Thankful

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, and following the lead of others and there 30days of thankfulness.... I want to change the tone of where I was going with my last post. I want to reflect on what I am thankful for.

1. A Bible teaching church where I am challenged, accepted, loved and "met" whenever I show up!

2. An ever increasing awareness that I am LOVED. Moving around a lot has made my life colorful and fascinating and splashed with many different types of people. I take many friendships with me, when I leave one "home" to go to the "next" and each time, I am reminded that God knows just who we need and when.

3. Fireplaces - I am oddly mesmerized by a fireplace. It makes me feel warm, literally, and warm, emotionally. I feel peaceful and cozy and well, I can't quite explain it, there's just something about a fireplace.

4. My relationship with my grandmother - wow! I have known for awhile that it was unique. But living so close to her and all the time we spend together, I am in awe about how truly SPECIAL it is. I do NOT take it for granted. Her stories, her memories, her friendship, her guidance - we share a special bond that I am so incredibly thankful for!

5. Seasons - Having grown up in S. Ca. I did not experience much in the way of seasons. Living in Oklahoma and now Idaho, we get seasons. I need seasons. I need change. It is such a visual reminder that things CHANGE. I like to think of it as God's BIG version of Ecclesiastes to us - that there is a TIME for everything. And just when it is too hot and you can't stand it any longer, the leaves change. Or just when the clouds seem like they will not lift, the sun comes out and the flower bloom. Just like the peaks and valleys in our life?! I like the analogy anyway.

6. The idea or reality of "perfect timing" - see my last post - then read Matthew 6:25. That was a portion of what was preached on in church today. The meat of it? Do not worry about tomorrow, ask God TODAY for your "daily bread". Ask him for your sustenance to get you through today. We have no idea if we will have a tomorrow, so why waste the time worrying about it. I actually got WAY more out of it than that, but that part was a direct correlation to my last post and thought, He knows, He always knows.


7. People named Sara(h), Jen, Christi and Kari - lots of variations in spelling and I kid you not. Okay, so if you don't happen to have that name, it does not mean I do not love you. But much of my strength, encouragement, daily "talk" and survival has to do with people who all share the same name. Go figure. You are each precious to me. I have a support system that stretches from CA to OK, north of there and south and everywhere in between. BLESSED!


I do realize it is the 13th, I am only a little more than 1/2 way there.....I will catch up, maybe tomorrow.

Until then, rest in your blessings, thank God for the bread he has given you today.  And yes, we took this picture ourselves, out in the mountains near McCall - amazing!