Howdy folks!
As my devoted fans (all 6-7 of you) (sorry, had to do it), I know you raced to your inboxes this morning for my Newsletter! I am glad you are here!
📌 In This Edition…
- Hebrew Thanksgiving??: With a twist
- Mile and Inch Stones: Izzie is FOUR
- Writing Update: We are on schedule!
- Book Talk: Tis the Season for books and blankets!
🕊 Yādāh: The Thanksgiving Confession
No, my Thanksgiving confession is not that I ate my meal in my sweat pants this year…🤫
Most of us hear “thanksgiving” and think of pumpkin pie, turkey, and saying something we are grateful for around the table. But in Hebrew, to give thanks—yādāh—means something far more nuanced and powerful. (Yes, I just learned about this word yesterday, so I have scrapped my entire plan for this newsletter last minute, because it’s just too fitting not to include it in my November issue! So buckle up!)
The Hebrew verb yādāh (יָדָה) comes from yād, meaning “hand.” It literally means to extend the hand, to throw out the hand in praise or confession. It’s thanksgiving you can see—a lifting of hands, a physical act of openness, surrender, and trust.
The word appears in the Old Testament over 100 times—when people worship, when they confess, and even when they face battles. When Israel gives thanks, that thanksgiving often takes the form of confession—naming what is true, in detail, about what God has done and continues to do for His people.
In Hebrew thought, gratitude isn’t merely saying “thank you.” It’s declaring, “This is who You are, and this is what You’ve done for us.”
Psalm 136 captures this beautifully. It is a thanksgiving hymn that opens with yādāh—“Give thanks to Yahweh, for He is good; His steadfast love endures forever.” Four times the psalmist calls us to give thanks. Throughout the Psalm, we’re invited to remember: God who created, God who delivered, and God who provides. Thanksgiving, in the Hebrew sense, is storytelling—a litany of God’s faithfulness past and present. It is to confess who He is and what He has done for us. And, because His steadfast love endures forever, we know we can trust Him with our future.
Yādāh is a word that holds both joy and honesty—praise and confession. It is an embodied response that acknowledges God in the middle of the mess by saying, I acknowledge who You are…and who I am. It is a true thanksgiving that comes from a place of trust, not transaction. You do not yādāh because you’ve received everything you wanted or because everything is going exactly as you hoped or planned. Yādāh is the willful surrender of everything you are or everything you hoped—especially in times when life does not make sense. You thank God before the victory, not just after it—you give thanks in the storm, not just when the sky clears.
When was the last time you read the story of Jehoshaphat? If your answer to that question is anything other than, ‘yesterday,’ do yourself a favor and go back and re-read 2 Chronicles 20.
Jehoshaphat, the fourth King of Judah, was having a hard time. A vast coalition of armies was on its way to his doorstep to wage war against him and his people. (Since it’s 10:30pm, I am forcing myself to keep it straight forward, but this is an awesome story. Which… you already know because you just finished re-reading it…riiiight??) In summation, he leads a national day of prayer and fasting. The people came from every town in Judah to seek help from the Lord.
Fine, let me just give it to you (v5): He starts with confession, though phrases it as a question (probably because he was scared enough to wet his ceremonial robes). “Are you not the God who is in heaven?” Then he starts finding a flow (v6), “You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.” He keeps this smooth, let-me-just-remind-you-in-case-you-forgot thing going—”did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land…and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?” Definitely playing dumb…
He nails the ending though (v 12), “Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
Then the Spirit of the Lord came on a prophet and this is what he said (v 15-17), “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s… Tomorrow march down against them… You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you… Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.” They immediately fall on their faces in worship before the Lord. Then some Levites stood up and praised the Lord “with a very loud voice.” (Fantastic detail).
So, early in the morning, they set out. They hadn’t won yet, they faced an impossible battle ahead of them—in the middle of their fear and anxiety and unknown, they kept their eyes on God. This is the very essence of yādāh. Verse 21, “Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army.”
And, yes, their song was—“Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.”
Yādāh.
When they arrived, all of their enemies had perished, no one had escaped. The battle belongs to the Lord.
(That’s why yādāh belongs in November.)
🪼 Mile and Inch Stones
I recently saw a mom on Facebook celebrating the “inchstones” of her medically fragile child—a beautiful term for the tiny but hard-won victories along the journey. Katie shared something similar a few months back in a post from August. She said that in dentistry they like to say, “millimeters are miles,” but in caregiving, it’s more like, “milestones are millistones, and millistones are miles.” Setting aside the blatant disregard for unit conversions—and sauntering between the metric and imperial systems with a casual nonchalance that gives me mild heart palpitations—the concept is a good one! (Speaking of the imperial system, watch this actual video of George Washington and his vision for weights and measures of our Great Nation! 😂)
The smallest new accomplishment for Izzie is a BIG deal. Even our girls can recognize these remarkable new feats and skills. I remember Addie excitedly pointing out a few years ago, “Look! I just saw Izzie pass a toy from one hand to the other! Good job, Izzie!!”
This month, however, we celebrated a MILESTONE! Izzie turned FOUR!
When we were given her diagnosis a few weeks after delivery and she was a 4 pound newborn on a nasogastric feeding tube, oxygen support and seizure meds, it was honestly impossible to even imagine this moment. You receive a crushing diagnosis of trisomy 18 and you read about it and you will see through tear-filled eyes that 90-95% with that diagnosis do not reach their first birthday—and of the 5-10% who do, only a handful make it into their teen and adult years. I remember being completely overwhelmed and broken by the thought—standing over a tiny, perfect pink ball in a NICU incubator bed—”I am going to outlive my child.” When life is that fragile, you just can’t take any day for granted. Every moment with Izzie is a priceless gift.
