Day 35: providence

Today I am thankful for providence. The act of God providing what we need. For example, this morning as we were about to go inside the school, my brother handed me a $5 bill with the remark that it was for lunch. I knew it was from mom so I took it. I was fairly certain I had enough money for lunch without out it, but it's nice to have a little extra. When I went to put it in my wallet I discovered...that I did not have my wallet. Needless to say, very thankful for providence this morning. This is not the first time God has provided lunch for me before I realized I could not provide for it on my own. He's good about that. :) Very thankful.

Days 33 & 34

Day 33: music

Today I'm thankful for music. Particularly uplifting music that reminds me about the important things...you've probably been able to get a pretty good idea about the kind of music I like if you've been listening to the videos I included in some of my posts :)

Day 34: non-metaphors

Also, I'm thankful for some things that are not metaphors. Specifically, the servanthood of the followers of God and His adoption of them as His children. I think they are often treated as metaphors. But they aren't. They're true. They're REAL. And that makes me so, so happy.

What kind of music do you like?

What are you thankful for today?

Day 32: Saturdays

Today I'm thankful for Saturdays. Because I can sleep in if I need to and I use it as a last ditch effort to get homework done before Sunday. In other words, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

What are you thankful for today?

Day 31: identity

Today I am thankful for my identity. I'm thankful that my identity does not have to be found in what people think of me or how well I measure up to my own standards. My identity is in Jesus Christ. He has bought me with his blood and reconciled me to God. I belong to Him.

So who am I?

I am a creature created by God for His glory and for relationship with Himself. He has created me specially and specifically as a woman. He has set me apart to Himself. I belong solely to Him, and not to any other. He desires to fill all of my longings with good things. But ultimately, I will only be satisfied in Him alone. He will cause me to fly with wings as eagles as He catches me up in troubled times. For in my weakness, there He chooses to expose His strength. He has created and fashioned every part of me: He has selected my DNA, my family, and my time and place in history. He has chosen each person and circumstance to be in my days, for He holds my times in His hands. And He is good. So I will not fear.

This is who I am. 

Even if you've already heard this song, please watch the video. It's well worth it.

Where do you find your identity?

What are you thankful for today? 

Day 30: weekends

Today I am thankful for weekends. Oh, I am so thankful for weekends. It's great to get out of your last class and think 'I need to hurry home and work on __________...oh wait. I don't have to. It's the weekend.' Not to say that I don't do homework on weekends, but it's nice to know that my deadline is a bit more relaxed and I can take a couple hours to hang out and let my brain recoup from the week. So, yay weekends! 

What is your favorite thing about weekends?

What are you thankful for today?

Day 29: warm days

Today I am thankful for warm days. The ones that are just right, not too hot, and I can eat lunch outside instead of in the cafeteria. Fun times :)

What are you thankful for today?

Day 28: cars

Today I thankful for cars. Because that means that I can get from a to b. And I don't have to live away from home to go to school.

what are you thankful for today?

Day 27: lunch outings

Today I am thankful for lunch outings. And conversations that go somewhat like this...

"We need to drive by Chick-fil-a and bring lunch to the guys"

"Ok"

"Or we could go in and bring lunch to them afterwards"

"Let's eat there. We haven't done that in a while"

Thankful for the time spent with someone I love talking about anything. Sometimes the best things aren't planned.

What are you thankful for today?

Day 26: Sundays

Today I'm thankful for Sundays. Because Sundays mean rest. 

This post really deserves more written on it, maybe later.

Day 25: neighboring friends

Today I am thankful for friends who live within walking distance. And family that live close by. Because it means that if we want to randomly get together we generally can. If someone wants to come over for thirty minutes or drop something off, we can. If we don't have the car, it doesn't matter so much.

What are you thankful for today?

Day 24: courage

"And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say." Luke 1:11-12

Today I am thankful for the gift of courage. 

My dictionary app (Merriam-Webster) defines courage as: the ability to do something that you know is difficult or dangerous; mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.

I am thankful that when I am afraid, when I don't know what to do or say, and don't know what the outcome will be, that God will be with me and direct me. He will give me the strength and words in the moment to accomplish what He wants. And I'm glad that my courage, the strength to do what is hard, doesn't have to come from within myself. 

What are you thankful for today?

