office and in each ballot initiative. Pray for God's Presence to overshadow each person as they make their decision.
"The Spirit of the Lord will be upon him – the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord – and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears." Isaiah 11:2-3

4. Those involved in the election process:
Pray that every official involved in the election process would serve with honesty and integrity of heart.
"The Lord abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight." Proverbs 11:1

5. Those praying:
Pray that God would empower intercessors and people across the nation and around the world to call out to Him day and night in extraordinary prayer during this season.
"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a Spirit of grace and supplication." Zechariah 12:10

6. The Church:
Pray that the Church would be fully awakened, engaged and empowered during this critical season. Pray that we would understand the urgency and importance of this election and the implications for the advancement of God's purposes in our nation and around the world.
"The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this." Isaiah 9:7

7. Our nation:
Pray that God's plans and purposes for our nation would be established during this election season. Pray that we would be a nation who follows God and is a blessing to the nations of the earth.
"Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Matthew 6:10

I truly believe if Christians will pray, He will hear our prayers. Below is a story I received in an e-mail today that also included the above prayer points. It is proof that prayer works!

Patrick Joshua is the Director of the National Prayer Network and a father figure to the prayer movement in India. Because of a special burden for our nation, he visited the United States twice in recent months, including a trip to Houston. Patrick believes the U.S. is at a very critical time in history, the impact of which will be felt around the world.

During his visits, Patrick told the story of God's intervention in India in 2004, in response to the fervent, united prayers of His people. At that time, political forces had mobilized with the intention of turning their nation in a direction that would make it almost impossible for Christians to share or practice their faith. Those forces had the momentum and the numbers as the Christian population in India is a minority – by some estimates representing only 6% of the 1.1 billion people in the nation.

The situation was desperate. Many thought it was impossible. So they turned to the God of the impossible and began to pray. In cities and states across their nation, a movement of united, fervent prayer arose, but with a unique focus. They weren't praying for particular candidates or political parties. Instead they were praying for the person of righteousness, the person of God's choosing, to be elected in every elected office.

Right up until the day of the election every poll and pundit predicted the election would be a landslide for those who were opposed to the gospel. When the votes were counted, however, the results revealed a different story. In district after district those candidates and political allies who opposed the gospel had been soundly defeated. At a national level they were out of power. Needless to say the press and the pundits were stunned. No one saw it coming.

So what happened? It seems God heard the cries of His people and touched the hearts of the voters as they went into the voting booths. Some believe a corporate conviction came upon the people and they indeed voted for the person of righteous, the person of God's choosing. This was seen most dramatically in the states and regions where prayer was the most concentrated and fervent. In one of those states, laws that restricted the advance of the gospel were immediately repealed.

While our situation is certainly different, Patrick believes we are at a critical crossroad. He has encouraged us to follow a similar pattern in prayer for our upcoming election (see above).

May God Bless Our Nation!