Before I start writing about our sixth year of hosting the Dare Challenge men for Thanksgiving, let’s start with a bit of painting-the-kitchen-induced messiness. Because we just can’t truly appreciate a lovely space until we first see it in all of its disarray.
Some of these photos are taken about twenty-four hours before our Thanksgiving guests were to arrive. Doesn’t it just give you the heebies (as well as the jeebies) to look at this?
One problem we ran into during our prep time was that after the stove had been pulled out for painting, it turned out to be impossible to get it pushed back in. I wasn’t overly excited about that thought of having a protruding stove in my Thanksgiving kitchen.
Thankfully, Steve is a creative thinker. He ascertained that the little feet on the bottom of the stove had gotten hung up on the linoleum and that no amount of pushing, puffing and/or huffing was going to budge it.
So he gave it some thought and went to the garage and grabbed a car jack.
He put the jack under the stove, raised it up, and slid it in as nicely as you please.
Not only did I have a creatively thinking husband, I also had a helpful, home-from-college daughter. With all the painting chaos, I would never have gotten everything done if she hadn’t been here. Just when I would start to sag under a new wave of overwhelm-ment, she would jump in and lend a hand. Love my girl!
The day before Thanksgiving, she whipped up her famous S’More Cake.
Midway through the S’Moring, giggles overtook her.
Nice to have a giggling gal on the premises.
Thursday morning was chock full of a hundred tasks, from dusting the chairs . . .
to making lists . . .
to cutting the lemons . . .
to arranging the place mats in preparation for each dish that would arrive. (Our wonderful church people did most of the cooking and dropped food off all morning.)
Sarah put on her grandest gesture . . .
while Tom (a local police officer) did the candle-lighting honors.
At last, the moment we had been preparing for arrived and the Dare Challenge guys pulled up in their van.
When they arrived, we had been in the process of trying to carve two turkeys and a ham. As it turned out, one of the guys was a chef and was more than happy to take over the carving duties. And we were only too happy to let him!
The men were pretty wide-eyed over the spread of food that awaited them.
They were also a little wide-eyed when they saw this unexpected guest arrive on the scene.
Steve (the unexpected guest), and Tom (the aforementioned candle-lighting police officer) wandered around a few minutes in their finery, much to everyone’s amusement.
And then it was time to pray over the meal . . .
and dig in.
The blond lady (Misty) is the wife of another one of our town’s police officers. (He is hidden behind the chandelier.)
The blue tape on the floor is an arrow that Steve helpfully made to guide the traffic flow. Everyone got a kick out of the arrows.
Misty and Steve were delighted to find that they were both wearing happy socks and did some happy sock comparing and congratulating of their fellow happy sock wearer.
The afternoon was filled with conversation . . .
and fun.
One of the younger guys had tears in his eyes as he thanked Steve and me several times for having them all over. Another man told us that this was the first Thanksgiving he had ever spent away from his daughter. Gratitude and grief . . . all melded together in a day of tears and laughter.
Over the six years we have been hosting Dare Challenge for Thanksgiving, approximately seventy-five men have walked through our door and found a place at our table, all of them in one of the most difficult seasons of their lives. It is such a joy to provide a peaceful place where they can find rest, beauty, laughter, and acceptance.
I’m so thankful for this Thanksgiving . . . and so thankful for the special men we got to share it with.
Here are a few posts from past Dare Challenge Thanksgivings.
Dare Challenge Thanksgiving 2015
Dare Challenge Thanksgiving 2013 (Part 2)
Note: I just want to say that I am grateful to have these pictures to post today because I almost lost them all.
Steve upgraded my phone on Friday and on Saturday afternoon, when I finally had a chance to look at the photo album on my new phone, I realized that the pictures from Thanksgiving had not transferred over.
We had traded my old phone in and I knew that the salesperson at Verizon was planning on deleting everything from it. I jumped in my car and drove to the store and told them my story.
The saleswoman Steve had worked with was at lunch and they weren’t sure if she already wiped my phone. Another salesperson located my old phone and turned it on. (I was holding my breath during the whole boot up time.) Turns out the store had been so busy, they hadn’t had a chance to do anything with my phone and the pictures were still there. I was ever so thankful!
quite lovely…even Billy Bob!