We celebrated her life by taking her to the aquarium outside of Cincinnati. She seemed to really enjoy all the lights and colors and motion. We were pushing her around with her Tobii eye gaze communication device, she kept saying, “jellyfish, jellyfish, octopus, crab.” It seems like she got the idea!
✒ Writing Update
At the beginning of the month, I met with a writing coach—and honestly, it was amazing. I’d been feeling stuck since May, ever since realizing I needed to completely rethink what I thought I was going to write about. I had all these puzzle pieces—ideas, scenes, fragments—but no clear way to fit them all together. Then, in just one hour with my coach, it all clicked. The missing center piece of the puzzle finally came into view, my transformational tale—the true arc of my story. And now, I can’t wait to share it with you.
BUT since I spent too much time on yādāh, I am going to keep a lid on this part for now. However, I believe the next time I find your inbox, I will have an exciting book cover design to reveal to you!
📚 Book Talk
Get cozy and read one (or all!) of these books this December!
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
(Katie says I always say this in book reviews…) But THIS book is stunning! The breadth and scope of the story is simply magnificent. It’s a historical fiction novel set in occupied France during World War II. This imaginative and intricately crafted novel follows a blind French girl and a German boy whose lives intersect amid the devastation and horrors of war. Told in short, punchy yet elegant chapters, it explores the resilience of the human spirit and the contradictory power of technology—to connect and to destroy. It’s gripping—an instant classic (oh, and also won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2015).
The Christmas Pig by J.K. Rowling
Speaking of classics—this is IT. From the mind of one of the GOATs of Storytelling, J.K. Rowling, comes the story of Jack. With the help of a little Christmas Eve magic, he and the Christmas Pig descend into the world of lost and broken things, in a desperate attempt to find and rescue one of Jack’s most treasured possessions and his most faithful friend, DP, before time runs out and all hope is lost. It’s whimsical and clever and a must if you have kids in the house this holiday season. Get this book and read it to them this month—you all will not be disappointed as you flip chapter after chapter!
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
In light of our recent visit to the Newport Aquarium for Izzie’s 4th Birthday (!!) a few weeks ago, I couldn’t help but include this debut novel from Shelby Van Pelt. It is a moving and unlikely story of a friendship that develops between an aquarium custodian and the curmudgeonly Marcellus, a Giant Pacific Octopus. There is a mystery that slowly unfolds as Marcellus musters every trick he can think of in order to communicate the truth to his friend before it’s too late.
One Life by Stan Key
This line in the book’s forward is a perfect way to start this book talk: “Stan Key is my favorite living non-famous preacher. Perhaps you never heard of him, which is a huge compliment for Stan.” Through Katie’s work at CMDA, she has become acquainted with Stan and his sermons—specifically on the gospel of Jesus—a message that is “simply profound and profoundly simple.” Jesus. Is. Lord. That’s it. This book will help you discover the way of Jesus in a world that is rife with noise and chaos. Stan shines a light on a path that cuts through the cacophony and sets up a choice for the reader using Psalm 1 as the backdrop: Will I walk in the path of the righteous, or will I walk in the path of the wicked? You will not be disappointed if you buy this book and use it to stuff your own stocking this year.
Beloved by Francis Chan
Francis Chan is the Man. It’s true, because it rhymes. This book is all about abiding in the love of God—how in doing so, we are freed from insecurity [of God’s love—”am I doing enough for God to love me?”]. Once we understand and rest in this identity, we will experience transformation that “leads us into a lifetime of joyful, worshipful obedience.” Read this book with plenty of space to meditate as you go along. It will be well worth your time.
Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools by Tyler Staton
I have struggled with the idea of prayer for most of my life. It often felt like God would do whatever He was going to do, regardless of what I prayed. After all, He already knows what I need (even if it’s not what I think I need)—so who am I to ask? Looking back, I realize much of that came from a deep misunderstanding of what prayer truly is. This book is giving voice to those long-held doubts and disappointments. I’m still early in the book, but I can already sense its potential to reshape my faith and invite me into a new posture of prayer—one that draws me closer to God as I discover this powerful and unexpected gift (once I work through my roadblocks, that is!).
🌾 Bonus Yādāh Material
Maybe you are facing an impossible battle, like Jehoshaphat. Maybe you are fighting for your health or for your marriage or for financial stability. Maybe you are in a season of waiting or grief or loss.
Well guess what, Yahweh is the same yesterday, today, and forever. “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this [circumstance]. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.”
Find a quiet space this week—maybe early in the morning before the house wakes, or in the evening as the day winds down. Take a slow breath, lift your hands, and speak the following words aloud.
Let your body lead your soul: when your hands open, imagine releasing the things you’ve been clinging to. When you lift them, imagine receiving grace for what’s ahead.
Repeat it daily if you can. Not as a performance, but as a practice—a way of remembering the One who goes before you. The Lord will be with you.
Lord, I yādāh You.
I lift my hands in surrender—
releasing what I cannot control,
and resting in Your steadfast love that endures forever.
You are good, even when I cannot see the good yet.
You are my refuge when fear befalls me,
my peace when the storm surrounds me,
my strength when I am weak,
and my shepherd when I am lost in the valley.
You have been faithful through generations,
and You will be faithful still.
Blessed be the Name of the LORD.
With gratitude,
David
DAVID SCOT MUSSER 