Project Gratitude - Day 6

Day 6 -

Today I am thankful for God's protection over me and all the ones I love.

And today I am thankful for my dad who (in addition to God ;) ) has always taken the role of protecting me. My entire life he has made me feel safe and secure, more than the physical protection he has always made me feel safe and secure in his love. :) Love you dad!

Project Gratitude - Day 5

Day 5 -

I am very grateful today for the gift of friendship. Throughout my life God has blessed me with so many wonderful friends, some for a season, and others for much longer, they have all greatly enriched my life...and for that I am so grateful. Moving to a new city recently I have missed my friends tremendously, but I know that near or far, they are always there. :) Thank you for that!

Specifically, I am so thankful for my best friend Jesica :) We have been friends since Junior High, (which is a miracle in and of itself, we're all such punks in J.H. lol) and remained in constant contact ever since. Very few days go by when we aren't texting each other meaningless nonsense all day lol. She has always been a huge support system to me no matter what struggles I face in my life, we laugh together, she cries, and somehow we make sense of each other when we fail to understand ourselves. If you aren't jealous of me yet you should be lol...she is the friend you want to be in your corner when you're up against the biggest, scariest monster life can send your way. Love you Jes!

(I would just like to add that my spell check highlighted the word "texting" as being incorrect and suggested that I was trying to spell "testing" or "exiting"...strange that "texting" is not in its vocabulary yet. Hmm. )

Project Gratitude - Day 4

Day 4 -

Today I am so thankful for God's unwavering grace and temperament. On my worst days, He looks at me no different than on my "best" days. When I don't have it in me to give myself the grace to have a bad day, He always does. And what amazes me even more is that He doesn't expect me to have only good days and a permanently positive attitude (like people so often do.) And He doesn't judge me on days when I find it hard to be grateful. I'm so thankful that to Him, on any day and everyday I am enough just as I am. Period.

I am so, so, so thankful for my beautiful nephew. :) I'm thankful for him pretty much everyday, but today especially. So often, he represents everything good in the world. No matter what kind of day I may be having, he always greets me with his smile that can light up the darkest rooms. He has complete joy and he makes it contagious. I pray that he fights for that joy when life tries to rob him of it. Much love to nephew today. :)

Try and tell me that he didn't just make you smile? :)

Project Gratitude - Day 3

Day 3 -

Today I am simply happy and thankful to be alive. :)

And I am especially thankful for my Grandma Eva today. She is always loving, caring, gracious, and so much more. Her house is where you want to go on those days you want to escape the harshness of daily life. Her unwavering faith in God and His ability to take care of us and always provide has been the very thing that has helped sustain me through the hard times. I love her more than I can tell you and I feel so grateful to have her and know her.

Project Gratitude - Day 2

Happy Monday! :)

Day 2 -

I am so grateful for a safe and comfortable place to live. There are so many even in our own cities that are without safe homes. My family may have had some financial struggles throughout this last season in our lives but we have never been without a place to live, and for that I am so thankful.

Today, I want to express gratitude for my big brother, Daniel :) He is one of my biggest supporters and always has been, and he is always there to be a friend and inspiration. He is always a great sounding board for any crazy ideas I might have and always honest as to whether or not they are good ideas :) He is an incredible brother, friend, son, husband, and father. I am proud to have him as my brother and so thankful for him.

Project Gratitude - Day 1

Today is November 1st and I have been absent from posting here for almost a month, there are a long list of excuses I can give you, but the bottom line is I just didn't. I have missed it and I am tired of missing it...so I'm back! :) lol

So, to get things going I am challenging both you and I to a little something :) Now is the time of year when to do lists get longer, days seem to get shorter, and we all just hope to survive the holiday craziness...I'm proposing something simple; let's make Thanksgiving a lifestyle rather than a once a year holiday. I know we are all grateful throughout the year, but personally, its not a part of my daily life the way I would like it to be. It is not something I am proud of, but it is truth. How quickly would I run out of "the usual" things to be grateful for and have to start searching for more? How might my outlook on life be altered if I spent my day "searching" for things to be grateful for? I'm curious, so here is what I am challenging "us" to do:

For myself, I am going to try to do one blog post everyday (in addition to these daily posts, I will get back into blogging about all of the other fun random stuff :) I usually blog about) and in that post I will write 2 things: One thing (thing, place, experience etc.) that I am grateful for, and one person I am grateful for.