Mrs. Pam,
Yeah, that Billy Bob fella has a way of showing up at a lot of Smith functions. We may just have to adopt him. 🙂
The kitchen painting turned out great, much nicer than the dark yellow! You sure got a lot done in a short amount of time.
So generous of you to host Thanksgiving dinner for the Dare Challenge members. I’m sure they appreciate it very much as you have such a warm and welcoming family.
Kari,
Yeah, that dark yellow had been bugging us for a long, long time! I love yellow, but not with all that gray.
We love our Dare Challenge guys; we are doing our best to encourage them on every step of their path toward freedom from addiction.
I really like the new paint color!! Nice choice.
It really warms my heart to see these men being taken in, ministered to and loved by your family. I can only imagine the feeling YOU get from doing this. You are such a blessing to them! The meal looked so good and everyone looks right at home. It is obvious that they are comfortable in your home…well done, host and hostess! 🙂
LeeAnne,
Thanks for noticing the paint color; it goes a lot better with the gray floor and countertops than the bright yellow did.
I’m never sure every year who gets blessed more at those dinners–the guys or us! It definitely goes both ways.
I cry each time I read a Dare Challenge Thanksgiving post. My heart is so full, it just spills out of my eyes! I can imagine what that day of friendship means to the men. I can also imagine how full your hearts must be after providing a love, welcome, and refreshment. It’s a beautiful tradition!
Courtney,
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment with all that you have going on with that darling girl of yours. You are a blessing to us through your long distance friendship; thank you for your words of encouragement.
Prayers and hugs to your and your sweet family.
What a blessing your family has been to these men – that they might have a home to go to on Thanksgiving during this trying time of their lives. Praying that all these men are able to kick the addictions that have placed them at Dare Challenge.
Phyllis,
I always think about how I would feel if someone did that sort of thing for Nathan if he was in that situation. Each of those guys has a mama!
Thanks for your encouragement.
What a beautiful tradition!
Elizabeth,
Yes, and it’s definitely a tradition that we love!
I’ve been waiting for this post. When I saw it was up, I ran and took my nighttime shower, then got comfortable to enjoy your words and pictures. It looks like a wonderful time was had by everyone.
Lesley,
Your comment just made my whole morning.
I occasionally wonder if all my writings and ramblings are meaningful to anyone and it meant so much to me that you look forward to reading the Thanksgiving post enough to delay reading it until you were all comfy. 🙂 Thank you for that.
I always look forward to your Dare dinner. So glad you are able to continue the tradition.
Margie,
It is truly our joy and we plan on continuing it as long as we can!
You and your family are such a blessing to others. I need some help here getting motivated to clean, throw away and generally have a neater surroundings. Glad it was a great Thanksgiving.
Ann,
Clean, throw away, neaten. You have great goals and I have no doubt you will reach them! There really is something mood-lifting about looking around and seeing order. I didn’t realize how much I loved order until my house was in such a mess. 🙂
Looks like it went perfectly! How is everyone feeling? How’s Sarah?
Jodi,
We are all feeling well and recovered from our bouts of illness. Sarah is doing great; drove herself back to school yesterday but will be home in two weeks for almost a whole month!
Oh, and you kitchen looks great and can I borrow Steve? 🙂
I look forward to this post every year. So glad you got all your pictures back and these men are very blessed to have you such an amazing community behind them. The food looked wonderful.
Mel,
Thanks for looking forward to this post!
And yes, the food was wonderful and yes, I’ll send Steve right over. Get your to do list ready! 🙂
You Smiths are amazing. I love how you invest in the lives of people in so many ways. So proud if you! The meal looked beautiful and yummy!
Deb,
I was so thankful for all the people who did the cooking and I only had to host. I would never have made it, otherwise!
It is truly our joy to reach out to these men; they are always so appreciative of every little thing and never fail to help with clean up.
Good Times!!
Steve,
Yes, they were. I’m just grateful we got it all together in time! 🙂