Day 23: gluten-free cookies

Today I'm thankful for good gluten-free cookies. I'm not on a gluten free diet, but my parents try to do without it. I am well aware that good gluten free/vegan/vegetarian/dairy free/etc. food can be hard to come by, and for that reason I'm particularly thankful for a good recipe. These taste like the real thing. 

Day 22: grown-ups' conversations

That probably sounds weird. But in a minute you'll know what I'm talking about. You know when you were growing up and you were playing with your friends...and then your parents said "we are going to leave in 10 minutes"...but you actually get to stay 40 minutes longer than expected because your parents kept talking? Those are the conversations I'm talking about. They still happen sometimes, though not nearly as often as they used to. Today I'm thankful for grown-ups' conversations. Past and present.

Did/do your parents ever do this? 

What are you thankful for today?

Days 20 & 21

Day 20: a movie

Today I am thankful for a movie called Moms' Night Out. If you haven't seen it, you should. Not only is it incredibly funny, it's totally relatable. And I don't have kids. But I know what stress is like. And this movie reminds me that it's okay. It's okay not to have everything together. It's okay to r    e    l    a    x... No, maybe I can't do everything by myself. Maybe I can't be everything I feel like I have to be to be a success at life. I've noticed that when I relax about something, and I stop stressing over it, that it suddenly becomes more manageable. Things become more clear. And this movie reminds me that sometimes life is a mess. It's a mess now, and it will be a mess later. It reminds me not to fall into the "marriage will fix my problems/make me happy" trap. Because life will be messy then, too. Differently messy, but messy all the same. It reminds me that the mess is okay...it's just part of this thing we call life. And learning to enjoy the mess is part of life, too.

Day 21: cousins

Today I am also thankful for my cousins. We've had a lot of good times together. I look forward to summer and Christmas and spring break because it means seeing them. Today I'm thankful that I was friends with my cousins growing up, and that we still like to hang out :)

How do you deal with stress?

What are your favorite encouraging movies?

What are you thankful for today?

Day 19: walks

Today I am thankful for being able to take walks outside. We live near a park and we often go for a walk or to throw frisbee or something. I enjoy being outside with friends and just hanging out for no reason other than we can. 

What are you thankful for today?

Day 18: school

Today in am thankful for school. And I don't mean learning (although I am thankful for that as well), but school. School that forces me to complete assignments which I have no interest in. School which requires me to learn about things I would not be inclined to, but end up enjoying. School which chooses my books for me (and makes pleasure reading at once less enticing and more enjoyable) School which, in choosing books, occasionally presents me with a book I find surprisingly wonderful, when expecting it to be rather mundane. 

Such books are a follows:

Celebration of Discipline. Richard J. Foster {absolutely one of my all time favorites. Read most of it in one night due to time shortages. Due for a reread very, very soon}

What is the World is God doing?. C. Gordon Olson {currently reading, so I can't give a full commendation. Easy to read, and dare I say exciting?}

The Importance of Being Earnest. Oscar Wilde {a play. Hysterically funny. I watched a movie version just for the fun of it}

The Scarlet Pimpernel. Baroness Emma Orczy {novel. Think Batman crossed with Hogan's Heroes. Unfortunately, I had to speed read this one. Deserves to be read more leisurely (I don't actually know if leisurely is the right word, you might have trouble putting this one down)}

Basically, school forces me out of my comfort zone mentally and academically, and that's just counting class. I may not always like it or be particularly happy about what it's forcing me to do...but it's definitely worth it. Wow. Some of you may realize it was a big deal for me to say that...I started out as a rather reluctant collegiate. And while I sometimes revert back to reluctance, school is something I will be thankful for nonetheless. 

What required reading have you found surprisingly enjoyable? 

What are you thankful for today?

Day 17: family dinners

Today I am thankful for family dinners. Or suppers. Or basically any meal which you eat with your family around a table. It's nice to be able to sit around with family at the end of the day and just talk about how everyone's day went. 

What are you thankful for today?

Day 16: seasons

"While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease" Genesis 8:22

Today I am thankful for the seasons. Although we have almost non-existent spring and fall (I would love to live somewhere with all four seasons <3), I am glad for the change. It always comes right as I'm getting tired of one extreme...it's nice to know that in a few weeks it will be less cold (and time for short sleeves :D) and when I get tired of the warm I know that in just a few weeks it will be time for sweaters and boots. 

What's your favorite season? 

What are you thankful for today?

Day 15: this cat

Today I am thankful for this cat. 