In your own way I challenge you to do the same :) If you want to share it as a comment that's fine, or maybe you wanna keep it to yourself in a journal, or maybe just tell someone what you're grateful for everyday. Maybe this can help us not get so bogged down by the business of heading into the holiday season...and if not...maybe its just a good thing to do.

Day 1 -

Today I am grateful for 64 colors and everything it has meant to me. It has been a huge creative outlet that has kept me "sane" (or nearly sane lol) a lot of the time. It has been such a gracious place for me to work things out and mostly it has been a place of tremendous growth for me. It has been my beginning, "beginning of what?" you might ask... I'm still figuring that out, but I feel it has been the start of something. I know without it I would have lost it at some point.

Today I am grateful, not for one specific person, but rather a whole group of people...you. My readers. :) You all inspire me to continue doing what I love. Writing is something I get so much joy out of and you all double my joy every time you let me take you along for the ride. So I am grateful for you and to you. Thanks for reading!

Happy 30th Anniversary Mom & Dad!

Today marks the 30th Wedding Anniversary of my mom and dad. :) 

To me 30 years says:

-That it is possible.

-That God is good.

-That in all seasons of life, God's grace truly is sufficient.

-That love never fails.

It is hard for me to know exactly what to write in honor of this special day because the fact of the matter is that I don't know what it is like to do anything for 30 years. I do know that 30 years of just about anything is a big deal, whether its 30 years of life, or a job, and in this case marriage. While I can't say I know what marriage is like, I know that it is a relationship; a friendship. And I know a little about that. 

There is no denying that we are all living in hard times. Life is overwhelming and when we look ahead a lot of what we see is scary, intimidating, and seemingly impossible. So often when we are looking at the daunting task of survival we lose sight of the things that are most important. I believe that in addition to the always sufficient grace of God, the thing that has kept my parents these 30 years is that in those times they do not focus solely on what lies ahead. Relationships break down when all you do is look at what is in front of you, rather than who is beside you. When you focus on who is beside you, what lies ahead of you becomes irrelevant. It becomes irrelevant because no matter what it is you know that you will never have to walk it alone. You know that you will always have someone to talk with and someone to laugh with. You know that when you don't have to strength to carry yourself, someone else will be there to help. You know that no matter what fails in your life, love never does. 

My mom and dad have lived a life of love that has never failed. They have remained true to the vows they made 30 years ago, and as they grew and changed so did their love. Their life has been a life of much change, but always remembering that they had each other they have pressed on. Today, they continue to press on, they continue to conquer the unknown up ahead. They continue on in love, a love that never fails. 

The last few years have been pretty brutal on our family, there have been many times where I looked at what was ahead and freaked out, but somehow I have continued on. The reason I have been able to do that is because I know at the start of each day I am linked arm in arm, heart to heart, with my parents. Together we keep on going. That love and support has changed my life. I am able to be at peace with all the unknowns because I know that with them I will never be alone, I will always have them to laugh with, and when I can't carry myself, they will pick me up. Most of all I know that their love for me never fails. 

So, to my parents on this special day: 

Thank you for showing me what love is. Thank you for showing my what friendship truly is. Thank you for always staying true to each other, and to our family. There are many things I can go without, your love is not one of them. Thank you for loving me with an unfailing love. 

Today I honor you and I celebrate you and even though we are not together right now, and times are a little weird, please don't ever forget that we have an unbreakable bond. I am proud to call you my parents; my friends. I love you more than I can begin to express. I pray that your lives will be filled with joy and love, not just for today but for many years to come. Congratulations!

Happy 30th Anniversary Mom & Dad.