Tag: thanksgiving

James HoganLeave a comment

I’m listening to the rain softly come down outside my window as I sit inside nice and warm and eat my peach yogurt in sweet contentment. Just got home from work a few minutes ago and so nice to unwind and relax…and I thought that it has been a while since I’ve done a proper update…so here we go!!

I wish I had time to write about everything that’s happened since my last update, but that would probably take all night and then I wouldn’t have any dinner and I would be very sad. So this will just cover this past week! In which…Thanksgiving happened!! This past summer, I was trying to decided if I would travel to Tampa or not for Thanksgiving, but I finally came to the conclusion that I would miss my family too much…and thus would have to come home(sorry Deanna!!). So on Wednesday night I drove from work to the airport and flew back to wonderful Florida!!! Dad and Maryanne and Laura picked me up at the airport and we went home!!! It was such an extreme joy seeing everyone again…and being able to relax at home and sleep in my old bed! Wednesday night I probably should have gone to bed early…but nah. Stayed up talking to the fam for a while and even after the parents went to bed, stayed up with Maryanne and Laura just talking and reliving old times…and enjoying the goodness of the LORD in giving me such a family of awesomeness!!

Next day(oh dear, we are going to be here for a while, aren’t we?) was Thanksgiving!! I slept in really late and then had coffee with the fam and pretty much just enjoyed the Tampa morning…and then came afternoon, in which we went over to Steve and Vickie’s for Thanksgiving!! As always, it was such sweet times being with them…we took a bunch of pictures early on(I think me and Maryanne and Laura MAY have gotten one or two good ones of the three of us…) and played with the dog in the backyard before having dinner. Dinner was abundant and glorious and supremely delicious: tender turkey, buttery potatoes, my favorite stuffing, black and green olives, mouth-watering asparagus….and the list goes on and on…and of course the decadent pumpkin and cherry and pecan pies came later. But of course, the food wasn’t the best part. The best part was being with my family and relaxing in the goodness of the LORD together. And truly, I can’t explain it any better than that.

Friday started off a bit early as I woke up and drove towards Dunedin….for what purpose you may ask?? Well, Shari was in town!! We knew we were near each other so we decided what could be more perfect than a breakfast together?? We met at First Watch and had the most awesome time hanging out…I have to say, I let my food linger way too long as it was so much more fun to catch up with Shar and just enjoy her company…I do so enjoy being able to talk and relax with good friends!! Sadly, time flowed by far too quickly and we soon had to part ways…as I had shopping to do! Well, not really. But I’d planned to take my sisters to the mall, so to the mall we went! I didn’t buy anything, but it was fun just to walk around and see the massive throng of people in pursuit of happiness. Actually, did I say fun? It was actually kind of depressing…just knowing that the pleasures of this world are so fleeting and can never truly satisfy the hole in our souls. And knowing that those who are blind chase after the joys of this world because they are lost and know nothing else. Or no One else. Because only Jesus can truly satisfy. And He satisfies truly!

And now to get back to the narrative, after our mall adventure, we all went and got a Christmas tree! That night was spent relaxing with the family and enjoying some yummy apple pie. We had to go to bed a bit early because the next day…an adventure was in store!!

The next morning, me and Maryanne got up early and made the journey to the land of the Gators…to Gainesville I returned!! Since it was the day of the Gators/Noles game, the traffic was horrendously slow…and it took us about four hours to make the normally two hour trip. Upon arriving, we drove around Gainesville picking up our tickets(yay Laura K for giving me hers!!!!!) and finally we entered the Swamp in eager anticipation of the game to come!! It was Tim Tebow’s last game and everyone was both mournful(over his loss) and exultant(over his magnificent career!). It always seems a bit weird to me how much praise and adulation people can heap onto one man(the flashbulbs from the cameras on his last drive…wow, it was like a horde of fireflies in a perfectly dark night!!) and ignore the God who made him so…but that’s how it is. Me and Maryanne sat in the RUF block where we found Cindy and later Dream and David and Katie!! Again, so amazingly awesome to see good friends after long separations!! The game was triumphant, as predicted(Gators 37, Noles 10!!) and while I enjoyed watching the game and enjoying the domination of the Gator Nation, I enjoyed even more being with Maryanne and friends. Truly, I wonder why I doubt the goodness of the LORD at times, when I see what amazing friends and family He has given to me on this earth!! And after bidding farewell to everyone in Gainesville, I made the drive back to Tampa, arriving home exhausted but happy.

And as I am now getting VERY hungry, Sunday sadly won’t get too long of a paragraph. Church was so sweet – again, seeing everyone and talking and sharing my life in Houston with the Tampa gang! After church, went home where Dad made pork chops and potatoes and green beans and we feasted on that as I enjoyed my last meal with my mom and dad for some time…

After some yard work and last-minute packing, I was off to the Tampa airport!!

It was kind of hard coming back to work on Monday morning, but I am truly grateful for my job. I just miss my family and friends…and though I sometimes wish they could all be in Houston with me…that’s not the way things are! And so I know there are awesome people and things here in Houston that I’ve been blessed with…and I rejoice. And I know that weather I’m in Tampa or Houston…I have no fear of the future or doubt for the present or shame of the past…because the LORD is my God. And He is always with me. And in that exultant note…farewell all!!! I hope all of your Thanksgivings were as blessed and awesomely magnificent as mine!!!!

Ok.

Dinner time.

James HoganLeave a comment

I am ever so thankful!