Because he is my study buddy. He keeps me company when I do schoolwork. He is also an excellent foot warmer. I know he looks kind of dead in this picture, but he was purring when I took it.

He just moved. Haha.

What are you thankful for today?

Day 14: spring break

Today I am thankful for spring break. I spend a lot of time studying during spring break. I'm thankful for the extra time I can spend studying so I can catch up/get ahead. I'm also thankful that the extra time allows me to take a slightly more relaxed approach. And I get to be around my family. And spring is right around the corner...

How do you spend your spring break? 
What are you thankful for today?

Day 13: new beginnings

Today I am thankful for new beginnings. Ever have one of those days where you just. can't. wait. to go to bed so you can start fresh the next day? Those are days I'm especially glad for the chance to start over. So here's to new beginnings.

What are you thankful for today?

Day 12: friends

"A friend loveth at all times" Proverbs 17:17a

Today I am thankful for friends. I used to always want a Best Friend. I've never really had that One Friend. But sometimes I look up and realize...that I have many friends. I may not have the Friend with whom I do everything...but I have more than just one friend. Sometimes, I get so caught up in the quest for the Friend, or even in despair at the non-existence of the Friend, that I miss the ones who really care. 

Friendships are funny things. They come in different shapes. My working definition of friendship (which is kind of an amalgamation--I don't remember the names of the authors whose works I got these ideas from) is "a commitment to hoping and working for the good of another person, even if it comes at a cost to yourself." Strangely, or perhaps not so strangely, this is also my working definition of love. So although one friendship may look different from another, there are some similarities. 

So what is a friend? 

A friend is someone you hang out with...

Someone you can laugh with (not at, unless they are laughing too, which qualifies as with)...

Someone you can be goofy around...

Someone who doesn't think you are weird (or if they do, they appreciate it)...

On a more serious note:

A friend is someone who doesn't mind talking about important things...

Someone who tries to build you up (even if they have to say things you may not want to hear in order to do it)...

Someone who held you grow closer to the LORD...

Someone who gives advice out of the Bible (sometimes when you don't ask for it)

And so today I am thankful for you, friends. Each and every one of you. 

What does friendship mean to you? 

What about being a friend? 

What are you thankful for today?

Day 11: family

Today I am thankful for my family. Because even though we are growing and changing, we are all still together and we like each other. And like spending time together. And miss it when we don't. 

What is life, really, if it is not spent with people you love? Or perhaps for people you love? 

what are you thankful for today?

Day 10: laughter

"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine"

Proverbs 17:22

Today I am thankful for laughter. It's so simple, and we often take it for granted. But it really is a wonderful thing. 

What makes you laugh?

What are you thankful for today?

Day 9: soup

Today I am thankful for soup. Because soup is the all-time best cold-weather meal. Plus it tastes great. I love that it makes you warm on the inside and makes you feel better when you are sick. And it is eaten with crackers, which are also quite tasty. 

What is your favorite soup?
What are you thankful for today?

Day 8: winter weather

Today I am thankful for winter weather. Especially winter weather that causes school to close early for spring break :)

What are you thankful for today? 

Day 7: rain

Today I am thankful for rain. 

I love rain. It is definitely one of my favorite things. I love rain because it reminds me that God is taking care of me and that He's got me and will not let me go.

What are you thankful for today?

Day 6: a facet of grace

"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" Philippians 1:6

Today I am thankful that God has not let me be; that is, that He has not left me as He found me.

Awesome song. 

The video kind of makes me dizzy but if you just listen to it it's okay :P

Days 4 & 5

So I missed posting yesterday...oh, well. That might happen occasionally.

Day 4: prayer

Today I am thankful for prayer. Specifically, the ability to pray and be heard. Because prayer is a privilege. I mean, think about it: the God of all the universe has made available to us, invites us, wants us to have a direct line of access and communication with Him. And we are like worms. Why should we be given this privilege? And how dare we? How dare we take it for granted and forget to come? Even if only to express our fears and pray for forgiveness. But also our hopes and struggles of our lives and the deepest longing of our hearts which He already intimately knows. And He wants us to come. Just to talk.

Day 5: lifesavers

I am also thankful for lifesavers. And I'm not talking about the candy. Although that would make a punny thank you gift. Haha.

I mean people who come along and help you with stuff when you have no clue what's going on or what you're supposed to be doing. Those people are awesome.