A Thankful Heart

I need to take a moment to tell the things I am thankful for. It's easy to overlook Thanksgiving in Bangkok and all the good that comes with it, like the wonderful food :), the way your heart is pulled toward home and being with family and good friends, and how you are reminded of all of God's goodness. Here I sit in my short sleeved shirt and shorts with the windows open (in the winter season) feeling almost comfortable, but missing the nostalgia of cozy winters and turkey dinners and my family.

So here is are a few of the things I am most thankful for:

Pun. 5 years of marriage and 3 children and he is still the one person I most want to be with...
Helen. She constantly challenges me and has made me more aware of my need for God in the process of training her. She is bright and beautiful to me.
Daniel. He is a tenderhearted soul and I can never resist him when he smiles at me with his dimples.
Sam. How I thank God for his safe delivery and him being healthy. I never tire of smelling his new born skin.
A New Church family. It is truly magnificent how God's people can bond together so quickly.
An Old Church family. They are still an encouragement to me so far away.
A New family. Although I have been married for over 5 years, it is just in the last year that I have begun to make relationships with my husbands family. I pray for stronger deeper friendships with them.
A New Country. A place to learn anew to depend on God.
A New House. A place to make a refuge for my family from the world.
God's Saving Grace. These were part of the verses I read Thanksgiving morning.

I Corinthians 6:9-11

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexual
nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

My heart is full of thanks for His forgiveness...

What are you thankful for?

Praise Him for a BOY!

Boys rule!!! This is Pun blogging in for Merri.

Praise be to God who answered our prayers for a safe delivery.
The labor took 13 hours, but the last part went really fast.
He weighs 8 lbs 14 oz and 21 inches long.

Meet Samuel Ian Panthaworn - Samuel means "His name is God" and Ian means "God forgives"


Thank you all so much for your prayers. We'll post another update soon.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Yesterday was Pun's birthday. We kept it pretty simple this year. The kids and I painted this sign (thanks again Dave and Debbie for the paper--we haven't even made a dent in it and have had hours of fun!) and then we each made a card telling him why we love him! A simple but sweet day celebrating Daddy!

Our House is Finished!!

I have been feeling like I should have posted something more by now, but really all we have been doing is waiting and waiting...waiting for this baby to be born, waiting for our house to be finished so we can move in. We haven't been able to go check the progress for three weeks so when Pun went out on his lunch break yesterday, he got quite a surprise. It is basically finished, with full gardening and a lawn around the outside! As he walked through he was impressed by the workmanship and eye to detail that was given. Only a few minor problems were spotted! To say we are excited is an understatement!! But we will still wait to move in until the first of December. As soon as we can get out there and get some pictures we will post them, but we'll post just 1 photo here from Pun's cell phone. So for now, we are praising God for such a wonderful gift of a beautiful new house and waiting for a precious new little life.

Shoppers Beware (of train)!

This is actual footage of an outdoor market in Bangkok. Pun says it is rent free!