I’m back in Tampa right now and have had an absolutely lovely couple of days with the family, relaxing and enjoying being with the parents and sisters…such good times!!! I’ve had to do a little work on the side(oh, finance lectures!), but mostly I’ve just been resting here at home!! And today was ever so fun, waking up late(hey, 9am is pretty late for me now..) and then going over to Steve and Vickie’s for our Thanksgiving dinner!! We all miss Katharyn a lot(but at least we got to talk to her on the phone for a while!), but being with the parents and Steve and Vickie and Maryanne and Laura…joyous times indeed! From eating(turkey, potatoes, stuffing, olives, asparagus, cranberries, cherry pie, pecan pie, pumpkin pie….mmm) to talking about important matters while enjoying yummy coffee with dessert to playing games(Maryanne and Laura’s and mine homemade Star Wars game…YES) to singing the Hallelujah chorus in their driveway…God is so good to us!! And after we came home, did we go to bed? Nah, me and mom and Laura and Maryanne sang the Hallelujah chorus some more while Esther stood around and stared at us in amazement. Yeah, you had to be there.

I am ever so blessed!!

And then as I think about all that God has done for me the past four years and all that He provides me with now…my family AND all the amazing friends He’s given me…what would I do without Him?? So I am so thankful to Him and also to all of you that stick beside me no matter what and encourage me constantly…y’all are awesome. And that is truth.

And now as I need to go and get some good sleep(well, I may read a little of my Wheel of Time book first…hehehe)…I say farewell. Goodbye and goodnight!!

James HoganLeave a comment

I am overwhelmed by the goodness of the Lord
and of his faithfulness to his chosen ones.
There is truly no One greater than He who
provides so richly for his children and
puts His hand of protection upon
all those who seek His face.

How great is His lovingkindness!
Higher than the heavens and
wider than the east is from the west
is the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Oh, I am so undeservedly blessed
by the love of our most Holy Father.

Truly…those words are from my heart because today I’ve felt a flood of emotions. While I’m quite excited(!!) to be coming back to Florida soon, I’ve realized how much I’ve been blessed this summer. I remember getting ready to come to Texas and having no idea what this summer would be like. And indeed, I was a little nervous coming to Houston and not knowing anyone at all. I wondered if I’d be able to find a good church and good friends. But really, why did I doubt?? Where was my faith?? Because God is a good Father, He has blessed me so much more than I could have thought or imagined. He has given me a good church(Bethel w000t!)in which to worship and be blessed by the preaching of the Word. He has given me friends whom I could both encourage and be encouraged by. He has given me people who have welcomed me into their homes and ministered to me every Sunday. He has given me so much.

This was my last Sunday at church and I don’t really get emotional that often, but I felt that way today. Knowing it would be a long time(if even in this life) that I saw all of these people again…I think if I were the crying sort, I would have cried. I’m just so thankful to the God who despite all my wickedness and sinfulness and rebellion…who chooses to bless me as a beloved son. I am indeed blessed. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!!

James HoganLeave a comment

Thanksgiving…what a wonderful day!

It’s getting late now, so I don’t have time for a long entry. And I should probably clarify that by saying it’s late for my house(definitely not late by college standards!) Anyway, I’ve had a long, relaxing, fun filled day…

And I realized I haven’t posted in here in so long – I have been rather busy lately with exams, homework, projects and all, so pardon the lack of updates. I do have some stuff I wish I could write more about, but alas, it’s not to be. One of the more fun weekends lately I went up to South Carolina with Rob, Ryan, Brandon and Stephanie for the Gators game(my first away game I’ve been to!) and to visit James Walden and his family…such a great weekend! And we dominated, which made it even better. Speaking of great games, after the Gators/Noles game on Saturday, I’m going to come back to Tampa on Saturday night because on Sunday I’m going to the Redskins/Bucs game!!! I am SO excited!!! It’s going to be my first ever pro game, and thus my first ever Redskins game! It’s going to be a blast, even if it’s not as exciting as college games…

Anyways, I’ve been pretty stressed lately with all my classes…this semester I’ve had a pretty big workload. Hopefully I’ll get some A’s, but this is my first semester that I don’t have any “sure A’s” at this point in the semester. I had a rough four-hour programming exam Monday night(my computer died in the middle of it! I need to either get it fixed or get a new computer…can’t have it affecting my grade like that) and then a 2 hour Microprocessor lab exam the next morning at 7:30. And that’s just some of it. It’s just good to see the light at the end of the tunnel…and God is keeping me strong through it all.

And this has now become less of a Thanksgiving entry and more of an update entry! Which I guess isn’t a bad thing, but this entry was SUPPOSED to be about Thanksgiving! So basically today, I watched a few marketing lectures in the morning(yeah, it had to be done…) and then we all went over to the Phelps for Thanksgiving dinner! Steve’s parents were there, but Katharyn was missing, so that was sad. But she’ll be back for Christmas! Anyway, I had a great time relaxing, talking to the Phelps, watching some football(with Miracle of 34th Street thrown in during commercials) and of course…eating. I think I actually didn’t eat as much as during Thanksgivings past, but it was a marvelous feast! Turkey, potatoes, dressing, asparagus, and PIES. Lots and lots of pies. I had a piece of cherry pie, a piece of apple pie, a piece of pumpkin pie and a small piece of pecan pie…yes, it was amazing. But the best part of the day was just being with people I love and knowing we are all thankful for each other and God’s love and what He has done for us. What a wonderful treasure that is!!

I really should end this entry soon, or I may have to put it under a cut…nah. I’ve just been super-thankful lately, despite some trials I’ve gone through lately, God has uplifted me when I’ve been down and reminded me of His graces when I’ve been cheerful. While I still wonder about the future and what God has for me, He’s given me more of a peace and I am truly grateful for that. And since I do want to end this soon, I’ll say one more thing and just say that to all my friends that are reading this, I’m also so thankful to all of you that love me despite all my shortcomings…friends are a wonderful thing. Hope you all have had a wonderful Thanksgiving – God bless you all!!