Almost three years ago, as a thank you to those who showed an outpouring of love during the loss of her husband Rex, Lisa Robinson invited long-time good friends to her home to eat and play games.
Our group meets mainly in Artesia, but we have met in Ruidoso, Lubbock, and Hobbs. While our meetings are irregular, we rarely leave a game night without setting our next date. We also have created a network connection. Game Night Group has a text thread that keeps us connected. This technology has provided an excellent means of communication. Salutations, celebrations, and prayer support via text have allowed us to turn what were mere acquaintances into special friends who have a deep love and respect for one another. Our once-called Game Night Group has been renamed: Game Night Friends Group.
Each November, our group has a “Friendsgiving” celebration. Eating, laughing, praying, and playing games has become our Friendsgiving tradition. Peg Deans, Donna Scroggin, and Lisa Robinson wrote a prayer for the group that we read together at this annual celebration. We divide the prayer and each of us takes home a prayer card that we will keep until our next Friendsgiving.
Joy and happiness are the feelings we feel as we gather together to play games. We like to play Rummikub, Pegs and Jokers, Mexican Train, Blank Slate, and Things. We have found that surrounding ourselves with positive, energetic, competitive, and motivated people has brought each of us much happiness. We all look forward to Mary Lasater’s chocolate cake (page 28 of the magazine), Vernon Asbill’s delicious roasted turkey and ham, Ronnie Jackson’s culinary surprises, Terry and Donna Maupin’s fruit salad, Kate Asbill’s beer bread (page 33), Don and Donna Canada’s famous baked beans (page 17), and we can always count on Tommy Scroggin and Al Deans to appreciate our different dishes. Along with playing games at our gatherings, our Game Night Friends Group has shared a variety of themed cuisines, including Italian, Mexican, and holiday-inspired meals.
Because we have had so much fun playing games and making life-long memories, we would like to challenge our fellow Artesia friends to reach out and connect to new friends or reconnect to long-time friends and create your own unique game night group. Our game group always has a fun-tastic time playing games and making memories. We are so much more than friends that love to gather and play games, we are family.
Friendsgiving Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father,
Creator and sustainer of all and source of all goodness and love. We bow before you with grateful hearts and humility. Thank you for creating in us a clean heart and a renewed spirit.
Thank you for yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Thank you for the beauty that surrounds us. Help us to be mindful to enjoy all of the glorious works of Your hands.
Thank you for our families, friends, and loved ones that we cherish dearly. We are so grateful for the love, laughter, and joy they bring to our lives.
Thank you for friends who will tell us the truth in love and give us good advice and guidance. Praying for friends who are wise and will always be a strong support for us. We pray that each relationship in our lives will be glorifying to You.
Thank you for the friends you have placed in our lives. Allow us to be blessings to one another. As we study Your word, may we always encourage our friends to strive to be more like You.
We pray for Your hand of protection to be over our families. We pray that our families will put their trust in You as our shield and protector. Keep us safe at all times.
Ignite faith in our families where our children and children’s children put Christ in the center of all things. Lord, pour out Your grace, gifts, and glory upon our families.
We pray that the difficult things that we go through will be used for Your glory and for the deepening of our relationship with You. Help us not to lose heart but to believe and recognize your goodness in our lives.
We pray for all those that are struggling with their health. May we be Your hands and feet when others are hurting or in pain. May we always remember You are the great physician.
May Your love always consume us, and may Your peace that surpasses all understanding dwell within us. May we live in such a way that we reflect Your love and peace to others.
Forgive us of our sins, especially forgive us of the sins that weigh us down and those sins that so easily entangle us. Thank you for Your mercy and grace. Help us to forgive our trespasses as we give mercy and grace to others.
You are the truth, You are the way, You are our life. Please restore us. Bring our nation together as one nation again. Heal our wounds and our country’s division. Please give us Your peace.
Thank you for the Good News of Your salvation. May we never lose wonder of what You have provided through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Thank you for sending Your Holy Spirit to comfort, empower, and guide us here on Earth. Thank you for producing in us the fruit of love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, and self-control as we walk in You.
Article written and compiled by Kate Asbill, Mary Lasater, and Lisa Robinson and originally published in Focus on Artesia 2024 Fall edition.
